Just as the nation faces an imminent, earth-rumbling change in less than a week as history's worst election cycle finally comes to a close, one super ubiquitous service dropped a fee change that jolted us from our slumber. ClassPass just announced it was dropping its unlimited plan, and rolling out only two membership options: a five-class plan called Base that costs $75 in New York, or a ten-class plan that costs $135 in New York, called Core. (Sorry, but ten classes a month is only two to three classes a week – not enough!)
According to an open letter by ClassPass CEO Payal Kadakia, the Unlimited plan was too costly for the company to continue.
ClassPass pays its studio partners for each class taken, whether on the unlimited package, or otherwise. ClassPass raised its prices twice in the last year in some cities to offset the costs, taking the unlimited plan up to $200 a month in New York, but eventually ClassPass came to the realization that it “couldn't make the plan work.”
Kadakia explained that the unlimited plan was originally intended as a limited promotion for new users but was such an enormous success that the company kept it running far beyond its initial summer-long term.
“I was so taken aback by the promotion's success I focused on nurturing that spark assuming we'd figure out the business model as the company continued to scale,” Kadakia wrote in the surprisingly candid email in which he details the company's struggles.
“The truth is there is a fundamental problem with the Unlimited plan. It can't be a long-term membership option because it doesn't align our business with our promise. What kind of business would we be if we wanted our members to work out less to reduce costs? We'd be sabotaging the vision at the very heart of this company.”
The transparency of the fee hikes may have been a smart move, and the reasoning behind it certainly sound (an unlimited plan that the company has to pay for is in no way sustainable).
However, ClassPass enthusiasts are predictably unhappy, nay are super pissed about the shift.
Personally, we never joined because the constant chatter about their endless price increases reminded us too much of the NYC MTA.
As always, Kramer's got it right. Time to break out our sneaks and bicycles: running, hiking, cycling, and YouTube are all free!
This article originally appeared on HelloGiggles.com
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