Keyless Entry and Coaching App for a 24/7 Gym Franchise
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Overview
What we built
A 24/7 gym franchise with 58 clubs ran after-hours entry on physical fobs and had no digital member experience at all. We built the app that replaced the fobs and gave members their first direct channel.
In plain terms: getting into one of the franchise's 58 clubs outside staffed hours meant carrying a physical fob, and losing one meant a front-desk visit, a replacement fee, and often a wait until staffed hours to sort it out. Beyond entry, the franchise had no app at all: no workout plans, no schedules, nothing but generic email blasts, so a round-the-clock gym had a member experience that effectively switched off whenever the front desk did.
We built iOS and Android apps with secure smartphone entry, Bluetooth LE with a QR fallback, wired into each club's existing door controllers and tied to membership status in real time, so a lapsed account locks itself out automatically. Around access we layered guided workout plans, an exercise video library, visit streaks and club-specific notices, giving the franchise its first direct member channel. Smartphone entry reached 76% of active members within 4 months, and front-desk requests tied to fobs and access fell by 63% across all 58 clubs.
The Problem
Key fobs, no member app
A gym open around the clock is only as open as its access method, and this franchise's access method was a physical fob. Every lost fob meant a member locked out until they could get to a staffed front desk, pay a replacement fee, and collect a new one, an awkward mismatch for a business built around round-the-clock availability.
Off-peak access problems compounded the issue. A fob that stopped working in the small hours stayed broken until staff arrived, precisely the hours the franchise's always-open promise was supposed to cover. Front desks absorbed a steady stream of fob-related work across all 58 clubs: replacements, fee collection, and troubleshooting that could not happen outside staffed hours.
On top of the access problems, the franchise had nothing resembling a digital member experience. No app carried workout plans, schedules or club notices; the only communication channel was generic email blasts that treated every member the same regardless of which of the 58 clubs they used or how they trained.
Fobs for a 24/7 gym
Physical fobs were the only way into a franchise open around the clock, an access method that could not itself function outside staffed hours.
Lost fobs, constant work
Lost fobs generated constant front-desk work and replacement fees across all 58 clubs, an ongoing operational cost for something a phone could handle.
Off-peak problems unresolved
Access problems that happened outside staffed hours stayed unresolved until staff arrived, exactly the hours the franchise's 24/7 model depended on working.
No digital member channel
The franchise had no channel for workouts, schedules or member communication beyond generic email blasts sent the same way to every member.
What it was costing them
Every lost fob across the 58 clubs meant a replacement fee collected and a front desk interrupted, while the members most affected were the ones training outside staffed hours, the exact audience a 24/7 gym exists to serve. With no app to replace the generic email blasts, the franchise also had no direct channel to build a workout habit or keep a member engaged between visits.
The Solution
Keyless entry plus coaching
We built iOS and Android apps with secure smartphone entry using Bluetooth LE with a QR fallback, so a member's phone replaced the physical fob at the door. The app integrates with each club's existing door controllers and ties access to membership status in real time, so a lapsed account locks out automatically rather than depending on someone at the front desk to catch it.
Around access we layered the digital member experience the franchise never had: guided workout plans, an exercise video library, visit streaks and club-specific notices, replacing the generic email blasts with something tailored to how and where a member actually trained. For the first time, the franchise had a direct channel that worked as well in the small hours as at midday.
Because entry now runs through membership status tied into the app, front desks across all 58 clubs stopped absorbing the routine fob replacements and access troubleshooting that used to eat into staffed hours, freeing that time for member-facing work instead.
Key decisions
Smartphone entry, no new hardware
Bluetooth LE with a QR fallback let a member's own phone open the door, removing the physical fob without requiring new access hardware at any club.
Tie access to membership status
Entry is tied to membership status in real time, so a lapsed account locks out automatically instead of depending on a front-desk catch.
Integrate with existing controllers
The app integrated with each club's existing door controllers, so the 58 clubs did not need new access infrastructure to go keyless.
Layer coaching around access
Guided workout plans, a video library and visit streaks sat alongside entry, turning an access app into the franchise's first real member channel.
Replace email blasts with notices
Club-specific notices inside the app replaced the generic email blasts, giving members information relevant to the specific club they actually used.
Measurable Impact
What changed after launch
Smartphone entry was adopted by 76% of active members within 4 months of rollout, and fob replacement and access-related front-desk requests fell by 63% across all 58 clubs, freeing staff time that used to go into replacing lost fobs at all hours.
Members following an in-app workout plan visited 1.8 times more often than those who did not, showing the coaching layer around access was pulling its own weight. The app is rated 4.6 stars on both stores, with 41% of members active weekly, a direct channel the franchise never had before.
Club access
Physical fobs for after-hours entry at 58 clubs
Smartphone entry adopted by 76% within 4 months
Front-desk load
Constant fob replacement and access-related work
Requests down 63% across all 58 clubs
Member engagement
No digital experience beyond generic email blasts
Workout-plan users visited 1.8x more often
App experience
No member app of any kind
Rated 4.6 stars, 41% active weekly
Headline results
Smartphone entry adopted by 76% of active members within 4 months of rollout
Fob replacement and access-related front-desk requests reduced by 63% across all 58 clubs
Members following an in-app workout plan visited 1.8x more often than non-users
App rated 4.6 stars on both stores with 41% of members active weekly
Tech & Tools Used
What powered the build
Every tool below earned its place in this engagement. Here is the part each one played.
React Native
Built the iOS and Android app that replaced the physical fob with smartphone entry, rolled out consistently across all 58 clubs.
TypeScript
Typed the app and backend logic tying access, membership status and the coaching features together as the rollout scaled across the franchise.
Node.js (NestJS)
Served the API behind real-time membership checks, so a lapsed account locks out automatically the moment status changes.
PostgreSQL
Stored membership status, access logs and workout plan data, giving each club's door controller a reliable source to check against.
Bluetooth LE
Handled smartphone-to-door communication for entry, with a QR fallback covering devices or moments where Bluetooth was not practical.
AWS IoT Core
Connected each club's existing door controllers into the platform, letting smartphone entry integrate without new access hardware.
Firebase Cloud Messaging
Delivered club-specific notices and workout reminders, replacing the generic email blasts members used to receive.
Stripe Billing
Managed membership billing feeding the real-time status check that determines whether an account should be locked out.
Mixpanel
Tracked smartphone entry adoption and weekly active usage, the data behind measuring how members responded to the keyless rollout.
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