Set up late cancellation and no-show penalties

Late cancellations and no-shows can be a real challenge for fitness studios, leaving empty spots that could have been filled by other clients. Clovo’s Penalties feature lets you define clear rules around cancellations so clients are encouraged to show up or cancel with enough notice.

What are penalties?

Penalties are rules that apply when a client cancels a booking too close to the class start time, or doesn’t show up at all. Depending on how you configure them, penalties can charge the client’s credit or simply flag the behaviour for your records.

Setting up penalties

1. In Clovo Studio, go to Setup > Penalties.
2. Define your cancellation window — the number of hours before a class starts that a client can cancel without penalty (e.g. 12 hours, 24 hours).
3. Choose what happens when a client cancels within the penalty window or doesn’t show up — for example, their credit is still consumed.
4. Save your penalty settings.

How penalties work in practice

• Outside the window — if a client cancels with enough notice (e.g. more than 12 hours before), their credit is returned and no penalty applies
• Inside the window — if a client cancels too late, the credit used to book the class may not be returned (depending on your settings)
• No-shows — clients who don’t turn up and don’t cancel are treated the same as a late cancellation

Tips for penalty policies

• Be clear with your clients — communicate your cancellation policy through your waiver, welcome message, and studio signage
• Be fair but firm — penalties should encourage respect for your timetable without alienating clients
• Consider your class type — a 12-hour window might be fine for large group classes but too strict for intimate 4-person reformer sessions that fill quickly
• Pair with waitlists — penalties work best alongside waitlists, which help fill any spots that open up from late cancellations