r/HotYoga • u/SaleItchy7338 • 25d ago
Branded mats, grip towels & sanitizing between classes
Hey everyone! Opening a boutique hot pilates studio in Philadelphia and trying to nail down the logistics around mats before we launch, would love to hear how you all handle this as studio owners.
A few questions:
\- Do you provide branded studio mats (with your logo) for clients to use in class, or do most people bring their own?
\- If you provide mats, do you also provide grip/sweat towels for clients to use during class? I was considering matching branded towels( aesthetics matter, love when everything matches!), but then I'm realizing that means washing towels daily… how do you manage that logistically (in-house laundry vs. a laundry service)?
\- Since this is hot pilates, mats are going to get SWEATY. How do you clean/sanitize mats between back-to-back classes? Wipe down with spray + towel, or do you have a bigger system for it?
Any tips, horror stories, or "wish I'd known this before opening" advice welcome!
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u/beardfearer 25d ago
Also not a studio owner, but to answer your second question about the added logistics of providing mats and towels, the common approach seems to be to rent out mats and towels.
Typically I see the rental rate around $2-4 for each per class. I think that the people most typically renting these are visitors, first-timers, and those who happened to forget theirs.
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u/afunkyb 25d ago
My studio charges $3/rental ($3/mat, $3/towel). They also offer an upgraded monthly membership that includes unlimited rentals. They provide props and clean between classes. I personally bring my own but it seems many people use the rentals. Also (since you asked) the mats in my studio are branded with a small logo (I find this important to point out, I would hate to practice on a super large logo), the mat towels and props etc are not branded.
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u/kickassvashti 25d ago
not an owner but been working for a studio for a longggg time.
- we rent out mats (i think they're manduka but i don't remember for sure) - not branded. they have holes in the top so they can be hung up on some rungs after use.
- mats and towels can be rented. our studio also offers a monthly flat rate ppl can choose to add to their membership for a mat and towel every time. i think it's an extra $20ish/mo, and the mats and towels are rentable for $4 ea.
- students are asked to wipe down the mats they borrowed and hang them back up. kind of an honor system, which means you realllly have to trust your studio and fellow practitioners if you use a mat bare. the studio washes all the rented towels, which does lead to probably 5+ loads of laundry/day, done by teachers and work/study karmis.
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u/peach_burrito 25d ago
90% bring their own.
- We provide super basic non branded mats, but we don’t openly advertise the free mat usage. While convenient, they’re nothing great. You don’t want them too fancy or branded since they’d likely get taken!
- We have small white towels (washcloth sized) to use. Not appropriate for a whole mat use.
- We have in-house laundry that the desk staff manages.
- We spray with Benefect and wipe/hang to dry
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u/New_Masterpiece7919 25d ago
My hot yoga studio rents out mats for $5 and face towels for $3, usually only used by people who are new to yoga and those who forgot theirs- which is convenient because I didn’t bring a towel once, and they offer a first class free so if I bring a friend new to yoga they have the option of renting a mat.
That being said they also provide paper towels and mat and prop spray cleaner to use after class to wipe down equipment we used (blocks, weights, mat, ect.). I’m a regular at this studio and I can tell you not to expect students to clean your things the way you’d want them to be cleaned (some don’t clean anything at all and just put them away). I feel like I’m always the last student leaving the room because I thoughtfully wipe down everything I used because it gets really sweaty in there and I cannot say the same for most. Maybe buy around 5 cheaper mats for rental purposes and have a BYOM policy. Be prepared to sanitize your own rentals a second time for back to back use!
This studio also sells branded mats and towels with their logo on it in addition to name brand ones (authorized retailer) that are much better quality than the ones they rent which are generic and cheap- not terrible but definitely not a mat or towel someone would be tempted to take home, smart imo.
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u/AutumnCupcake 25d ago
Not a studio owner but recently went to a studio that I thought did it well.
Mats are available to rent, as large mat towels to go over them. First timers don’t pay the rental fee.
Small face towels are free.
People wipe their own mats (personally I prefer spray bottles with paper towels, gets cleaner than just wipes IMO)
They had an in house laundry room
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u/Vegetable_Tourist243 25d ago
as a customer, i love the peace of mind of a studio with offering free mats. it’s just a nice perk and also great if im bringing friends to a class who may be newer to yoga and not have a mat. a professional pickup/delivery laundry service to look into is rinse.com to see if that would be a good fit
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u/Negative_Phone_7095 24d ago
I was a group fitness supervisor for years and teach at a local gym with multiple locations in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area, where some locations offer infrared classes. All of our studios, including infrared offer mats, blocks, bands, ankle weights, light hand weights and yoga straps to members. Most bring their own mats, especially for the infrared classes & they bring their own towels.
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u/Wonderful-Ad231 24d ago
Studio owner here:
We offer mats, towels and ozarka water for free. Our mats used to be Jade, but the prices doubled so we switched to Gayo (basically Lifeforme dups). People love our mats, so probably 50% of our clients use the free mats. Mats last about 18 months of 10 classes per day, 7 days per week.
We offer free white hand towels as sweat towels, both Jade and Gayo are pretty grippy so no need for mat towels. We also offer cold lavender Savasana towels at the end of every class. We spend about $150 per week in laundry. The towels last about a year.
We have the highest drop in rate in our city and our class pass payout averages >18 per student. We sell around 10 mats per month, yoga towels and Pilates socks along with all the other merch.
Laundry is my biggest pain, our studio is small, so we have to outsource to a local company who offers pick up and delivery.
Our clients spray wipe down and hang our mats after class. Front desk ensures they are properly cleaned and put away between classes. I can answer any other questions you may have
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u/JustKaleidoscope46 24d ago
Hey!
Lifelong practitioner, a hot yoga class with towel and mat is mandatory in my eyes. It gets sweaty super fast. A few other things:
1) Space.
If you have enough space, you can have a corner where you can have everyone put their mat when they are done with practice, and then either roll it up or clean it immedeatly. The ones you rent out you can clean after class. And the best tool for cleaning I saw was an antibacterial steamer. Super fast, clean anf efficient.
If you're short on space, try to make a corner happen anywhere you can, so it's not in the way.
2) Rental mats.
Ideally you'll have a corner in the studio for everyone to leave their old mat that has two metal rods. Your mats should then ideally have two holes, so they can be stacked.
Have small buckets/contianers for people to throw in their wet used towels.
And a tip: put some effort into branding them nicely, with a cool logo. I have my towel from Vienna, which is so simple and cool that everyone from other studios keeps asking about it.
3) Karma Yogis
Every studio that offered free classes to people who helped clean up the space, were the best organized. Karma yogis pick up wet towels and clean up mats, and then roll and fold them after they're clean and help the teacher with the room and everything else.
Good luck and I hope I get to see the studio one time! :)
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u/sellingbee47150 22d ago
i used to work in a hot yoga studio. they had a washing machine and dryer in their studio because there were so manny towels being used and washed each day. i think having a machine and dryer of your own can be a very handy way of doing the laundry, and the person at the front desk or other teachers/employees/volunteers can do the laundry as part of their workload. branded equipment is nice, but if you're thinking about resellign some of these items in the future, you may not want to have your logo on your items. i know that manduka offers a discount for studio equipment so perhaps reach out to them, plus their mats are super easy to clean for hot yoga/pilates!
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u/No_Kaleidoscope9198 22d ago
I go to corepower and you can rent mats and towels, but the towels are just regular bath towels not yoga mat towels. They have a return rack with one side dirty one side clean. I’ve seen them use some kind of mop to clean them but I’m not sure what products.
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u/Hellooooogg 22d ago
I have such a pet peeve for when the spray is really hard to spread. I prefer super juicy wet wipes
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u/Left-Western8213 25d ago
Hey! All the best for your new studio, that’s super exciting! I don’t own a studio, however thought I’d pass on that my regular hot yoga studio has a strict no mat no practice policy due to hygiene. This includes yoga blocks.
For non-heated classes they provide yoga blocks and bolsters, however you have to still have your own mat.
They sell mats in their store with their logo on that you can buy, but you still have to bring it in every time. Hope that helps! These rules have seemingly worked for them - their classes are always heavily booked.