Marta Malloy manages more than 80 employees and over 170 weekly group fitness classes in her busy role as Group Fitness and Pilates Director at Village Health Clubs and Spas – Camelback location in Phoenix, which is known throughout the west coast as a premier tennis club.
The facility is one of four high-end luxury tennis and racquet sport clubs across the Phoenix Valley, offering private personal training, fencing, swim and tennis lessons, racquetball, squash and pickleball lessons, Pilates and GYROTONIC training, as well as nutrition consultations, fascia and athletic stretch therapy services, and much more.
A Centralized Solution
The Village Health Clubs and Spas – Camelback location began using CoverMe Fitness in November 2024 to support Malloy with the management of the fitness team, particularly class subs. The platform eliminates the inefficiencies of text chain communication, class coverage reminders and the handling of administrative tasks, allowing the club to focus on the customer experience.
Malloy says: “With more than 14 class types and 50 different class formats to manage, text chains were becoming too cumbersome. Instructors that had left the club were still getting texts from instructors who were using old text chains, cover requests were getting lost in the chain, and there was confusion about what classes instructors were offering to cover.”
Malloy wanted a better way to organize and streamline communication that would be consistent across all instructors, particularly those that teach more than one format.
“For instance, if an instructor agrees to sub a class but forgets to schedule it in their calendar CoverMe sends a reminder email. It’s really helped avoid instructor no shows,” she says. “I also like the Announcement feature. Sending notes that only apply to one class format or group of instructors has allowed me to cut down on emails to instructors with information that doesn’t pertain to them.”
Enhanced Flexibility in Class Coverage
CoverMe’s KPI reports allow Village Health Clubs and Spas – Camelback location to understand which instructors are taking on the most class subs.
Malloy says: “Seeing the sub requests come in, and with what frequency, allows me to view which classes often require coverage in real time, as well as who is most frequently picking up the coverage need. I’ve been able to thank those that cover often, and remind the instructors that haven’t to kindly assist their fellow instructors when they’re able to. Being able to track classes that are cancelled and how often, will help me to understand hiring needs too.
“But I always do my best to get a class covered, and there are times when I’m willing to change the class format to ensure something is on the schedule for our members. Importantly, CoverMe allows me to post more than one class type or format to better my chances that a similar class format can be offered. For instance, if I need a heated Yoga class covered, I may also post for a heated Pilates class, and the notes section allows me to communicate the format change to the instructor, so they know what class members would be expecting.”
According to Malloy, the CoverMe staff made the transition easy, with clear direction for both management and instructors.
She says: “I swear Edith, CoverMe’s Head of Admin, doesn’t sleep – ever – she was always available. She helped with all the onboarding and training, and the uploading of instructor certifications on the backend. I had several Zoom calls to help me better utilize the app, its website capabilities and reports too. The customer service from CoverMe has been top notch!”