Yoga studios on WhatsApp: book classes and answer students while you teach

Why students message the studio on WhatsApp

Students message because it is quicker than logging in to a booking app, and because they already have your number from their first class. They message on the bus, at their desk and late in the evening when they decide to come tomorrow morning. A reply in minutes often decides whether they turn up or roll over and sleep in.

Most of these messages are about the timetable, prices and passes. A smaller number are about bodies: a sore back, a recent operation, a pregnancy. Those deserve a teacher's attention, and the setup below makes sure they get it while the agent handles everything else.

The line between admin and teaching

The agent handles the front desk. It does not teach, and it does not judge whether a class is safe for someone's body. When a student mentions an injury, a health condition, pregnancy or pain, the agent thanks them, says a teacher will reply, and hands the chat over. It can still hold a space in the class while the teacher replies, if your note allows it.

What customers ask on WhatsApp

• Is there space in tonight's 7pm flow?
• I'm a complete beginner, which class should I start with?
• How much is a ten-class pass, and how long does it last?
• Can I freeze my membership while I'm away for three weeks?
• Do you have mats and blocks I can borrow, or should I bring my own?
• I'm 20 weeks pregnant, can I still come to the vinyasa class?
• Can I move my booking from Saturday to Sunday?

An example conversation

This illustration shows a new student booking a first class. Names, prices and details are examples.

What the agent answers

• Booking, moving and cancelling classes, within the cancellation window you set.
• Suggesting a class for a beginner from the descriptions in your note.
• Prices for drop-ins, class passes and memberships, and how long each one lasts.
• Freezing or pausing memberships, if your rules allow it, by passing the request to you.
• Running the waitlist: telling the next student when a space opens, in your wording.
• What to bring, where to park, how early to arrive and whether there are showers.

What it always hands to you

• Injuries, recent operations, pain, health conditions and pregnancy: a teacher replies.
• Questions about what a pose or practice will do for a medical problem.
• Refunds, disputed charges and anything outside your written pass rules.
• Private sessions and teacher training enquiries, if you prefer to price those yourself.
• Complaints about a class, a teacher or another student.
• Anyone who sounds upset or distressed, whatever they are asking about.

Let the agent hold the space while a teacher replies

A student who mentions a sore shoulder is still a student who wants to come. If the agent says nothing until a teacher is free, they may give up and book somewhere else. Tell it to hold their place, say a teacher will reply before the class, and hand over. The teacher can then suggest a different class or some changes, and the booking is already there if it suits.

The WhatsApp limits that matter here

Replies to people who message you are not held back by the warm-up, so customers get answers from the first day.

Set it up in an afternoon

1. Write a studio note: the timetable, what each class is like, prices and pass rules, the cancellation window and the health topics that always go to a teacher. There is an example below.
2. Connect the studio's WhatsApp number in Spaces. You scan a QR code with the phone that has the number, the same way you would link WhatsApp on a computer. Your phone keeps working as normal afterwards.
3. Connect your AI agent using the steps on our agents page. Chat apps such as Claude or ChatGPT reply when you ask them in a chat, so for replies around the clock use an always-on agent such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes. Give it the studio note. Spaces does not connect to booking systems, but your agent can reach one through its own tools if you set that up.
4. Agree which teacher picks up handed-over chats, and how quickly. A reply before the next class is a good rule.
5. Decide when the agent answers. If you want it quiet between 10pm and 6am, say so in its notes or pause sending overnight. Reminders and routines you schedule can carry working hours of their own.
6. Set up reminders for students who are booked in, such as a short message the evening before an early class.
7. Read the handed-over chats every week for the first month and add any answer you find yourself repeating to the note.

A sample studio note

Keep it short enough to update when the timetable changes. Here is the shape of one, with example details.

STUDIO: Lantern Yoga, 2 Mill Lane, first floor. Street parking after 6pm.
CLASSES:
- Gentle Foundations (beginners): Wed 6:30pm, Sat 10am. Maya.
- Vinyasa Flow (some experience): Mon, Thu 7pm. Tom.
- Yin (all levels, slow and quiet): Sun 5pm. Maya.

PRICES (examples): first class £8, drop-in £14,
10-class pass £120 (valid 4 months), monthly unlimited £95.

RULES:
- Cancel at least 6 hours before class or the class is used.
- Memberships can be frozen once a year for up to 4 weeks.
  Pass freeze requests to the studio, never confirm them yourself.
- Mats, blocks and straps to borrow. Showers: one, small.

WAITLIST: when a space opens, message the first person on the list.
If they do not reply within 1 hour, offer it to the next.

ALWAYS HAND TO A TEACHER: injuries, operations, pain, pregnancy,
health conditions, anything about what yoga will do for a problem.
Hold their space, say a teacher will reply before the class.

Waitlists and late cancellations

Popular evening classes fill up, and the spaces that open late are easy to waste. An agent that watches the waitlist can message the next student the moment someone cancels, offer the place, and move on to the next person if there is no reply. That turns a cancellation into a full mat instead of an empty one.

Keep the offer short and clear about the time limit. For example: "A space has opened in tonight's 7pm Vinyasa. Would you like it? I can hold it for an hour." Students on a waitlist asked to hear from you, so these messages are welcome, and they are replies in existing chats rather than cold messages to strangers.

For late cancellations and no-shows, give the agent your rule in plain words and let it say it kindly. It should never argue. If a student disputes a charge or says they were ill, hand the chat to you.

A second example: a pass question

Most pass questions are simple if the rules are written down. Names and details are examples.

The agent explained the rule, passed the extension request to a person instead of granting it, and still helped Raj book. That is the pattern to aim for: answer what is written, pass on what needs a decision.

Common mistakes studios make

• Letting the agent tell students a class is fine for their injury. That is always a teacher's call.
• Forgetting to update the note when a class moves or a teacher changes, so the agent books people into the wrong room.
• Messaging old students who have not been in for a year about a new timetable. Keep messages to people who are booked, on the waitlist or have asked to hear from you.
• Using a brand-new WhatsApp number. A number with a real history of conversations is far safer.
• Never reading the handed-over chats, so the same awkward question keeps coming back.

Who you message

In short

For a yoga studio, an AI agent on WhatsApp is a front desk that never misses a message while you teach. It books classes, explains passes and runs the waitlist from your note. Every question about a student's body goes to a teacher, with their place held so they do not drift away.

Write the note, connect the number and read the handed-over chats for the first month. Spaces paces every message and keeps the number inside safe limits, but no tool can promise WhatsApp will never restrict an account, so keep the agent to students who message you and students who expect to hear from you.

Pricing

Plans from $19 a month

Can the agent book students into classes?

Yes, if your agent can reach your timetable or booking system through its own tools, or if you keep the timetable in its notes and confirm bookings yourself. Many studios start by letting it hold a place and confirm it within the hour.

What does it say when a student mentions an injury?

It thanks them, says a teacher will reply before the class, holds their place if your note allows it, and hands the chat over. It never tells them whether a class or pose is safe for them.

Can it handle pregnancy questions?

It should hand them to a teacher, ideally one trained in pregnancy yoga. It can share which classes are labelled as pregnancy classes on your timetable, but the decision about what suits the student stays with your team.

Will it run our waitlist?

It can message the next student when a space opens and offer it for a set time. These are replies in chats with people who asked to be on the list, which is the kind of messaging WhatsApp expects.

Can we send timetable updates to all our students?

Spaces sends personal messages one at a time, not broadcasts, and refuses the same cold message sent to many people. For a timetable change, message the students affected, such as those booked into a class that moved, and post the rest on your website or social pages.

Can it answer in the evenings and at weekends?

Yes. That is when many students decide to book. If you want it quiet overnight, tell it in its notes or pause sending, and resume in the morning.

Can my teachers still reply from the studio phone?

Yes. The number stays yours and the phone works as normal. When a teacher takes over a chat, the agent stays out of it until the chat is handed back.

Should the agent say it is an AI?

Many studios do, in the first reply. A short line such as "I am the studio's AI agent, a teacher will join if needed" sets expectations kindly.