It's 6.59 pm. Eight people are on their mats in your studio. Three more are logged in from a sofa, a holiday cottage in Cornwall and a hotel room in Edinburgh. You hit start — and teach both groups at once.
It sounds like something out of an advert. But this is how a growing number of studios and clinics now run their classes.
Hybrid teaching was born out of necessity during the pandemic. Since then it has turned into a competitive edge — for those who get it right. And an expensive mistake for those who don't.
What is a hybrid class, really?
A hybrid class is one class, two channels. The participants in the room and the participants in front of a screen follow the same teaching, at the same time, with the same instructor.
It's not the same as recording a class and putting it online. It's also not the same as running separate Zoom classes alongside your in-person schedule. Hybrid means one class — and therefore one instructor fee — serving two different customer groups at once.
It sounds simple. But it depends on three things working together: the tech, the teaching and the booking system. If one fails, the whole experience fails.
When do hybrid classes make sense?
Hybrid isn't for every studio. Sometimes it's a brilliant addition. Other times it's just extra work without the income to match. Here are the situations where it actually pays off.
1. You have regulars who travel a lot
If your studio attracts commuters, people who travel for work, second-home owners, or simply members who want to keep their rhythm while away — hybrid is gold. You don't lose them to Yoga With Adriene the moment they leave town.
2. You teach a niche format with a small catchment
Do you teach specific formats like yin, prenatal yoga, restorative pilates or somatic movement? Your local catchment may not be big enough to fill the class on its own. Online opens up the entire country as a customer base — without you having to rent a room in another city.
3. You want to keep customers engaged through summer and holidays
The summer dip is real. Hybrid can recover up to half of what you'd otherwise lose, because regulars can take class with them on the road. The same goes for the dark winter months — opening a laptop is easier than going out in the rain.
4. You have spare capacity in the room, but not more demand nearby
If your class runs at 6 of 15 spots, the instructor isn't the problem — your reach is. Hybrid adds online participants without you having to find new customers within a 3-kilometre radius of your studio.
When does hybrid NOT make sense?
Just as important: the situations where you should skip it. Hybrid isn't a free upgrade — it costs time, equipment and focus.
- Class formats with physical contact. Massage, reformer pilates with hands-on adjustments, or yoga styles where you touch participants don't translate well to screen.
- Classes with fewer than six participants. If you're already struggling to fill a class in person, hybrid won't fix the marketing problem — it'll just split your focus.
- Instructors who hate the camera. Hybrid requires the instructor to bring online participants along naturally. If that's a no, it's a no.
- Rooms with poor acoustics or weak Wi-Fi. The tech has to work every time. A crackling mic once is annoying. Twice and you've lost a customer.
The technical setup — what you actually need
You don't need a TV studio. You don't need the most expensive microphones on the market. But you do need to think it through properly once, so you never have to do it again.
Minimum setup (under £350)
- Camera: An iPad or recent iPhone on a tripod. The quality is fine, and it's a tool you already know.
- Microphone: A wireless lavalier mic (Rode Wireless ME, DJI Mic 2). Non-negotiable — participants need to hear you, not the room echo.
- Platform: Zoom or Google Meet. Zoom has the best audio quality for live teaching.
- Internet: Minimum 25 Mbit upload. Test it on speedtest.net — don't rely on "it usually works".
Pro setup (£1,200-£2,400)
- Camera: A 4K webcam (Logitech Brio) or a system camera with HDMI out.
- Audio: Rode Wireless Pro or Shure MV7 with an audio mixer.
- Lighting: Two LED panels so participants can see you regardless of daylight.
- Wired connection: Ethernet cable to the router. Wi-Fi is rarely stable enough for live transmission.
Break-even on equipment
Minimum setup: £350. At £18 per online participant per month, it's paid back after 20 participant-months.
Pro setup: £1,800. Paid back after 100 participant-months — roughly 10 retained online members for a year.
How do you price a hybrid membership?
This is where most studios go wrong. The assumption is that online should be cheaper, because it "doesn't take up space". That's wrong. Online customers use the same amount of your most important resource — your time as an instructor.
Here are four pricing models to choose from:
Model 1: Same price, single membership
One flat membership giving access to both in-person and online classes. Simple, fair, and removes friction. Works well if your studio already charges around £85-£110 per month for unlimited access.
Model 2: Online-only at a discount
Pure online membership at 60-70% of the in-person price. Aim it at customers who live outside your catchment or can't make it in person. Example: £60 per month for online-only versus £95 per month for in-person.
Model 3: Add-on for existing members
Your in-person membership stays priced as normal. Existing members can add online access for, say, £12 per month extra. It feels like a bonus, not a new product line.
Model 4: A class pass that works in both places
One class pass. Each class costs one credit — whether the customer comes in person or streams from home. It's the most flexible option and suits studios where customers regularly switch between attending in person and going online.
Never undervalue an online spot. The customer uses just as much of your time, your teaching and your brand as someone on a mat in the room.
The pitfalls nobody tells you about
There's a handful of things that turn hybrid classes into a disappointment — and almost every studio runs into them before learning the lesson.
Pitfall 1: You forget the online participants during class
When you're standing in the room, it's natural to focus on the bodies in front of you. But online participants have no voice. If you don't explicitly welcome them, check in halfway through and mention them in the closing, they end up feeling like second-class customers — and they don't stay long.
Pitfall 2: The camera is in the wrong place
Camera at laptop-lid height? Online participants only see the in-person participants' feet. The camera should sit either high and at the back — capturing both the instructor and the room — or at eye level pointed at the instructor, so the online customer feels front-row.
Pitfall 3: The audio drops every third class
Wireless mics run out of battery. Zoom drops the connection. The router restarts itself mid-savasana. Always have a backup plan, and test the tech 10 minutes before every single class.
Pitfall 4: Online participants don't get the same quality as in-person ones
Can you see the online participant on a screen? Are you correcting their posture? If the answer is no, be honest about it — otherwise they cancel after three months.
How to get started — a 30-day plan
You don't need to rebuild your business. You need to test an idea, learn from it, and decide whether it's worth continuing.
Week 1: Preparation
- Pick one class per week to trial hybrid on — ideally one that already fills well in person.
- Buy the minimum setup (iPad + lavalier mic).
- Set up a Zoom account (Pro plan, around £15 per month).
- Test the tech with a friend logging in from home.
Week 2: Soft launch
- Open online spots on one class at half price to bring in your first participants.
- Email existing customers: "New option — join Tuesday vinyasa from home".
- Set the camera up, test the audio and run your first class.
Week 3: Adjust
- Ask online participants about camera placement, audio and pace.
- Adjust where the camera and microphone sit.
- Ask your in-person participants whether the hybrid setup distracts them — it rarely does, but it's good to know.
Week 4: Decide
- Got at least three returning online participants? There's a real market.
- Switch to full price from month two.
- Consider adding a second hybrid class to the weekly schedule.
A booking system that handles both channels
The tech and the teaching are the visible part of hybrid. But behind the scenes, the booking system has to distinguish "in-person" from "online" — otherwise you don't know who's coming, who's streaming and who's paying for what.
You need a system that can run the same class with two spot types, send different emails to in-person and online participants, share a Zoom link only with online customers, and handle class passes or memberships that work in both places.
Class Booking has all of this built in — hybrid spot types per class, automatic reminders, class passes that work across channels, and waitlists that fill the class automatically. From £0 per month for small studios.
This article was last updated on 11 April 2026.