The holiday season is often seen as a “quiet time” in the fitness industry. Many gym owners across Australia and New Zealand brace themselves for December and early January, expecting member attendance to slow as barbecues, Christmas shopping, beach trips, and family events dominate. But what if the festive season wasn’t just a downtime to endure, but a strategic opportunity to grow?
The truth is, holidays bring unique behaviours and motivations that gyms can use to spark community energy, attract new members, and keep people moving. As more people take time off work, seek social experiences, and start thinking about fresh starts for the new year, gyms have a golden chance to position themselves as the hub for health, wellbeing, and festive fun.
Explore how you can grow your gym during the holidays with creative promotions, community-focused experiences, flexible scheduling, and smart retention strategies that set your business up for long-term momentum.
Understanding the Holiday Opportunity for Gyms
December down here is unique: while the rest of the world deals with cold winters, we’re hitting summer. People flock outdoors, school holidays kick in, and social calendars are packed. Combine that with holiday travel and festive indulgence, and fitness takes a backseat.
Yes, festive distractions are real. But so is a strong desire to move, connect, and start fresh. It’s easy to get discouraged during these times of year that are notoriously hard for gym business owners, but gyms that are prepared will know how to handle this. Gyms that recognise this mindset shift, treating December and January as high-potential periods rather than write-offs will set themselves apart.
Holidays aren’t just “survival” mode. They’re growth mode, if you play it right.
Creative Marketing Ideas for Gyms to Spark Holiday Growth
The festive season is built on themes of generosity, fun, and connection. By shaping limited time promotions that align with this energy, you can spark both short-term excitement and long-term loyalty. This is a great time of year to flex your creative muscle, and offer promotions that draw attention from current and potential members alike.
- Themed Fitness Challenges
From “12 Days of Fitness” countdowns to summer beach body workout challenges, themed programs tap into holiday rhythms while gamifying workouts. Holiday gym challenges can run live in your gym or via an app, allowing members to track and share progress. - Gift Memberships and Gift Cards
Many shoppers struggle with what to get family and friends. Positioning gift memberships, training bundles, or prepaid passes as thoughtful presents gives your existing members a referral tool while spreading your brand into new households. - Flexible Gym Memberships for the Festive Season
Offer short-term weekly passes, free trials, or holiday bundles for travelers visiting family, or locals seeking commitment-free ways to stay active while supporting local businesses. A “Summer Flex Pass” can appeal to those wary of long-term contracts. - Wellness Bundles
Package fitness with complementary services: nutrition consultations, recovery add-ons, branded merchandise, or even healthy recipe books. These add value, and can add incremental revenue to your business while boosting secondary revenue streams.
By keeping promotions festive, flexible, and shareable, you encourage sign-ups that might otherwise be missed during the summer countdown.
Curious on how you can improve your marketing around this special time of the year? Check out Xplor Gym’s industry-leading Marketing & Retention tools to take your gym’s next campaign to the next level.
Engaging Community Through Holiday-Focused Experiences
The holidays are inherently social. People look for connection, togetherness, and meaningful activities. While this can seem daunting to gym owners in Australia, this should be re-framed as an exciting opportunity to grow your gym. Gyms of all sizes can tap into this by building experiences that extend beyond traditional workouts with different holiday fitness community events.
- Charity Workouts and Fundraisers
Partner with local causes and host festive charity classes or outdoor bootcamps where entry fees support a good cause. This not only builds goodwill but deepens your community presence. - Family-Friendly Sessions
School holidays mean children are home, and parents are seeking activities. Family workouts, kids’ classes, or parent-child sessions open your doors to multi-generational engagement. - Virtual Holiday Events
For members who travel or want to keep active remotely, online classes or festive live streams maintain a sense of connection. Your digital platforms can make sure no one misses out, and your members still achieve their fitness goals. - Social Media Challenges
Viral challenges on all social platforms are one of the marketing strategies that have consistently been front and center the last couple of years. Let your gym members handle the festive season fitness marketing by encouraging them to share festive fitness selfies, complete daily challenges, or show off themed workouts with hashtags keeps engagement high beyond the gym floor. Prizes and playful competition fuel participation.
By embracing the social, your gym becomes more than a facility: it’s a festive community anchor.
Flexible Access and Communication: Meeting Members Where They Are
Holiday schedules are unpredictable. Between trips, family commitments, and parties, people’s fitness journeys and routines get disrupted. Failing to prepare for this is preparing to fail. Luckily, there are several easy tips and strategies you can start on today to turn this potential downswing into a volume-backed period of growth. The gyms that adapt are the gyms that thrive.
- Adapt Class Timetables
Instead of cutting back, tweak your timetable to reflect demand. Early morning sessions might suit those with festive lunches planned, while family-friendly mid-morning classes could be well attended during school holidays. - Communicate Clearly and Early
Whether through email, SMS, social media platforms, or your app, keep members informed about holiday schedules, events, and offers. Transparency builds trust and removes guesswork. - Use Technology to Personalise Outreach
Automated reminders, festive greetings, and follow-up nudges can keep engagement high. Segment your database so communication feels personal — for example, promoting family programs to parents, or flexible passes to occasional users.
The goal is simple: meet current and potential members where they are with flexibility, empathy, and ongoing encouragement.
Ready to Boost Your Gym’s Holiday Success?
The festive season is busy.
Make sure your holiday gym promotions stand out and drive real results.
Download Xplor Gym’s free guide: Christmas Gym Promotion Ideas – 10 Festive Gym Email Templates.
Converting Holiday Activity into Long-Term Growth
While the holidays create buzz, the real advantage comes from translating seasonal activity into lasting results. It can be easy to want to chase opens, clicks, and likes, but at surface-level, these don’t necessarily indicate success. What matters at the end of the day is getting members into your gym. Take advantage of this season by creating campaigns that convert, and notice what efforts turn into customers, not just clicks.
- Follow-Up with New Sign-Ups
Create structured onboarding for those who join through festive promotions. Members who join through promotions need to continue to see relevant, targeted value. Provide specific added-value touches like introductory sessions, personalised goal-setting, or welcome packs to increase retention. - Celebrate Holiday Achievements
Share member milestones from holiday challenges in newsletters, social channels, or community boards. Highlighting these stories maintains motivation and shows your gym delivers results. - Launch New Year Campaigns with Momentum
Don’t let January be a reset; let it be a continuation. Use the goodwill and energy built during the festive season to feed straight into “Back-to-Fitness” or “New Year Strong” marketing campaigns.
By connecting short-term holiday engagement with long-term member pathways, gyms can enter the new year with more loyal, energised communities.
How Xplor Gym Powers Holiday Campaigns and Year-Round Success
At the heart of every thriving gym is the ability to work smarter, not harder. As your business continues to grow, it’s more important than ever to keep your processes clean, bandwidth open, and staff streamlined. Xplor Gym is purpose-built to streamline every aspect of running a fitness business, making it the ideal partner for gym owners who want to turn seasonal campaigns into sustainable growth.
- All-in-One Cloud-Based Management
Xplor Gym puts everything you need to run your gym business in one place from memberships, class bookings, and payments to timetables, and reporting. This business agility is especially valuable during busy holiday periods when schedules fluctuate, staffing can be tight, and rapid response is crucial. - Superior Member Engagement Tools
Keep your community motivated and connected with a custom-branded mobile app. Members can book sessions, track progress, and stay updated on holiday events or promotions… all from their phone. - Automated Scheduling and Access Control
Offer flexibility by automating class scheduling, short-term passes, and access. Members enjoy seamless entry and real-time updates, while owners and staff save admin time and ensure gym runs smoothly throughout the fluctuating holiday calendar. - Powerful Analytics and Retention Features
Use in-depth reporting to track which holiday promotions drive sign-ups and retention. The member retention tools also help follow up with new joiners automatically, so gyms can nurture momentum built during the holidays into lasting loyalty into the new year.
Ready for a smarter approach? Book a personalised demo with one of our gym management experts and see how Xplor Gym can strengthen your holiday season and support year-round growth.
Reframe the Holidays as an Opportunity
The holidays don’t have to be a slow season for gyms in Australia and New Zealand. With the right mindset, tools, and marketing plans, they can be a time of community, creativity, and powerful growth. By offering festive promotions, flexible schedules, and genuine human connection, gym owners can keep their members engaged, attract newcomers, and roll directly into the new year stronger than ever.
At Xplor Gym, we simplify the management side so you can focus on maximising member experience. From flexible membership options to automated marketing tools, Xplor Gym helps you turn seasonal campaigns into lasting business growth.
Start planning your holiday success today — explore how Xplor Gym can help you deliver experiences that delight your community and grow your business.
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by Xplor
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First published: 13 October 2025
Written by: Xplor