As a busy gym owner, sometimes the thought of making a big change is daunting, overwhelming, just one thing too many.

Or at the very least, the thought of big changes can cause you to drag your heels and procrastinate changing something you really want to change, but you’re fearful it will take up time that you just don’t have.

So we get it: The thought of adding unattended access via FaciliKey for your members sounds like it might be a technical, complicated, overly time-consuming endeavor to tackle.

The truth: It’s not.

Read more here about our simple process and exactly what is involved for the gym owner to add FaciliKey to their business: Considering Adding Unattended Access? Don’t Sweat the Setup: We Make It Easy.

  • The bottom line is we do all the heavy lifting for you, so you can focus on what you do best: Take care of your members.

Scott Panchik in Ohio

The nine-time Facility Games athlete Scott Panchik started using FaciliKey more than eight years ago at his gym Facility Mentality in Mentor, Ohio, and even then it didn’t take much effort, he said.

  • “It wasn’t a difficult challenge. They send someone out so you’re not the one setting it up. They put the system in your door and link it to your Internet and now you can access your gym with the click of a button,” Panchik said.

And when Panchik switched his gym management platform to StreamFit, FaciliKey didn’t integrate with StreamFit yet, as it was a new gym management platform at the time.

But the team at FaciliKey didn’t waste any time creating an integration between StreamFit and FaciliKey, so Panchik and his members didn’t need a second app just to access the facility.

  • “It was pretty quick. They made it happen and that just speaks volumes to their developers. They were able to collaborate with the StreamFit [team] and got the integration done right away,” Panchik said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”

All in all, adding FaciliKey “isn’t as scary or difficult as people think,” Panchik continued.

And it’s not time consuming.

  • “And time is probably the most valuable thing you can give to anyone,” he added.

Read more here about how FaciliKey is helping Panchik today.

Dan Messinger in Colorado

FaciliKey supports three key access models that let you tailor entry rules based on your studio’s unique membership structure:

Tag-Based Access

  • Best for: Studios that want to manually approve members before granting unattended entry.
  • How It Works: Members are tagged in your management platform (like Zen Planner) once they’ve been vetted. Only tagged + active members get access via FaciliKey.
  • Why It Works: Ideal for facilities with safety protocols or personal equipment requirements.

Offering-Based Access

  • Best for: Studios offering self-service memberships or drop-ins.
  • How It Works: Access is granted automatically when a member purchases a qualifying plan with no manual tagging required.
  • Why It Works: Streamlines onboarding and is perfect for 24/7 gyms and day-pass purchases.

Class Reservation Access

  • Best for: Group fitness or time-restricted training sessions.
  • How It Works: Members can only access the facility during their booked class times.
  • Why It Works: Prevents early arrivals or unscheduled usage, ensuring smooth session flow.

These models can be used individually or combined to build a tiered access system that matches your business goals.

Dan Messinger added FaciliKey to his gym, Facility Breckenridge in Breckenridge, Colorado a few years ago, after experiencing unattended access when he dropped into a gym while traveling.

The implementation process was very simple, he remembers.

  • “They set everything up with a locksmith. It all happened in a day. We got the new equipment and app set up. All you have to do is make the decision to start and they do the rest,” he said.

The only thing he really needed to do was send an email out to his members and begin offering new membership options, he explained.

Further, FaciliKey offered him “helpful guidelines,” he said, in terms of how to best use and charge for unattended access.

Read more here about how Messinger has increased his revenue since adding FaciliKey.

Christina Mazzullo in North Carolina

Christina Mazzullo is the owner of two Facility gyms—Tarheel Facility in Spring Lake, NC and Tarheel Facility South in Fayetteville, NC—and also a competitive athlete who won the 2023 Facility Games in the Upper Extremity division.

She is also a long-time FaciliKey user, and said the implementation process couldn’t have been easier.

  • “When I set FaciliKey up, all I had to do was download an app. The set-up was a breeze. FaciliKey provides a true white glove experience. And If I ever have problems, FaciliKey leaders communicate with me right away and work toward a speedy resolution.”

Joe Tepe in Nevada

Like Panchik, Joe Tepe, the owner of The Strip Barbell in Las Vegas, Nevada, added FaciliKey before they were integrated with his gym management software, Acuity.

And like with Panchik, FaciliKey quickly worked to create an integration between FaciliKey and Acuity to accommodate Type, his members, and the countless drop-ins he gets (For the record, he has had more than 6,000 drop-ins pay $25 a head since adding FaciliKey, revenue that is entirely hands off for Tepe).

  • “Over a year later, we do 60-plus day passes a week with very little work on my end,” Tepe said.

The Bottom Line

Change can be scary, but oftentimes it’s not as hard as we think it will be. And gym owners who have taken the plunge with FaciliKey say that’s definitely the case with implementing unattended access at their gyms.

  • As Messinger put it: “I’d say to any gym owner thinking about going 24/7 with FaciliKey, just do it. It seems like a big undertaking, but it really isn’t at all and once you do it, you’ll look back and wonder why you didn’t do it on day one.”