By Tod Bloxham, Co-Founder, Redpoint HQ
I remember opening Edgeworks Climbing in 2004. My business plan for the gym was simple: after three years of research, my key metrics were membership counts, day passes, birthday party revenue, the cost of the climbing wall, and whether I could find a space to house it. My biggest expenses? A $250,000 climbing wall, $25,000 in climbing holds, $15,000 for tenant improvements, and $7,500 on software.
Once we opened, the gym had a relaxed pace. Four employees welcomed 40+ daily check-ins, all part of a small, tight-knit community of climbers—many of whom I’m still friends with today. Volunteer routesetters and belayers pitched in, while belay classes and birthday parties were tracked in a spreadsheet binder. Risk management? Paper waivers and simple belay tests.
Back then, choosing software seemed straightforward—practically everyone used Aphelion. Designed for fitness clubs, it had features we didn’t need, like prospecting and fitness profiles, while membership setup was cumbersome at best. Six months in, we hit an unexpected roadblock: a 3,000-customer limit (not just members!). After an expensive record limit upgrade, we stuck with it for five years, but as memberships grew and we expanded our youth programs, climbing school and yoga offerings, it became clear: our software couldn’t keep up.
Even some of the largest gyms struggled, cobbling together multiple systems just to function. For example, one of the largest climbing gym chains in the U.S. used one system for memberships, another for retail sales, and separate platforms for waivers as well as class registrations—forcing staff to manually cross-check data just to process a check-in, retail sale or class booking. Inefficiencies were baked into daily operations.
Today’s climbing gyms are often much more dynamic, handling thousands of daily transactions in real time: memberships and day passes, check-ins, waivers, belay tests, rental gear, retail sales, youth programs, climbing schools, fitness classes and climbing competitions—all requiring seamless coordination.
The industry has now exploded into a billion-dollar market. A single climbing gym business might sell $1 million in memberships in a day, check in 2,000 climbers, enroll 400 summer camp participants, and run 20 programs—while processing thousands of transactions and thousands of daily automated emails. The scale and complexity are far beyond what climbing gyms once needed. Managing this volume efficiently requires technology built specifically for the industry—software that’s tailored to the unique demands of running a modern climbing gym.
The Shift to Software Built for Climbing Gyms
The rapid growth of climbing gyms surely would not have been possible without software that could support the increasing scale and complexity of operations. In 2008, likely the first software built specifically for climbing gyms came out, allowing gyms to manage membership sales, check-ins, waivers and retail in one system. Back then, the software climbing gyms used were largely windows-based systems, requiring windows servers that some gyms are still running in the back office (full of chalk and dust!). It wasn’t until nearly a decade later that cloud-based solutions began to emerge and gain traction, appreciated for their flexibility and accessibility.
Even today, many climbing gyms struggle with software that isn’t designed to handle their full operational needs. Some gyms still rely on independent systems for membership management, billing, retail and marketing—each requiring manual or complex configuration, and often unable to communicate with one another. The goal for many operators is to have a platform they can use to manage both the core operations of a gym and the broader aspects of business growth, like automated marketing, customer engagement, integrated retail and multi-location management.
That’s exactly why Redpoint HQ was built. Launched in 2024, Redpoint HQ uses a platform-based approach that’s built to move beyond traditional gym software. It’s designed to support the complexities of modern climbing gyms, with powerful automation, centralized management, and an intuitive user interface that helps reduce staff training time. With Redpoint HQ, climbing gym owners can manage everything—all the essentials, from memberships to marketing, retail to multi-gym operations—in one seamless system.
The Next Generation: Redpoint HQ in Action
After a year of using Redpoint HQ, the difference is clear: Redpoint HQ is being praised as the ultimate climbing gym software. Managers using the software say staff have more time to engage with customers, operations run seamlessly, and revenue has increased. Here’s how:
Fast, Smart Membership Management
Membership management should be seamless, but often in the past it has been anything but. Setting up a membership typically required an account with a password (rarely remembered, creating duplicate customers) or navigating through 20+ clicks, with managers having to spend additional time clicking, auditing and correcting errors. Over the course of a year, this burden could add up to more than 500 hours and 500,000 clicks—essentially making front desk staff and managers waste time on tedious, error-prone data entry.
With Redpoint HQ, customers can quickly connect to their account with a passwordless login and membership plans are preconfigured prior to purchase and automatically attached to the customer record, cutting down on administrative overhead. Complex memberships with different benefits, restrictions, enrollments and billing periods are also possible. Staff and customers can focus more of their time on engagement and climbing rather than getting bogged down by clunky workflows.
Smart Guest and Membership Policies
In the past, managing guest passes and discounted memberships was a constant headache, with lost revenue adding up year after year. Non-members would frequently take advantage of discounts and free classes meant for members, and first-time guest passes were often misused. These inefficiencies frustrated staff and managers, and cost gyms thousands.
With Redpoint HQ, automation helps ensure that only eligible guests receive discounts. For instance, Guest Pass benefits and eligibility are now fully automated. At Edgeworks, members receive one per month as an automated benefit, guests can use only one every 30 days, and the system instantly alerts staff if a customer has already used a guest pass. First Time Guest Passes work similarly; staff are no longer wasting time looking up customer history, which has led to a recovery of $10,000 per year (per location) in lost Day Pass revenue.
For student and corporate memberships, eligibility verification is built in. Instead of staff having to manage emails or look at transcripts on cell phones to confirm student status or corporate affiliations and then updating the member prices manually, in Redpoint HQ members upload their documents for digital approval and automated pricing is triggered. The re-verification process is automatic, occurring every 12 months. If they do not verify, their membership reverts to full price without staff intervention—saving staff time and awkward interactions, and saving $6,000 annually in properly discounted memberships.
Expanding Revenue Streams and Strengthening Retention
The flexibility Redpoint HQ offers extends beyond automation—it provides new membership options for potential customers, which can result in additional revenue. One unexpected success has been made possible by Redpoint’s ability to experiment with unique memberships alongside traditional monthly memberships. We recently introduced weekly memberships to provide a flexible, low-commitment option for customers—an approach that can also help maximize revenue potential over time. Even averaging just 30 weekly memberships can add an extra $18,000 per year over a monthly membership, all while providing climbers with more choices.
Billing issues, once a major source of frustration, have also been reduced. Often in the past, a declined payment would trigger a predictable, frustrating cycle: the member would receive an email, attempt to update their payment method—often entering the same failing card—only to have it declined again. For many gyms, this cumbersome process led to unnecessary terminations and lost revenue. Now, with Redpoint HQ’s member portal, members can seamlessly log in with a passwordless account (no login or password to remember!), and they can easily update their payment details and self pay balances in a single step. If one payment method doesn’t work, they can immediately try another. The result at Edgeworks? Uncollected dues have dropped in half and member satisfaction and retention has increased, with fewer declined members being terminated—a nearly 1% increase in membership revenue.
These improvements aren’t just about efficiency; they represent real, measurable revenue gains and staff time saved. Redpoint HQ isn’t just a potential software upgrade—for many gyms, it can be transformational in how they operate, empowering them to maximize revenue while creating a smoother, more enjoyable experience for members and staff alike.
Optimizing Operations and Elevating the Customer Experience
Managing a climbing gym involves more than just memberships and check-ins—Redpoint HQ helps streamline the entire operation. With integrated inventory management, gym owners have full control over stock, from purchase orders to automated promotions based on customer activity and attributes across all facilities. Automated marketing tools allow for active promotions tailored to customer behavior, sending personalized offers to customers who haven’t returned. Multi-location gyms no longer need to manually update each calendar, youth program or product at each database or location separately; centralized management ensures consistency across all locations from a single user interface.
Operational efficiency extends to the front desk. Fast check-ins with automated onboarding and the ability to sell day passes online or in a kiosk help reduce long lines and staff workload. Automated communication keeps members engaged with targeted emails based on purchases and activity, creating engagement and reducing churn. Advanced reporting and analytics provide real-time insights into revenue, attendance trends and member behaviors, empowering gym owners to make data-driven decisions that drive growth.
The member portal helps transform the customer experience, automation and revenue generation. With a seamless, passwordless login, members can easily manage their memberships, bookings and payments—all in one place. Billing declines and account changes are handled effortlessly, reducing staff intervention while improving retention. Families can benefit from a streamlined check-in process, allowing multiple members to sign in with ease. By simplifying self-service functionality, the member portal enhances convenience while helping drive long-term engagement and satisfaction.
Why Redpoint HQ?
Redpoint HQ isn’t just another gym software—it’s built by people who know climbing gym operations inside and out. Our founding team—Andy Laakmann, Ted Knudsen and myself (Tod Bloxham)—are previous owners of a climbing gym software company many gyms use and also own/owned climbing gyms. We know the challenges firsthand. Our co-founder Fletcher Hazlehurst (former lead developer of an online waiver company many gyms use) knows how to develop for a fast-paced industry, and our expert support team have worked in and managed climbing gyms throughout the industry. As a team, we’re focused on setting a new industry standard in software and support.
Built for Growth
Unlike outdated systems, Redpoint HQ is designed for the modern gym—offering a sleek user interface, powerful automation, an API, dynamic marketing tools and streamlined operations. Whether you’re scaling to multiple locations or optimizing a single gym, our flexible platform evolves with you, helping ensure that your software never holds you back.
The Future is Now
Climbing gyms today need more than just software—they need a comprehensive platform that simplifies operations, enhances customer experiences, and empowers data-driven decisions. Redpoint HQ was created to do exactly that, combining intuitive design with robust functionality to help your gym thrive.
We believe the most powerful software for climbing gyms is here.
Our Platform. Your Vision.
This story was paid for by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
