HandspringHandspringDocs

Exclusive coaches and release requests

What the exclusive tag does, how to set it when you invite, and how gyms ask each other to release a coach.

Updated September 8, 2026

Marking a coach Exclusive means they can only hold private lessons at your gym on Handspring. It also means no other gym can add them to its roster — an invitation from another gym is blocked until you remove the tag. Because that affects other gyms, Handspring gives them a clean way to ask you for it.

Set exclusivity when you invite#

The invite form on Employees has an Exclusive toggle next to the role, preset to your gym's default (change the default in Business Settings). The coach sees the position marked Exclusive coach on their invitation, with a plain-language note about what it means, before they accept. You can still change it later on the coach's page.

One gym at a time
A coach who already works at other gyms can't accept an exclusive invitation (and you can't flip the tag on for them) until they leave those gyms — otherwise they'd be "exclusive" while still booking elsewhere. Invite them as non-exclusive if you'd like them to coach at both.

Inviting a coach who is exclusive to another gym#

If you try to invite a coach that another gym holds exclusively, the invite doesn't send. Instead, the form explains who holds them and what has to happen, and offers to ask on your behalf.

  1. 1
    Send the invite as usual
    Enter the phone number and click Send Invite. A panel appears: "Coach is an exclusive coach at Other Gym".
  2. 2
    Ask the other gym to release them
    Add an optional message, decide whether your own invite should be exclusive, and click Ask Other Gym to release Coach. Their owner and admins are texted and emailed, and the request appears on their dashboard.
  3. 3
    Wait for their answer
    You'll see the request on your dashboard and under Release Requests in the invite form. Withdraw it any time.
Result
If they approve, your invitation is sent to the coach automatically — exactly as you filled it in — and appears under Pending Invitations. If they decline, you're notified with any note they added, and the coach stays where they are.

When another gym asks you#

When one of your exclusive coaches is requested, a purple banner appears on your dashboard: "Other Gym is requesting that Coach hold private lessons at their facility." The same request shows on the coach's employee page. Click Respond to see who's asking, their message, and exactly what each choice does:

  • Release Exclusivity removes the exclusive tag from the coach's employee record. The coach stays on your roster and keeps coaching for you — only the restriction goes away — and the other gym's invitation is sent to the coach automatically. The coach decides whether to accept it.
  • Keep Exclusive changes nothing. The other gym is told you declined, along with any note you add.
The manual route works too
Simply turning off the coach's Exclusive Coach toggle on their page (or removing them from your roster) resolves any pending request the same way as approving it.

What the coach sees#

Coaches aren't pulled into the request itself — they hear about it when an invitation arrives. If a coach opens an invitation they can't accept because they're exclusive elsewhere, the invitation page tells them which gym holds them and what needs to happen, rather than failing silently.

Related

Was this helpful?