Membership types and examples

Every native Thril membership uses either a one-time payment or recurring payment model. Benefits do not determine the type: the same reservation discount, access configuration, or credit grant can be attached to several billing models.

Choose the model from the commercial agreement you want to make. Start with how the customer pays, how long the agreement lasts, and how it ends. Add benefits afterward.

One-time memberships

The customer joins once and the membership does not renew automatically.

Fixed length in months or days

Validity starts when the member is activated and continues for the configured length. Set it in the unit the offer uses.

Good uses include:

• a 3-month newcomer pass;
• a 12-month annual membership paid up front;
• a 90-day campaign product sold throughout the year.

A month-based pass runs to the end of its last day in the venue's time zone. When that day does not exist in the final month, it falls on the last day of that month: a 3-month pass bought on 30 November is valid until 28 February inclusive.

A one-day membership expires at the end of the current calendar day in the venue's time zone. It is a day pass, not a rolling 24-hour product.

Fixed date range

Every member shares the same start and end dates, regardless of purchase date.

Good uses include:

• a summer pass valid from June through August;
• a league-season membership;
• access for one academic term.

This model is usually clearer than a day count when the service itself has a shared season. A customer purchasing late receives only the remaining fixed date range.

Indefinite

Leave the length empty when the entitlement should have no automatic end date.

Good uses include:

• a permanent club status managed by staff;
• a partner or shareholder entitlement;
• an arrangement whose end date is decided outside Thril.

An indefinite membership still depends on the member remaining active and on any pauses or access restrictions.

Deferred-payment membership

One-time memberships can let customers join before the payment is due. Benefits become available from the member's active date even while the payment status is Pending. Staff later set the product price and mark payments due, after which customers can complete payment.

Use deferred payment for a defined operational process, such as a club collecting annual fees after registration. It is not an invoice schedule and is not available for recurring memberships.

Recurring memberships

Recurring memberships renew automatically at the configured billing cycle. The cycle is either a number of calendar months, from 1 to 12, or a number of days, at least seven.

Calendar months are the default and usually the right choice. A monthly membership charges on the same day of every month, and twelve payments make a year. Choose days when the offer is counted in days, such as a 10-day pass that renews.

Open-ended subscription

Leave both contract period counts empty. The membership renews until the member cancels. Without a termination period, cancellation stops renewals after the current paid period.

Typical use: a flexible monthly membership for regular customers.

Open-ended subscription with a termination period

Set the count in Notice period when cancellation should be followed by additional billable periods. A value of 1 means one further renewal after cancellation.

Typical use: a monthly membership with one month's notice.

The termination period is not a fixed contract. The membership remains open-ended until someone cancels it.

Fixed contract paid in periods

Set a Fixed contract length in periods and leave When the fixed contract period ends on End the membership when the membership should end automatically after a defined number of billing periods. The initial paid purchase is the first contract period unless the membership begins with a trial.

Typical use: a 12-month commitment charged monthly.

Customers cannot cancel a fixed contract while committed periods remain. The membership ends automatically after the final period.

Minimum commitment, then open-ended

Set a Minimum contract length in periods and choose Continue without an end date when the customer should be bound for a number of periods and stay a member afterward. The periods are a minimum commitment: the customer pays for all of them, and the membership continues with no end date until they cancel.

Typical use: a 12-month commitment charged monthly that rolls on afterward.

The customer can cancel at any time. The cancellation takes effect once the rest of the commitment and any termination periods have been paid for.

Common membership recipes

Flexible club membership

Payment: recurring every 1 month
Contract: open-ended, 1 notice period
Benefits: 20% reservation discount and 7-day early booking

This suits regular customers who value continuity but do not need a long fixed commitment.

Annual commitment paid monthly

Payment: recurring every 1 month
Contract: 12 fixed periods
Benefits: member reservation price and recurring credit grant

Use this when the agreement is annual but cash flow should be divided into smaller payments. A monthly cycle makes twelve periods exactly one year, on the same day of each month. A 30-day cycle would give twelve periods of 360 days, which does not match an annual promise.

Acquisition membership

Payment: recurring every 1 month
Trial: 14 days free
Introductory pricing: first 2 renewals at a reduced price
Contract: open-ended or fixed, depending on the offer

The member receives full benefits during the trial. The paid commitment begins at the first post-trial renewal. See Membership pricing and trials.

Seasonal pass

Payment: one-time
Validity: fixed date range
Benefits: off-peak reservation discount and early booking

Use a shared date range when every pass should end with the season, including late purchases.

Annual membership paid up front

Payment: one-time
Validity: 12 months from activation
Benefits: initial credits and discounts on selected products

Use a length-based term when each member should receive the same duration from their own purchase date. Months give every member the same calendar date a year on. Days give every member the same number of days.

Pay-later association membership

Payment: one-time with deferred payment
Validity: fixed dates or indefinite
Benefits: reservation discount and physical access

Use this only when staff have a clear process for making payments due and following up unpaid members. Pending status alone does not withhold benefits.

Capacity-controlled membership

Payment: either model
Benefits: member price and early booking
Restrictions: 4 upcoming reservations, no overlapping reservations, 5 hours per week
             4 upcoming event registrations, standard price after that

This works for popular venues where a lower member price must be balanced with fair access to capacity.

Choosing between similar products

Next, see Create and configure a membership for the product settings or Benefits and booking rules for benefit design.