Bilingual studio booking: running a studio in two languages

Bilingual studio booking works when each member sees one language from the first page to the receipt: class names, descriptions, policies, checkout and e-mails. Translate your class types and policies once, let members pick a language the system remembers, and keep prices and dates in your studio’s own format. The most common failure is a page that mixes both languages.

Who needs a bilingual booking system?

More studios than you might think. A few common situations:

• A studio in Canada or the US with a Brazilian community. Some members prefer classes in their first language, especially in pilates, where precise cues matter.
• A studio in Brazil with foreign members. Coastal and big-city studios often teach expats, remote workers and long-stay visitors who prefer English.
• A Brazilian teacher who moved abroad and brought online or returning members along.
• A studio with mixed staff, where some teachers write class descriptions in English and others in Portuguese.

In all of these, a single-language system pushes the owner into workarounds: two schedules, translated PDFs, or a WhatsApp group that explains what the booking page means.

What does “bilingual” really need to cover?

A translated menu is not enough. A member who switches to Portuguese and then sees an English class description, an English cancellation policy and an English receipt has not been served in Portuguese.

Here is what a member actually reads, and what needs to exist in both languages:

What members see	Who writes it	Notes
Buttons, menus, sign-in screens	The software	Should be complete and native, not machine-translated
Class names and descriptions	You	One version per language
Pass and membership names	You	“10-class pack” and “Pacote de 10 aulas”
Policies and waivers	You	Cancellation, waitlist, liability
Booking and payment e-mails	Software template, your edits	Must follow the member’s language
Receipts	Software and payment processor	Studio name and amount, clear in both

Things that should not change with the language: your prices, your currency and your time zone. A member reading in Portuguese in Toronto still pays in Canadian dollars and still sees class times in Toronto time.

How should members choose their language?

Members should never have to hunt for a switch on every page. A sensible order:

1. The link they followed. If you share a Portuguese link in your Brazilian community group, they land in Portuguese.
2. Their saved preference, once they have chosen.
3. Their browser or phone language, for first visits.
4. Your studio’s default, if nothing else applies.

Once chosen, it should apply everywhere: the schedule, the checkout, the account page and every e-mail that follows.

Which Portuguese, and why it matters

Portuguese has two main written standards: Brazilian and European. They differ in vocabulary and tone. A Brazilian member notices European Portuguese at once (“telemóvel” instead of “celular”, “registo” instead of “cadastro”), and it reads as foreign.

If most of your Portuguese-speaking members are Brazilian, the interface should be in Brazilian Portuguese. When we reviewed booking platforms in October 2026, Momoyoga, for example, offered its member interface in 11 languages, a real strength, but its Portuguese was European Portuguese and partly untranslated, and class content fields held a single language. Worth checking any platform’s Portuguese with a native speaker before you commit.

How do you translate your studio’s content without it taking forever?

Most of the work is a one-time effort. A practical order:

1. Your top five class types. Name and a two or three sentence description each.
2. Your passes and memberships. Short names, plus one line on what is included.
3. Your policies. Cancellation, waitlist, late arrival, waivers. These matter most legally and emotionally, so have a native speaker review them.
4. Your e-mail templates. Booking confirmation, cancellation, waitlist promotion, receipt.
5. Your teacher bios. Short and personal, in the languages each teacher actually teaches in.

Write naturally in each language rather than translating word by word. “Slow flow, all levels” might become “Aula suave para todos os níveis”. The meaning matters, not the structure.

If a translation is missing, the system should show a marker in the admin so you notice, rather than quietly showing the other language to members.

What about payments for members from two countries?

Money is where bilingual studios trip up. For a studio in Canada, members pay by card in Canadian dollars, regardless of language. For a studio in Brazil, Brazilian members often prefer Pix, while foreign visitors usually pay by card because they do not have a Brazilian bank account. A checkout that offers both, with clear wording in each language, covers both groups.

For the Brazilian side of this, see our posts on Pix payments for studios and taking no cut of studio sales.

How do you show which language each class is taught in?

Translating the page is one thing; the class itself is another. A member reading in English needs to know whether the teacher will cue in English, Portuguese or both. Make it explicit:

• Add the teaching language to the class description, for example “Taught in Portuguese, with English cues on request”.
• Note languages on teacher profiles, only for languages they genuinely teach in.
• Keep the same class name in both languages when the class is the same, so members do not think there are two different classes.
• Tell first-timers at the desk which classes suit them best.

A member who arrives expecting English and gets a full class in Portuguese rarely books again. One honest line in the description prevents it.

Common mistakes in bilingual studios

• Two separate schedules, one per language. They drift apart, and capacity is split.
• Machine translation published without review. Policies in particular need a human read.
• Mixed pages: interface in one language, content in another.
• E-mails always in the studio’s language, even after the member chose the other.
• Teachers listed as teaching in a language they do not use in class. Be honest about who cues in which language.

How does elastudio handle two languages?

elastudio runs in English and Brazilian Portuguese everywhere, with no European Portuguese words. Each class type, pass and description has one text box per language, and the admin shows a marker where a translation is missing. Members get their language from the link, then their saved preference, then their browser, then your default. Prices, dates and times follow your studio’s format and time zone, and checkout takes card everywhere, plus Pix for studios in Brazil.

French and other languages are not available today. If you serve members in English and Portuguese, the Free plan (CA$0) is enough to try it, and no plan takes a cut of your sales.

One studio, two languages, one schedule

Keep a single schedule, translate what members read most, let the language follow the member, and keep money and time in your studio’s format. Members will feel at home in either language.

See plans on our pricing page or browse all features. Write to us in English or Portuguese at support@elastudio.app.