A mother-daughter franchisee team with existing Washington studios will bring 24-hour infrared fitness to Alaska starting with a Wasilla location.
HOTWORX has signed its first multi-unit franchise agreement for Alaska, with franchise owners Tracey Pidge and Ciara Boyce committing to four studios statewide. The first location opens in Wasilla in the third quarter of 2026. Pidge and Boyce already operate two HOTWORX studios in Washington state and plan three more there.
The Wasilla deal did not come from a first-time operator pitch. Pidge and Boyce's existing studios in University Place and Lacey, Washington, have each grown past 600 members, giving HOTWORX leadership a performance record to point to before handing over rights to a brand-new state. For franchisors weighing new-market entries, that kind of operating history reduces the risk of a slow ramp.
Alaska has drawn little franchise fitness development to date, and HOTWORX is betting that gap works in its favor rather than against it. The brand's 24-hour, infrared-based model requires less staffing overhead than a traditional gym, an advantage in a state with a smaller labor pool and higher costs. Pidge and Boyce's personal ties to the state give the launch a local credibility that outside operators would have to build from scratch.
The agreement also underscores how fitness franchisors increasingly favor development deals over one-off single-unit sales, locking in committed unit counts years in advance. For operators already running a system in one market, that track record has become the strongest currency for winning rights somewhere entirely new.
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