Legislators urge broader cooling-off law after abrupt Hotstone Yoga closure

Hong Kong lawmakers have urged the government to widen the scope of a proposed statutory cooling-off law to cover more types of wellness market trends after the abrupt shutdown of the Hotstone Yoga chain, as claimed financial losses by customers rose to HK$3.9 million (US$497,030).

Their calls followed the government’s commitment to introduce a bill in the Legislative Council in the first half of next year that would establish a statutory cooling-off period for prepaid fitness and beauty contracts.

However, lawmakers said on Friday that the current proposals were too narrowly focused on fitness centres and beauty parlours, leaving consumers unprotected against evolving wellness trends.

Lawmaker Jeff Yiu Ming said the legislation needed to keep pace with shifting market trends, pointing out that fitness offerings now included kickboxing, Pilates and yoga.

“The government might need to define statutory terms with precision to ensure all emerging wellness concepts fall within the law’s purview,” he said.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah previously said authorities hoped to introduce the amendment bill to Legco in the first half of 2027, although timing remained subject to other agenda priorities.

The administration has proposed rolling out a statutory seven-day cooling-off period and a 14-day refund window for prepaid beauty and fitness contracts. It has also suggested exempting lower-value contracts to minimise disruption, with the threshold ranging from HK$3,000 (US$382) to HK$15,000 or above.

Lawmaker Bill Tang Ka-piu also urged the government to expand the scope of the legal framework to protect the rights of the public.

“We need a clear overarching legal framework covering all business-to-customer prepaid contracts for future services across all sectors,” he said.

Tang added that while government officials assured him that centres offering both yoga and general fitness classes would fall within the scope of the statutory cooling-off period, real-world market operations presented numerous grey areas.

Without explicit statutory coverage, “everyday consumers without a legal background are easily left in the dark,” he warned, acknowledging that broader restrictions would likely face pushback from the business sector.

A customer who identified herself only as Chan earlier told the South China Morning Post that she understood at least 500 customers had suffered financial losses due to the abrupt closure of Hotstone Yoga.

A closure notice, issued by law firm Cheung & Co and posted outside the studios, stated the chain was shutting down after careful consideration due to “business operations and other actual circumstances.”

It stated the company would cease operations at the end of regular business hours on Wednesday and included an email address for parties holding “rights, debts or other claims against Hotstone” to submit documents.

The notice added that affected staff could inquire with the relevant government departments about their rights and file related applications, and Hotstone would provide the necessary documents and information “where reasonably practicable” to facilitate procedures.

The company said it would pay outstanding wages for September and refund class fees from that month by October 5.

Most of Hotstone’s social media pages were disabled by Thursday afternoon.

According to its Threads account, the business operated for 10 years and had studios in Central, Causeway Bay, Aberdeen, Jordan, Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin and Kwun Tong.

It also claimed to be the first studio in Hong Kong to provide hot stone yoga sessions, stating it employed more than 100 veteran instructors to teach yoga, stretching, dance and gym classes.

The Consumer Council said that as of Friday 5pm, it had received 286 complaints related to the chain’s closure involving claimed losses of HK$3,909,444.

Police said they had received multiple reports since October 1 from individuals who claimed to have purchased class packages at a local yoga centre that abruptly closed.

The case will be referred to relevant departments for follow-up.