Ms. Segerberg

Spas, Health & Fitness

Designing Profitability into Your Spa

By Jane Segerberg, Founder & President, Segerberg Spa Consulting, LLC

Spas have moved from being an addition to a hotel/resort that sets it apart from its competitors to being a necessity. Spas have proven their worth to the overall hotel/resort profitability by increasing average occupancy, revenue per occupied room, length of stay and ratio of double occupancy, in short, as the latest survey by Smith Travel Research States: "Resorts that operate a spa are at an advantage since spas generate occupancy at non-peak times, assisting managers to stabilize their rates."

The goals for spas have also moved. Spas are no longer only an addition that is nice to have, they are now an addition that not only supports the overall resort/hotel profitability but also operates as a stand-alone profit center within the resort/hotel.

Add to the shift in goals, the fact that with all of these spas being built and more spa customers, we now have a very savvy spa goer market who wants more than fluff, trendiness and empty promises. None of these ploys attract loyalty or give guests a clear picture of the spa's intention, there is nothing on which to make a decision to buy.

So where do we start? Here is a brief overview of designing profitability into your spa:

Outline the Concept

The concept is based on multiple considerations. The appropriate concept pleases the market and garners repeat guests and evangelism for your spa.

• Purpose:
  Is your spa planned for the purpose of serving your guests, or are you a mixed-use property with homeowners or club members as important patrons of your spa? Is the spa a significant feature of the hotel/resort or is it a secondary amenity? Answering these questions will be of assistance as plans move forward and more decisions about placement in the resort/hotel, outside entrances, scope of services, etc. are determined.

• Market:
  What markets will the spa serve? Can you rank the markets within your own walls? The hotel/resort enjoys a captive audience, which in most cases is the main audience for the spa. Play to that market for all it is worth.

• Compelling Image and Positioning:
  This is a key area. Your ready-made audience should be catered to, coddled and captured. Knowing your audience and the audience that would be attracted to your property, you can plan for the spa to capture like-minded peopled. As we all know, like-minded people will spread the word to others who are more likely to understand, appreciate and be attracted to the same concept. As an extension of the ambiance of your property, plan for the spa to become a special attraction to current and future guests.

• Spa Spaces:
  Assuming that the market and expected capture of the market is large enough to warrant a build, it is time to decide the number and mix of treatment rooms to meet the market demand. Plan for important attractive features and support spaces that will enhance the overall spa operation efficiently and give meaning to the spa's image and positioning.

Spa Design

Designing the spaces and the programs go hand-in-hand as well as refer to the spa's positioning and market. Will couples be coming to the spa together? Is there a need for social space? Does the spa concept demand space for individual reflection? Does the outdoors play an overall part in the spa's concept? Will there be a large amount of group guests?

• Architecture:
  The architecture and interior design of the spa not only speaks to the concept but to the efficiency of staff. Positioning guest contact stations and support spaces properly can reduce the size of the staff (dollars saved) as well as increase the service level and the number of happy guests (dollars earned). Most architects do not understand the intricacies and adjacencies of spa spaces. The architect's experience with designing one or several spas may have been for spas of a different purpose and may have left ownership and management with unsolvable problems. Do not leave anything to chance, it is best to involve your spa planners and consultants heavily in this process.

• Program:
  This is the "living" portion of the spa planning that not only cultivates the market, but also speaks to the reason that people come to spas - - to be relaxed and renewed. The dangerous tendency here is in being trendy rather than stable. Trendiness is costly to both the understanding of either "who" or "what" the spa is and therefore there is virtually nothing for the guest to be loyal to. The cost of trendiness is also felt in the increased cost of products and training. It is better to be cutting edge with the concept than all over the board with various trends.

Management

The key words here are very simple: training and staffing levels. This area, which is often missed, is a result of the inexperience or naivety of spa management.

• Service Training:
  The results of good training, as we all know, are well-satisfied guests. An equally important result is the loyal employee who understands the job position and steps to achieve the objective of the position as well as the spa's objective along with knowing that management places an importance on the employee's contribution to the overall guest experience.

• Staffing Levels:
  In my experience, I cannot begin to tally the large amount of business turned away at spas because therapists are not scheduled to be available. It takes a serious study of the business being turned away to understand the extent of the loss. Weather, seasonal activities and profiles of guest groups affect the levels of spa business. All it takes is several sessions of being on the desk and hearing guest being turned away solely because there is a lack of scheduled therapists and not a heavily booked spa that lost a guest (which is a potential repeat guest and a potential happy guest that spreads the good "word" about the spa) to realize that adequate staffing is important albeit complicated.

The Return

Ultimately, planning and people create the profitability of your spa. Your spa profits are greater with a return of loyal guests rather than a return on investments alone. Add in the planning and the people to your budgeting process and you will see a greater customer base, soaring profits and best of all, sustainability.

Jane Segerberg is founder and president of Segerberg Spa Consulting, LLC., a multi-faceted spa consulting and management company with an industry reputation for creating spas that work –they are compelling for the property’s market, attain recognition, engage guests in memorable experiences and achieve bottom line success. Over Jane’s thirty-year history in the wellness, hospitality and spa industry, she has become recognized for providing outstanding service and keen attention to detail. For company information please view http://www.segerbergspa.com. Ms. Segerberg can be contacted at 912-222-1518 or janesegerberg@yahoo.com Extended Bio...

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