Hotel Business Review Archives

To subcontract or to manage hotel spa operations in-house is a question that most hoteliers will ask themselves. Knowledgeable hoteliers realize that in order to be competitive their hotel must have a spa and offer spa services, but unfortunately many often look for the easy way out. For the most part, hoteliers do not fully understand spas or their management which in many cases leads to their choosing to subcontract. There are primarily two types of subcontracting for spas today. Both types will be identified and the positives and negatives outlined.

How will the trends of today’s fitness minded traveler change the way you address health and wellness in 2012? Bryan Green, Founder & CEO of Advantage Fitness Products shares with us the Top 10 Trends in Fitness for 2012 and how they will apply to the fitness amenity and beyond in hospitality. A general understanding of demands of active adults and their children alike may help inspire you to find creative solutions as they relate to the integration of wellness on property.

As we build spas for the future or re-invigorate current spa facilities and re-purpose spaces, the process and results have to make sense for investors. There is a new grading system for value, both from the spa guests’ perspective and from our spa owner clients’ perspective. Given the importance of value and the intricacies of spa design, the process becomes not just about an investment in the number of treatment rooms or upgraded finishes but how the spa can operate at its best and how we can elevate service levels.

Most hoteliers realize that they must have some kind of spa in their hotel in order to be competitive in today’s market; however most do not know how to determine the most appropriate spa concept for their hotel. Just having a spa in a hotel, ten or even five years ago may have been enough, however as supply increased and consumers inevitably became more and more spa savvy, just having a spa isn’t enough anymore; it’s all about having the right type of spa for your particular hotel.

Everyone will agree, post 2008 we have seen changes and challenges galore in the spa and hospitality industries. The Spa Industry’s wheezing financials are in an uphill battle to regain the profit margins earned prior to the last four years and recapturing revenues is a moving target. Our spa and hotel guests along with consumers in general are more discerning, pickier and more tech savvy than ever before. Value is celebrated as the latest and most sophisticated trend and no one wants to overpay for the service or product they receive. Truly, the current economy is the acid test of any spa brand. The word in vogue is “value” and we must deliver – but not with lower prices. Read further to learn the key to satisfying and not satisficing spa guests.

Training comes in many forms. The method of training is dependent upon the trainer. Successful trainers know how to perform to get results from their material and stimulate the student to want to know more. The goal of all trainings is to provide further education in the field of expertise which will deliver knowledge for both the student and the customer. The return is a satisfied professional of services, a profitable business and a new dedicated customer.

A trend is defined as "a current general direction" or "a gradual change or development that produces a particular result". Hmmm - do we want to follow or lead? Here is a hint - we've seen some financial trends lately that no one wanted to follow. We have also seen trends come and go in the hospitality industry and some have been very expensive and fleeting, others have had a great return and are enduring. If you are looking for the latest and greatest trend to add to your spa to garner a media flash, stop here. With over 22 years in the very young, dynamic and constantly evolving Spa Industry, I have seen spa trends come and go. This article will examine enduring trends, evolving trends and fleeting trends and discuss how to identify trends that are enduring with a positive impact for years to come.

The Hotel Gym today can take on many looks. Limited service hotels that in yesteryear would rarely have considered the offering of such an amenity, today find themselves rapidly defining a space for fitness. Larger hotels and resorts for some time have made varying commitments to the fitness amenity. However, in some cases today, many can claim they rival a well equipment health club. The common denominator between these hospitality based environments remains their relevance and appeal to the guests they serve. The following review of these fundamentals will help you remain on point when it comes to the active care required to support the ongoing evolution of the hotel gym.

Getting an in-room massage used to mean asking the concierge to work their magic - spinning through their rolodex to find a massage therapist who was available for a hotel visit. It’s no longer just the purview of the savvy concierge, as many hotels - and even entire brands - have developed a formal in-room spa services program which they Tweet, post and otherwise tout directly to guests to capture higher occupancy, greater loyalty and REVPAR benefits.

For hotels seeking new methods of promoting the luxuries of their in-house spas, I kindly suggest you think of your potential clientele in terms of two groups: captive and non-captive audiences (meaning those both staying in your hotel and those that are not). These two groups can then be sub-divided by gender. Men and women make their own decisions based completely different with respect to direct purchases or spa services on beauty, self indulgence, relaxation and life in general.

Consistently satisfying the needs and desires of spa guests results in loyalty and valuable referrals. The key to creating high levels of satisfaction, rates of return and recommendations is through the use of a comprehensive spa quality management system that is designed to know what the spa’s guests want, to deliver what the spa’s guests want consistently and expertly and to know whether or not the experience the spa delivered met the guests’ needs and expectations. This system creates superb services and facilities as well as staff professionalism that results in satisfied guests who rave about the spa, return often and share their positive spa stories with others.

In tough economic times, businesses including hotel and resort spas have a tendency to slash marketing budgets. While an ailing economy may seem like nothing but a negative, it also creates an even greater opportunity for savvy businesses to fine tune marketing concepts and execute plans that are relevant for right now, accelerate company growth and help surpass the competition. Following are six guidelines I used while creating and developing eforea: spa at Hilton, the first global spa concept from Hilton Hotels & Resorts, in the thick of the recent economic downturn.

Today's social media frenzy provides us with several avenues to reach out and touch someone. Well, in the sense of promoting our businesses, creating fan bases and engaging in dialogue with potential guest, but don't be fooled, that's not enough to truly build a business foundation of loyalty and sustainability. What is a business to do? How can we begin to design high touch marketing programs that truly build a more satisfied and a more loyal guest?

River rocks along the back, mud masks, cucumber slices or a freshly picked orchid resting atop a massage table - Spa marketing is overrun with tired, undifferentiated marketing clichés. If you have any doubt, just try the Logo Swap Test. Grab the nearest spa ad and replace the logo with a competitor’s logo. If the message is unique, ownable and true to the spirit of the spa, the ad should no longer make sense. Problem is, in most cases, the ad functions exactly the same with the competitor’s logo in place.

Simply put, experiential marketing creates a stimulus for the consumer to learn about a brand (in this case a hotel spa), try a sample, purchase, and ultimately build brand loyalty. Like no other marketing strategy, experiential marketing allows potential clients to see, feel, hear, touch - totally experience - your spa. And, when you think about it, isn't a spa the perfect business to incorporate a marketing strategy based on total experience? Take note to how many spas use the word "experience" in their promotional materials: experience total relaxation, and experience our new aromatherapy