HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW May FOCUS: Hotel Spa
The lodging industry has experienced an explosion of spa development in the past few years. Hotels and resorts have seen the need for and value of adding a spa in order to sell rooms and real estate. In order for spas to be profitable business ventures, they need to be properly planned and staffed, but of equal importance is the need for an exceptionally creative and well-executed marketing plan. During this difficult financial time, Hotel Spas must use new methods to promote their services. The May Hotel Business Review will provide practical solutions to attract customers, and develop an even stronger business, regardless of the economy.
This month's feature articles...
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. READ MORE
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. READ MORE
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. READ MORE
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 cliches. 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. READ MORE
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 READ MORE
Spas and salons were early targets of group buying sites because of the sheer number of locations in the industry, the cost structures of the spa financial model and the state of the economy. There are tens of thousands of spas and salons in the United States alone. Competition for customers is fierce. The economy over the same time period has been abysmal, especially for the spa and salon industry. Hence the uprising of the Deals and the Group buying sites. READ MORE
Mark Grenoble, President of Enchantment Group Spas & Resorts, offers insight on how Mii amo in Sedona, Arizona, markets to past and prospective guests by communicating the value of their stay. This involves educating the potential traveler on the price, package inclusions, personalized service and experiences available at the destination spa through a marketing mix of direct mail and e-mail campaigns, interactive and online efforts, and public relations initiatives. READ MORE
In this article, I asked several Spa Directors to share what they did to make sure their spas would survive and what they plan to do to make them thrive. Sometimes we tighten our belts so much that we are doing a great job controlling expenses, but it inhibits us from generating revenue. I think the Spa Directors have presented lots of practical ideas. I also asked one of the more astute Directors of Finance to share his thoughts on what the Spa Directors have done and what advice he would give them and why. I hope you take-away at least one idea that will help your spa be a more marketable and profitable business venture rather than a lazy asset department. READ MORE
The economy continues to creep while hotel spas are doing well but challenged by the newly savvy, penny-pinching consumer. While things seem on the upswing the spa-goer is forever changed by the recent prolonged unemployment, rising fuel costs and economic instability. The truth is, the spa-goer profile was changing anyway. As spas increased in number so did those frequenting spas, however, their wants and needs were changing. No longer will the $200 per hour spa service make it in most cities without the recipient feeling that they have really received something with a measurable impact on their health and well being. How does your spa add value, reduce costs and generate revenues? READ MORE
As the hospitality industry evolves in a dramatically changed landscape, the goals are ultimate customer engagement and relationships across all channels. This starts with a quest for creating emotional allure and going straight for the heartstrings; creating a lifelong consumer is the ultimate prize. Spas, more than any other hotel service or amenity, provide the personal, intimate and comforting experience sought by today's consumers and provide an entry into Relationship Marketing that hotels and resorts need to stay competitive. READ MORE
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. READ MORE
The hospitality industry has experienced an explosion of spa development in the past decade, realizing the vital role spas play in attracting business. The recession has prompted resort/hotel spas to re-evaluate their marketing strategies and develop unique promotions, discounts and packages as well as target new audiences. These innovative strategies proved to be successful, but spas now face the challenge of maintaining special offers. READ MORE
"Discount" is the dirty word of the hospitality industry. For the last ten years, spas and hotels have held discounting as the absolute last straw in any marketing campaign. Unfortunately, the recession of the last few years has forced spas and hotels to exhaust any and all options to get consumers in the door. Loathsome though we were to do it, the economic situation became severe enough to bring us all to our last resort efforts, discounts included. The spa industry in particular, has had a love-hate relationship with discounting over the past decade. In other words, the consumers have grown to love discounts, and the industry professionals have grown to hate them. So where does this hatred of discounting come from? And can the spa industry continue to keep discounting at arm's length when consumers are already cutting their spa spend due to the economic pressures of the day? Can spas afford not to discount, when competing against deeply discounted deal aggregators such as Groupon, Living Social or Rue La La? READ MORE
While the experienced spa user may appreciate the fusion of specialized services and products to choose from on a spa menu, this population makes up only a very small portion of all potential spa consumers. This article considers the untapped portion of the market, the first or second time consumers, that may hesitate to book a treatment when the spa menu is too complex to understand. The name, "Trust in Local" implies that the local product or service is familiar to the local market and therefore more likely to be trusted by both the local consumer and the foreign tourist. By creating spa concepts that incorporate ingredients that are unique to the local region within treatments, a visit to the spa could become a point of interest for travelers seeking authentic experiences while on vacation. READ MORE
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? READ MORE
What Gathered Proven Statistics (GPS) do you use to strategize the spa's financial success? Like our reliance on our GPS devices for travel direction, proven spa statistics can be used to direct the spa's business strategy. Hoteliers know the importance of using reliable statistics to compare performance against industry averages and the property's competitive set. Like the hotel industry's research, the Spa's "GPS" can guide identification for areas of improvement, relevancy to the market and profitability strategies. What are important metrics and how can they be employed to strategize the spa's successful business plan? Let's explore this question. READ MORE
Hotel spa profitability may seem like an oxymoron in some circles. But a 34-room boutique resort with a 14,000-square-foot spa has made a name for itself - and profits for the owning entity - in the sleepy Finger Lakes hamlet of Skaneateles, New York. The vision behind the project and the key to success - spa memberships - are detailed in this informative piece which is a must-read for anyone operating a hotel spa. A look at the pros and cons of membership, yield management and marketing techniques, and a lot more, are shared in this compelling article. READ MORE
Hotel guests want bottom line pricing and value for their money. Successful promotion must include participation from all hotel employees. Involve all outlets and initiate "Meet and Greet" experiences. Interact with guests to promote your spa. Invite them to enjoy a new level of spa. Success depends on keeping it fresh, new and alive. Find out what Capture Rate truly means and how we attain it. It's time to act and feel like a guest would feel. Get ready to share the new buzz through-out your hotel. READ MORE
Successful spa design blends both luxury and functionality to increase revenues and enhance the guest experience. This article discusses how good design delivers more amenities for spa-goers while maximizing revenue for owners through increased customer flow, staff efficiency, space versatility and operational functionality. The article provides examples from some of RTKL's most recognized spa projects including Eau Spa at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach and the Celebrity Cruises' AquaSpaR, winners of the 2010 SpaFinders Readers' Choice Awards. READ MORE
I wrote in this publication a few years ago about the importance of managing public relations in connection with major hospitality disputes. As a law firm that often represents owners, developers, investors and managers in high-stakes legal matters, we recognize the importance of being advocates not only in the courtroom - but in the court of public opinion as well. Given the interest in that previous article, I am writing this follow-up to underscore why hospitality professionals or their representatives must not only be familiar with the process of working with the news media; they should embrace it. The news media, after all, is a gateway to customers, employees, investors, analysts and legislators - all of whom have the ability to affect your business. READ MORE
Revenue management and marketing really are two sides of the same coin. Each department holds key pieces of information about demand that, when integrated, result in critical insight about demand patterns, product preferences and purchase behavior. Unfortunately, employees in these two closely related functions do not always work well together. Misaligned goals and poor communication result in situations where marketers, with a goal of generating demand, sends out discount promotions that dilute rates during peak periods. While revenue managers, trying to maximize revenue, close off promotional rates meant to encourage stays from the most loyal guests. These conflicting activities damage revenue performance and guest relationships. READ MORE
In 2011, the trend will be for hotels to begin taking back their online customers. While driving customers directly to their site will be the primary concern, hoteliers must also concentrate on encouraging customers to complete the booking process. Website optimization encompasses all of the current industry best practices for 1) grabbing the customer's attention upon entering the site; and 2) driving the customer to and through the booking engine. This article gives some fundamental, yet often overlooked website optimization tips for hotel properties. READ MORE
Embassy Suites Hotels was recently recognized by the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index Study as the top brand for the upscale hotel category in 2009. The brand has won the JD Power and Associates "Highest Guest Satisfaction among Upscale Hotel Chains with Full Service" award eight out of the last eleven years. Jim Holthouser reveals Embassy Suites Hotel's best tips to maintaining successful customer loyalty year after year. READ MORE
Regardless of a guest's interest in how well a facility can consistently provide quality services, the high frequency of employee turnover that is endemic to both the tourism and hospitality industries adversely affects how consistently properties can meet this expectation. In this article I will try to briefly review some of the reasons why turnover rates are so high within the hospitality industry, simple steps that managers can take to incentivize higher levels of performance by their employees, and how implementing a property-wide performance reporting process can help foster a higher level of loyalty on the part of employees as well as guests without making a huge dent to your revenue. READ MORE
Everyone remembers the relatively gradual shift to online booking, right? A little over a decade ago, online travel agencies (OTAs) and proprietary booking engines were just becoming mainstream—from test platform, to customer convenience feature, then finally to a required marketing channel for hotels. By 2009, 60% of leisure and 40% of business travel were booked online. Contrast this with the emergence of the “mobile front desk”—a whirlwind of mobile technology and split-second change. In a very short timeframe, the mobile front desk has begun to take shape; let's take a look at this evolution further. READ MORE
Is your service plan working for you? Are you performing internal inspections, mystery shops, and effectively gathering guest comments? How are you analyzing the results of your measurement efforts? Implementing a successful service plan requires solid planning, the latest technology, and the right partnerships. By taking a magnifying glass to our people processes, this article will show you what you can do to make sure the service plan you are implementing is a good one. READ MORE
How do you know if you are providing Value to your guests? There is a host of general accounting formulas that have been used to calculate the value of a loyal guest to your hotel's bottom line. But there is no such definitive formula to calculate the value of staying in your hotel to a gues.. Why? Simply because the value of being your guest is so individualized. What is valuable to this person may not be as valuable to that one. As difficult as it might be for you as an owner or manager, it is much easier for people to calculate the value to themselves of staying in your hotel because it can be summed up in one question: What's in it for me? It's simply a cost-benefit ratio - to your guest In this article, you'll learn two simple questions whose scores can be used to calculate your guest's Value Index Score (VIS). READ MORE
Leveraging the customer lifecycle for on-site and post-departure marketing communications engenders deeper engagement, and ultimately, increased return visits. While marketers routinely focus on pre-arrival and post-departure communications, they are missing a huge on-site opportunity. These highly targeted messages should focus on enhancing the guest's stay, based on critical information gathered during pre-arrival. Also important is the post-departure stage of the program when satisfied guests become repeat guests, loyalty is built and brand champions created. The conclusion of this two-part series explains how implementing on-site and post-departure best practices will pay larger dividends in terms of guest engagement and ROI. READ MORE
In this article I discuss the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets and how they have created new marketing opportunities for your hotel. It outlines the many ways your hotel and your guests can benefit from the latest innovations in mobile. I discuss the tablet market and how hotels are beginning to use them to enhance the guest experience and add efficiency for the hotel staff. I also takes a world-wide look at mobile usage in the U.S. and abroad and how these two markets affect one another. READ MORE
Social media has, and continues to change the hospitality industry. While hotels have embraced the opportunities unearthed by being able to tap into what their guests are saying, listening is no longer enough. For hotel marketing and operations executives, turning their feedback into actionable customer intelligence is a business imperative for delivering a superior customer experience and increasing revenue. READ MORE
Having some type of green meeting practices in place continues to be an important area of focus for venues in the meetings industry, as a business with one of the largest environmental footprints. In order to successfully have an effect on global warming while reducing costs and saving their respective organizations money, convention centers, hotels and other venues continue to examine how to successfully make these changes-both behind the scenes of their events and in visible ways. READ MORE
The hotel industry is continuing its recovery with strong growth in both global hotel revenue and bookings, according to data we're reporting in Pegasus Solution's monthly report, The Pegasus View. Driven by demand and assisted by rate growth, leisure hotel revenue jumped nearly +15% early this year over the same period in 2010. With growth in business and leisure bookings expected through mid-year, it's more important than ever for hotels to maintain control of their websites in terms of the look (design and branding), the feel (booking process) and availability (mobile and metasearch). READ MORE
Few industries can boast the worldliness of the hospitality industry. As hotels and lodges seek out tourist hubs and travel spots worldwide, the industry has largely trended toward international expansion. Today Americans can travel to any corner of the globe and find a hotel brand that they know and trust. Just as the industry's patrons are traveling now more than ever, employees, too, are increasingly being transferred from one overseas location to another. When certain requirements are met, employees from the international office of one company can be transferred to a domestic office with relative ease courtesy of the L-1 intra-company transfer visa. READ MORE
A guest with a dog under leash asks hotel reception for a room. Since the guest does not appear to be disabled and the dog has no service animal marking, reception advises, "pets are not allowed." When the guest informs the dog is a disability service animal, reception politely inquires as to the guest's disability and the animal's certification. Is this a problem? Yes, it is. This scenario illustrates the importance of developing policies and staff training on the recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act to promote compliance under the ADA and foster exceptional guest relations. READ MORE
If you think Facebook is just a passing fad and wish to insure that you do NOT maximize Facebook, then this checklist is for you. Who needs more so called "friends" anyway? In this tongue-in-cheek article you will learn about the hidden perils of customer engagement, how to NOT be "Liked" and NOT keep up with the new features in Facebook and other Social Media channels. You will discover the ultimate secret - put up an insignificant Facebook page and then abandon it or pay no attention to it. The choice is yours! NOT maximizing Facebook is easier than you think. READ MORE
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In this tough economic environment, we are seeing people "cutting corners" and pinching pennies everywhere we go - whether it's the consumer looking for the best deal, the hotel operator doing everything in its power to maximize the value of every dollar in the annual budget, or the licensor taking steps to decrease its risk by capping its liability to a specific dollar amount. While it's admirable to get the most bang for your buck and reduce your risk of liability, can a licensor really get away with capping its trademark liability, when it has all the control over trademark issues? This article explains the basics of the licensor/licensee relationship and the types of indemnification provisions typically found in license agreements. READ MORE
An industry where success and growth are contingent upon the continual advancement in design, practice and service, the spa industry is an ever-changing landscape. With the enhancement of health, beauty and medical esthetics, competition among spas continues to grow. Yet, the secrets of the most successful spas rely not on their menu of services, aesthetic appeal or distinctive location. In today's fierce market, spa leaders understand that with the changing times comes a greater need for well-trained and talented staff. James Bermingham of Montage Hotels & Resorts presents the six best practices of a spas most valuable asset: its therapists. READ MORE
Progressive hoteliers spend significant time analyzing their properties and identify areas where revenue potential can be expanded through packaging a range of services. While areas such as food and beverage, spa facilities, conference facilities and even additional leisure options such as golf courses, make up a hotelier's overall 'Asset', often overlooked is the role hotel technology can play in helping to package and promote offerings that expand beyond room rates. READ MORE
