Spa Marketing Strategies

How to incorporate F&B and spa design tips.

-- Hotels, 3/1/2008

Group Marketing Strategies For Spas

Spas can provide a great venue not only for group sales (think bridal parties), but also for special events. Blocking off the spa for a group to use in the evening when the facility would otherwise be closed (and not generating revenue) is simply good business, says Richard Dusseau, president of Denver-based Spa Strategy Inc.

“That really helps—opening at night for private groups,” says Yolanda Harris, spa director at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, Nashville, Tennessee. “We promote being flexible—we can open early or stay late for groups.”

Adds John Catchen Dunn, spa director at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas, “With people coming from all over the country, when they travel to a different time zone, they may be up at 4 a.m. It varies group to group. We have posted hours, but meeting coordinators know that if they propose a group activity in off hours, we will accommodate them.”

At the brand new Spa at Trump inside the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, Spa Director Deja Goldstein says, “Private events are near and dear to my heart. We’ve already opened the door to corporate inquiries and team-building days. We have great relationships with the local business community.”

Goldstein is fortunate to have quite a bit of space, with dual locker rooms, three relaxation lounges, a health club and a pool in addition to 11 treatment rooms. There’s also plenty of nook space along the banks of large windows on the spa floor (which offer sweeping views of Chicago’s downtown “Loop” and Lake Michigan), where event staff can set up seating and/or cocktail tables for catered evening events. “It was almost designed this way by accident,” she says.

For Market Relevancy, Offer Sense of Place

For spas, “it’s paramount to establish a sense of identity or sense of place,” says Cary Collier, principal, Whitefish, Montana-based Blu Spas Inc. “There’s a lot of contrived design—like trying to be an Asian spa in Cleveland. Our design mantra for our company is that we are creating authentic spas. My belief is that the design and ambiance of a spa is equally important with treatments and service.”

Dusseau agrees with Collier’s thoughts when it comes to the luxury hotel segment. “A unique concept that reflects the locale for that property is very important,” he says. “The spa needs to reinforce the greater positioning of the hotel.” He gives the example of the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, in Thailand, where the spa design is classically Thai and treatments are inspired by Thai rituals and incorporate native herbs, spices and aromatic oils.

Across the glob, at the Gaylord Opryland, which is located in “Music City, USA” (Nashville, Tennessee), the spa has embraced the local culture, says Spa Director Yolanda Harris. “For our next promotion, we’re working on one called ‘Love the Music, Love the Soul.’ It incorporates music into treatments, so guests [can get more relaxed and deeply into the treatments].” Harris also says she is looking at bringing a harpist into the spa lobby.

Roomservice Can Mean Added Revenue

While it can be difficult in some cases to run a profitable spa café because of traffic or volume issues, “anytime you can keep your guest in one revenue center longer he/she will spend more money,” Dusseau says. Which is why “roomservice within a spa is a good thing,” he argues.

Of course, hoteliers must be sensitive to the fact that some food items have strong smells, and that not all spa-goers necessarily want to know when food arrives for one individual. With that in mind, Dusseau says, a menu of healthy and nutritionally balanced “spa cuisine” may be a hit not only for spa roomservice, but for regular roomservice and hotel restaurants as well.