Day Spa Owners at a Destination Spa: Massages, Facials, and Fun with Education Sprinkled In at Red Mountain Spa in Utah
Susie Ellis

I hadn't been to Red Mountain in over 4 years and was happy to experience it again. Milana Knowles, our VP Day Spa Sales and Marketing, held a Day Spa Retreat there with 35 of our partner day spa owners and managers. She invited me to speak to the group as part of the education part of the program.

I noticed a general level of improvement in décor, food and accommodations at Red Mountain. Of course staying in one of their new villas made the whole experience much more luxe than I had ever experienced it before. Their dedicated spa facility was a real improvement over their previous "temporary" treatment rooms. Now there is a nice view with a relaxation room, good product choices, and in general a more spa-like feel. The only problem was that either they didn't have enough therapists or all of their treatment times were booked solid. Seems they missed out on a lot of business because so many people wanted more treatments (including me) and couldn't get them. Although more expensive than in the past, it still is a good value. I understand they are almost fully booked in October. And of course the hiking, as always, was spectacular.
We had arranged day spa retreats in the past but this was our first one in a long time - and the first that Milana coordinated. By all counts it seems it was a tremendous success...with the day spa owners having (in many cases) their first destination spa experience. Milana provided most of the education as she is an expert on retail sales and has managed some of the largest day spas in the country. There wasn't a question she couldn't answer! Comfort Zone was the sponsor and they were very generous in gifting all of the participants with facials and an array of their full size products.

We reviewed the results of our recent Day Spa Survey 2007 and I even gave them a "sneak peek" of the Top Spa Trends we are considering for 2008. (top secret!) What I like about these retreats is that the day spa owners are willing to share information very openly because they come from all over the country and for the most part do not compete with each other. By the time we all enjoyed the evening Fire Ceremony at the end of the retreat, we had gotten to know each other and become friends. Even shedding some tears together around the fire on that full-moon night, felt surprisingly good.

Nap Spa, Sleep Spa, Yelo Spa: Napping in New York City - $24 for 40 minutes
by Susie Ellis

Ever since SpaFinder and Yelo were mentioned in the same New York Times article, I have been wanting to give Yelo - the nap spa - a try. Late last year when we came out with our list of top 10 spa trends for 2007, "Sleep Health Added to Spa Menus" was at the top of our list. And coincidentally (or not) Yelo was just opening. Yelo is a place in Manhattan where you can go for some quick r & r. Basically they offer foot reflexology and naps - in a kind of sleep cab, equipped with a special sleep chair designed for the most comfortable sleep position, music and lighting, all perfectly conducive to sleep.

Here is my report:
It was late Sunday afternoon as I rushed in a cab to get to my nap before Yelo closed. No one was available for foot reflexology because "they were all booked" which in spa-speak usually means "we don't have enough therapists." Indeed that seemed to be the case...but understandable since they just started opening on Sundays. I paid $18 for a 30 minute nap (and was told if I wanted to extend it I could). So I went to sleep cabin number 3 with the attendant and sat in the chair. She gave me a choice of music - or no music - or white noise. I choose a dreamy kind of music, she put a cashmere blanket over my legs, checked my temperature and adjusted the chair so that my knees were bent and my legs were slightly elevated above my torso. She is turned out the lights and let me know I will be awakened gradually with a simulated sunrise.

It takes me time to relax....my mind is wandering, thinking about the financials of this concept, whether or not I chose the right music, etc. Before I knew it, 30 minutes had passed and the sunrise light is coming up and I have only slept a few minutes. I asked for an extension and also for a music change to white noise. As soon as she closed the door, turned the music off, and added white noise, I noticed I was falling asleep almost instantly. 15 minutes and another sunrise later I meandered back to the front desk, payed for my extra nap, perused the retail area(which had various sleep aid products) before heading out to the sound of mid-town Manhattan.

Bottom line? Clever concept. Has possibilities. Could do more for sleep health. Anticipate expansion in other big cities. Not sure how profitable it is.

It will be fun to watch if the sleep cabs catches on...clearly sleep health is an important issue and there certainly have been times (like in airports or at work) when I would love to crawl into a sleep cab for a few minutes.

Pure Food and Wine Satisfies the Well Traveled Spa Professional
by Susie Ellis

Where do you take a group of spa professionals (from Hong Kong, Bangkok, Sweden, Canada, and from various cities around the U.S.) to dinner? These men and women travel the world several times a year to visit great spas, so my husband and I wanted it to be exceptional and memorable.

Pure Food and Wine was the choice - and it turned out to be a good one.

It is a gourmet raw food restaurant and has had terrific reviews. Not to mention it was a big hit with our group. Here is the restaurant's definition of raw food. And here is a glimpse of their menu.

Eco-Coach. Good Idea for Businesses, Spas, and SpaFinder!
by Susie Ellis

Eco-Coach. I love that name! At the end of this week, four members of the Spa Finder staff met with Anca Novacovici (pictured) and Alexandra Marchosky, the proprietors of a company called Eco-Coach. I was introduced to them by Alex von Bidder who is co-owner of the Four Seasons restaurant here in New York. They have been helping Alex make some adjustments in his restaurant to move toward more sustainable practices.

It seemed like a good idea to have some help with doing that in our offices. We formed a "Green Committee" a couple of years ago - that has met somewhat regularly to come up with environmentaly-friendly ideas and energy-saving office practices: recycling, saving electricity, being more conscious of paper usage, etc. Mark Mezrich, our Online Marketing Manager heads it up.

I will keep you posted on our progress. We are now in the first phase which they call an "Eco-Audit." They will be interviewing various members of our staff and learning about our current practices and costs before making recommendations.

I am used to terms like fitness coach, life coach, and wellness coach.....and will now add eco-coach to my vocabulary.

Cooper Life. "There is nothing quite like it". Spa and Wellness Living á la Cooper City!
By Susie Ellis

This article in the NY Times yesterday introduced more information about the spa lifestyle community concept that I am so fond of. Although they quoted me as saying "there is nothing like it" that wasn't exactly what I said, because indeed there are other great wellness living concepts (like Canyon Ranch Living, Miraval Living, Cliffs Wellness Communitites etc.) and I gave them the link to our spa lifestyle real estate section.

But it is true that there is nothing exactly like Cooper Life, with Dr.Ken Cooper at the helm and such a strong emphasis on fitness and aerobics in particular. I was also amazed to learn that a hospital is part of Cooper Life as well as an athletic training center. I do think it is a great stride forward (yes I noticed the pun!) in terms of giving people the chance to truly live a healthy lifestyle. This article will probably help people understand that better. There is a big trend toward Spa Lifestyle Living (which we had predicted in 2004), and this is another great model. Yippy!

"Silent Havens for Holistic Solutions" - The Perfect Description for Sacred Spas Created by Christina Ong
by Susie Ellis

I can only imagine how long it must have taken to come up with this spot-on perfect tag line: "Silent Havens for Holistic Solutions."

The other evening Peter and I attended a cocktail reception given at Donna Karan's Soho pad for Christina Ong, who was showcasing her Como Shambhala luxury resort properties. I was delighted to see that Mrs. Ong herself was at the reception since I understand she is very shy and not a fan of large social gatherings.

Some quick background if you haven't heard of Como Shambhala. Shambhala means "a sacred place of bliss," and Como is an acronym for Christina Ong and her daughter Melissa Ong. Their collection of unique and distinguished properties currently include:

Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
Metropolitan, London
Metropolitan, Bangkok
Como Shambhala Estate, Bali
Uma Ubud, Bali
The Halkin, London
Cocoa Island, Maldives
Uma Paro, Bhutan

I am sure there will be more. They seem to be on a roll...as each property seems to be another instrument in a symphony they have created. I have had the pleasure of visiting about half of their properties and will see the two in London next month. It is simply understood that no property will disappoint.

When I spoke with Mrs. Ong, her brightest smile came when I mentioned how talented her therapists appear to be. I understand that she screens every single therapist in her collection - and it shows!

The Como Shambhala properties have a dreamy quality and combine nature, yoga, and holistic therapies with expertly trained therapists in a setting that is tasteful and, at the same time, progressive in design. This simple formula works.

Creative Ideas to Re Energizer a Day Spa: Budget Massages, Express Massages, Yoga & Spa, Medical & Spa, etc.
by Susie Ellis

OK...one last blog about the recent research data and then on to more fun things...like meeting Chrisina Ong last night at a cocktail party at Donna Karan's....but first:

Let's take one last look at the S curve with emergent, growth, maturity, and decline phases for the spa industry. (Check previous blogs if you want to see the graphs.) Here is the key point - our spa industry as a whole is definitely not in a mature phase where there is a leveling off of the entire industry. In fact we are seeing a great deal of growth in many of the segments especially in the medical spa, spa lifestyle real estate, and in the resort/hotel sectors.

I do think that when you look at traditional stand-alone day spas we are beginning to see flattening and it is becoming harder for them to make profits. The huge increase in the numbers of day spas has saturated some markets and now many traditional day spas are facing large numbers of competitors. These competitors include other day spas, resort, and hotel spas which are open to day guests (almost all of them), medical spas, and some new players like the highly discounted "no-frills" establishments, fitness clubs adding better spas, etc.

Critical point.....day spas that are facing this reality need to think about ways to begin a new S curve to breathe new life into their businesses. Here are some possibilities:

1. Narrow your focus and specialize in something that has growth opportunity and less competition.
2. Expand your offerings to include a segment which is in the growth phase.
3. Partner with someone (inside or outside of the spa industry) who is in the growth phase.
4. Turn the business over by selling it or even giving it away to someone who has the resources, energy, and vision to grow it again in new ways.

Here are some ideas of industry aspects that are more likely to be in a growth phase, which if incorporated properly, might help jump-start a flattening day spa:

• Express Services


• Budget Massages


• Budget Facial Treatments


• Mobile Spa


• Baby Spa


• All Men


• Party Spas


• Ayurvedic Focus


• Tween Focus


• Mobile Services


• Fitness Services (Yoga, Core, Pilates, etc.)


• Luxury Level


• Squeaky Clean Facility


• Medical Spas (the greatest opportunity might be here)


• etc.

Think of businesses outside of the spa industry that have made some changes which started a new S curve and thus re-energized their businesses:

Dunkin' Donuts began emphasizing lattes instead of their donuts.

Airlines that were threatened by the new low-cost airlines slashed their prices and then got creative to keep their customers.

McDonalds added playgrounds.

Movie theaters began letting you order tickets online.

Travel agents threatened with competition from online discounters began improving their service and changed their fee model.

I am sure you can think of other examples...in fact let us know by clicking on "Comments" and sharing them with us. This is a good time for us to help each other out with business ideas as it helps our entire industry to have strong healthy profitable businesses out there.

The destination spa, day spa, resort spa, medical spa and spa lifestyle real estate categories. Where they fall on the S-Curve.
by Susie Ellis

OK, let’s talk about where we think the spa industry falls along the S-Curve. (see previous post for a graph) To start with, let’s look at some of the different spa segments individually. Remember this is somewhat subjective and as pointed out by Rob Millard, it becomes clearer in retrospect. Here is how I see it today from my vantage point:

Spa Lifestyle Real Estate -- Emergent Phase
Medical Spas -- Growth Phase
Resort Spas -- Growth Phase
Day Spas -- Growth/Maturity Phase
Destination Spas -- Maturity/Decline Phase

Tomorrow I will share with you some of the reasons why I think these phases apply and most importantly talk about how maturity can spawn a new S-Curve which brings with it new opportunities at an even higher and possibly even more profitable level!

Is the U.S. Spa Industry Emerging, Growing, Maturing or Declining? Let's Look at Day Spas, Resort Spas, Medical Spas, and more.
By Susie Ellis

The S-Curve was one concept I learned in graduate business school that has been a helpful tool since I was a student. There are lots of ways S-Curves have been explained and I think it is fun to spend a bit of time reading about them. I apply the S-Curve model to products, businesses, industries, even relationships.

The S-Curve model is particularly relevant as we discuss the spa industry today. Here is a graph from an article by Rob Millard that explains the four stages quite well: emergence, growth, maturity and decline.


If possible, take a moment to read the entire article. Tomorrow we can discuss where we think the spa industry falls on the S-curve. (Hint, it might be a good idea to segment our industry as day spas, resort spas, medical spas, spa lifestyle real estate, etc. may have different S-Curves.)
Let me know what you think - click on "Comments."

The Spa Industry is More than just Revenues from Spas as Defined by the International Spa Association (ISPA)
by
Susie Ellis

Box office revenues are not the entire movie industry.
Cruise ship revenues are not the entire cruise industry.
Spa revenues are not the entire spa industry.

I am at the Telluride Film Festival this weekend. In addition to visiting my twin sister, Katrine, who is working on a condominium project here in town, I am joining her for some of the Telluride Film Festival activities.

My mind is never too far away from my work in the spa world…and so it might not be such a surprise that I am continuing my thoughts regarding spa industry research figures. My experience here at the film festival gives me a chance to look at a different industry in which it is clear that while the entire movie industry might be viewed as a pie, box office receipts are only a piece of that pie.

Furthermore, the pie as well as the piece which is called box office receipts, has been redefined over the years. Doing a bit of internet research this morning (before attending my next film), I learned that while the movie industry used to look only at box office revenue, they later began adding revenue figures from new markets such as VHS and DVD rental and sell through, acknowledging that the entire home video, cable and pay per view aspects have all become part of the movie industry’s revenue figures.

Perhaps it is time for our spa industry to relook at what revenue figures we want to report as well as how we should present the entire spa industry “pie.” Do we really want to give the impression that our spa industry is flat (or declining) because revenue from spas as defined by ISPA was 9.4 billion in 2006 versus 9.7 billion in 2005 and that there were 16% fewer spa visits in 2006 versus 2005? Or is it time for us to recognize that while fewer people might be going to traditional spas the way ISPA defines them, there are more people having spa services because they are going to discount massage and aesthetic establishments, having spa services in their homes, purchasing spa products and supplies from sources other than spas, etc. Also, I think it would be beneficial if we began looking at our spa industry more broadly – beyond just the spa revenue figures – and include spa construction, capital improvements, equipment and supplies, marketing, real estate, real estate premiums, etc. It would likely paint a more robust picture.