Tag Archives: spa and resort expo

“Silent Havens for Holistic Solutions” – The Perfect Description for Sacred Spas Created by Christina Ong

como.shambhala.logo 717814 Silent Havens for Holistic Solutions The Perfect Description for Sacred Spas Created by Christina Ong“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 Energize a Day Spa: Budget Massages, Express Massages, Yoga & Spa, Medical & Spa, etc.

future.change 765839 Creative Ideas to Re Energize a Day Spa: Budget Massages, Express Massages, Yoga & Spa, Medical & Spa, etc.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.

A Motorcycle Ride to Red Mountain Spa

20040025 725505 A Motorcycle Ride to Red Mountain SpaGot a call from my husband Peter last night. He was at the Red Mountain Adventure Spa in Utah and had just finished a two-hour massage. He is a happy camper because this is “his” week. He rode his motorcycle all the way from Manhattan to Sturgis, South Dakota. And if you wonder why he would go to Sturgis, then you probably do not have any Harley-owning friends. It is the yearly Mecca of motorcycle enthusiasts – 700,000 this year – where all bike riders do, well, what bikers do. Buy leather jackets, gadgets for their bikes, show off their bike’s unique paint jobs, get tattoos, etc. I went with Peter a few years ago just to see what all the fuss was about. It was a hoot – but once was enough for me. This year he stayed two days, then headed to Red Mountain on his way to California, where he will leave the bike and then fly home. Admittedly, I will breathe a little easier when I hear that the bike is parked in California.

**
If you wish to be put on a list that automatically sends my blog posts to your email, just let dulcy.gregory@spafinder.com know and she will add you to that list. Thanks so much!