Tag Archives: Spa Trends 2010

6) Top 10 Spa Trends 2010: The Price Is (Still) Right – Revisited

payday 300x300 6) Top 10 Spa Trends 2010: The Price Is (Still) Right RevisitedSo let’s take a look at our 2010 prediction called “The Price is (Still) Right.”  I think “bingo” sums it up.

6) The Price Is (Still) Right

2009’s headline spa story was the industry’s aggressive response to the global recession and the near-universal focus on deals, deals, and more deals. While there’s (cautious) consensus that the economy is in recovery mode, there’s great news for consumers in 2010: The spa bargains will continue apace, not only straight discounting, but also more innovative incentives smartly designed by spas to drive incremental revenue and retain loyal customers. And keep an eye out for savvy new spas combining less expensive treatments and facilities with a touch of glamour, hitting that sweet spot between “nice” and “price.”

While economists predict there will be a modest economic recovery next year, don’t fret, spa-goers. You’re still going to see very attractive spa pricing and specials. In fact, a new industry survey shows that, rather than a discounting backlash, spas are planning either to maintain 2009 deal levels, and even increase them, across the whole spectrum of spa incentive categories. One reason is the continued increase in supply. After all, there were spas in various stages of construction at the start of the recession, and while some scrapped or delayed plans, many saw it through, and we’ve continued to see a significant growth in new spas across these two difficult years.

When it comes to “pure” discounts (straight percentage/dollars off), 51 percent of spas plan the same level as 2009, and 35 percent actually expect to somewhat or significantly boost them (only 14 percent plan less). But watch for more imaginative, personal, retention-focused offers on the (massage) table in the new year: Sixty-six percent of spas plan to increase their “value-add” offers (extras thrown in to keep prices the same), while another 31 percent will stand firm on these value-add offers. Sixty-three percent plan to increase their “creative” discounts (like memberships, two-for-ones, sampling programs), while another 29 percent will stand firm there. And 41 percent plan to increase “overall value pricing” (not deal-focused, but setting the right, upfront price). Basically, fewer than 1 in 10 spas report they expect to decrease discounting in the year ahead.

Consumers will see more unique offers like loyalty points/rebates toward future services, generous rewards for referring friends, VIP pricing for regular clients, and even open house events where consumers sample new treatments for a nominal fee or free. These deals will keep brands and the spa/wellness value perception front and center.

So get ready for more deal days ahead, and in March, SpaFinder will roll out its own “Deal Days,” when $50 treatment prices hit a spa near you!

Discounting and creative incentives did abound this year, and if anything, there might have been more deals and more creativity than we even expected!  I think that Groupon, Gilt, Rue La La and the like are what added to the frenzy as we learned how important the spa category is in their programs.  Despite some luxury brands trying to hold their own with pricing (Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental) creative pricing was the norm.  We get an “A” for this prediction.

My twitter address: @susieellis

5) SpaFinder Top Spa Trend 2010: The Hybrid Spa – Revisited

hybrid 5) SpaFinder Top Spa Trend 2010: The Hybrid Spa Revisited

So let’s take a look at our 5th spa trend prediction for 2010 called “The Hybrid Spa” and see how we did. (Hint, my grade is lower than the first four trends on this one.)

Last year at this time we were noticing a movement toward fusing several concepts together.  For many years we had seen a certain cookie cutter approach to spa:  an establishment with massage, facials, body treatments, mani/pedi, make-up, Enya music, soft lights, a boutique, and a name that usually started with the letter A that linked itself to Sanskrit.  (ok, I just threw in that last bit to vet my frustration about all those A spas I have a hard time keeping straight…Amani, Amano, Avania, Aji, Amatra, Aspira, Anara, Alilla…you get the picture.  Sanskrit?  Or internet search advantage?  Hmm.

So here is how we described the Hybrid Spa.

The modern spa is increasingly a “hyphenated” affair, with spas incorporating far more fitness, fitness centers incorporating more spa, hospitals incorporating spa elements, and spas bringing in more medical doctors and specialists. The era of the spa/fitness/integrated-health-center/hospital/spiritual-retreat/wellness-center/beauty-clinic is on a serious upswing. It’s one integrated human body, after all, and the “pure” spa is on the decline, while the hybrid spa is busy inventing new you-name-it, plugged-in models.

According to a recent industry survey, 64 percent of spas today still identify themselves as a “pure spa,” but 38 percent of those plan to add hybrid (fitness, complementary medicine, etc.) elements in the future. So with only 26 percent of spas vowing to remain “pure,” the profusion of hybrid models on today’s spa showroom isn’t surprising. Twenty percent of spas now offer exercise/fitness, 29 percent offer wellness/complementary medicine (acupuncture, etc.), 35 percent feature spirituality/mind offerings (meditation, etc.), while 25 percent offer classes on wellness topics, etc. For consumers, it means your exercise and overall health and wellness regime—and your spa—are naturally merging.

Consider the hyphens: “club spas” combining fitness and spa, chiropractic and spa, “Biggest Loser”-style boot camps and spa, mobile spas within hotel spas, every breed of medical and spa, “beauty bars” combining manicures and martinis, hospitals morphing into “integrative health centers” or “spa-spitals,” spa and fertility, spa and meditation, spas providing cancer care—even spas integrating fitness programs that are themselves fusion-hybrid models: spinning yoga, pilates, ballet, kettle balls, weights, hula hoops—you name it—into new amalgams. Fueling the trend: Investors are more keen on spending on the broader health and wellness category today than on pure spa.

Examples include: Nuffield Health (200 U.K. facilities), combining the hospital/clinic/diagnostic center with the health club and full spa services, interweaving yoga, physiotherapy, etc.; the Malo Clinic Spa at the Venetian Macau-Resort Hotel in China, an integrative wellness center offering both comprehensive medical treatments and executive health checkups (six operating theaters, a staff of 50 doctors, etc.) with a full spa featuring 100 spa therapists; Exhale MindBodySpa (15 day spa locations from Los Angeles to the Caribbean), integrating yoga and fitness classes, acupuncture, nutrition, workshops, fertility programs, etc., around the core spa model; and Joan Lunden’s Camp Reveille, combining a traditional women’s “summer camp” with spa, set to travel to destination/resort spas across the U.S. next year. Still to come? Word has it that trendy global clothing giant Urban Outfitters will be rolling out a hybrid of its own.

Upon review, I can see that, yes indeed, we are seeing lots of hybrids.  But I am also struck by how broad of a definition we were using for hybrid!  It pretty much cast almost any spa that added a point of differentiation as a hybrid.  Tsk Tsk.  On the other hand I have heard from people – including someone as astute as Michael Tompkins, GM of Miraval – that this trend was a real inspiration for 2010.  Michael mentioned that it spoke to him in a way that resulted in all kinds of creative additions to Miraval’s programming!

So while I would probably grade myself a C  for not defining hybrid more clearly, I am going to balance that out with a A for having listed a heck of a lot of great examples of hybrids happening out there.  So in the spirit of the hybrid…I will give myself a B on this one.

My twitter address: @susieellis

4) SpaFinder Spa Trend 2010: The Online Spa – Revisited

onlinespa 4) SpaFinder Spa Trend 2010: The Online Spa Revisited

Reviewing our spa trend prediction for 2010, “The Online Spa,” I think it is pretty clear that this did in fact happen during an unprecidented year of advancements and adoption of everything virtual.  If anything, I would say there have been some things that became big news in the tech world this year that we didn’t mention.  More on that in a bit.

Spa Trend #4:  The Online Spa

2010 will prove a watershed year for the spa’s virtual presence. Consumers are already finding spas online, booking treatments, joining online weight loss and coaching groups. They are printing out instant gift certificates, shopping virtual spa stores, being influenced by online reviews, and embracing social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. (Some even play the Sally Spa game (http://sallysspa-game.com/). But there’s more to come.

Get ready for gaming while you exercise, for having health information (like your blood pressure and heart rate) automatically uploaded for access online by your spa or doctor, and for spas to use yield management software that (much like the airlines) enables price variation, so spas can offer a less expensive massage on weekday mornings, compared to Saturday afternoons. And in early 2010, you’ll be able to stroll down any street in the U.S. and check your iPhone to pinpoint the spa nearest you, thanks to the upcoming SpaFinder App.

Sure, the Internet’s been around roughly 15 years, but there’s always that breakthrough year when online really clicks for each industry, and 2010 looks to be the defining one for spa adoption of Internet and social media marketing, along with new cutting-edge spa apps. It’s all being driven by global consumer behavior—the Web is simply where they “live” now. And these consumers expect instant information on spa services and offers, and even instant gratification with 24/7 reservations.

A recent SpaFinder survey reveals that 76 percent of spas are already selling gift certificates online, and an additional 8 percent have plans to. Thirty-three percent have embraced online, real-time appointment booking, and 21 percent plan to. Thirty-two percent currently sell online retail products, and 27 percent plan to. And spas are jumping into new social media platforms to connect with clients, albeit with a significant preference for Facebook over Twitter: Fifty-five percent of spas are now using Facebook (another 17 percent plan to), while 32 percent are using Twitter to get their deals out, and 19 percent plan to. (A more modest 29 percent currently use/plan to use mobile marketing.)

And with the explosion of online review and booking sites (i.e., Citysearch and Yelp in the U.S., Booking.com in Europe, SpaFinder.com globally), consumers are increasingly selecting spas based on what real-world consumers say online. Thankfully, spas are beginning to pay attention to their online reputations: Sixty-one percent now encourage their clients to write online reviews, and another 14 percent plan to.

In general, the way spas virtually connect with consumers is getting far, far more creative. But, while it seems you can almost “spa online” these days, there’s still nothing that can (or will) replace human touch. Spa, in fact, may be the ultimate countertrend to the world’s online virtual mania.

Since SpaFinder is on the cutting edge of technology, I am not surprised that we were quite accurate with our predictions regarding spas and cyberspace.  (Ok, maybe the Sally Spa Game didn’t quite hit the big time…) However, one big thing that we didn’t mention in our trend prediction was the Ipad.  Furthermore, I think that mobile became more important than I mentioned in our write-up.  Being an iPad user myself, I can now see what a great tool it is for reading online and enjoying beautiful photography, all while staying connected.  That is all a huge plus for spas and consumers.

Mobile has been on the trend radar for quite some time, and everyone predicted that it would be huge.  However there has been a lag in companies creating mobile websites; it isn’t just a matter of taking what you have online now, flipping a switch, and having it work for mobile.  You basically have to build your site all over again – and that is costly and time consuming.  Nevertheless, SpaFinder has recently taken the plunge and I can see now that the idea of life becoming almost completely mobile is beginning to look plausible.

I think I am going to give an A for this spa trend prediction.  And I won’t penalize myself for not trumpeting the Ipad. Hey, no one can keep up with everything going on in technology these days!

My twitter address: @susieellis

3) SpaFinder Spa Trend 2010: Not “Going to” But “Belonging to” a Spa – Revisited

membership 3) SpaFinder Spa Trend 2010: Not “Going to” But “Belonging to” a Spa RevisitedContinuing on with my review of SpaFinder’s 2010 Top 10 Spa Trends (and then evaluating how the trend actually developed), let’s looks at #3: Not “Going to” But “Belonging to” a Spa.  This trend has been huge for 2010 and, in some ways, even exceeded our expectations; there has been a significant effort to create this “belonging” aspect online as well!

In fact here is an article by Jane McGonigal called The Engagement Economy that shows just how important engaging customers is becoming, and how doing so online is becoming a real art.  (You might also enjoy her recent TED talk.)

3) Not “Going to” But “Belonging to” a Spa

No longer a place where you infrequently “go” for the occasional treatment, spas are being creatively reimagined as places of “belonging”—not only literally, through the rise in membership programs, but also in the diverse ways spas are being recast as social or communal hubs—contributing the additional, although unspoken, benefit of emotional health.

Five years ago, it would be difficult to imagine the spa as your “hangout,” where everyone knows your name, but new industry approaches are making “spa belonging” a reality, and in 2010 consumers will further bond with their less forbidding spas, as they increasingly hit the spa to connect with others.

According to a recent SpaFinder global survey, only a small percentage of spas have some kind of membership program today, but 23 percent report they’re actively considering implementing one. The membership model is an extremely savvy strategy for tough times (and beyond), keeping valued clients close; filling therapist time; helping “stay” spas attract local, day customers; and increasing revenue from membership fees/dues. (Note: Spa clients spend on average 18 percent more after they become members.) And consumers love the (often significantly) reduced treatment rates, the incremental, personal discounts, and rewards/loyalty programs.

Every species of spa is rolling out memberships: popular day spa chains like California’s Burke-Williams and Total Woman, urban hotel spas like the Peninsula NYC and the Intercontinental in San Francisco, destination spas like the Oaks at Ojai in California, even spa residences like Canyon Ranch Living and mobile spas like the UK’s TherapyClub.com.

But “belonging” transcends mere membership, as spas are transforming themselves into places of community, education, and social mingling with events like free meditation sessions at lunch, wellness speakers/classes in the evening, parties, fundraisers, local philanthropic events, spa hiking/walking groups, and book clubs. The industry is getting innovative with this “Social Spa-ing 2.0”: Consider the wine lounge at the new Caudalie Spa at New York’s Plaza Hotel, where bathrobe-clad spa-goers enjoy wine tasting while chatting with the sommelier (and each other) posttreatment.

Look for significantly more programs at spas next year that bond consumers to spas and people to each other. After all, winning designs submitted by grad students at the 2009 Global Spa Summit Student Strategy Challenge revealed that the next generation of spa designers find the current spa environment, in a word, boring and imagine the “spa of the future” as a multiuse communal space revolving around a lounge/bar/”hangout” area, even incorporating online social media connections.

I think it will be interesting to watch how spas continue to engage their customers and how valuable consumers find this ongoing relationship with their spa – whether it is in person or online.  (hint hint… one of the 2011 trends we are tracking looks at the next generation of ”belonging to the spa.”)  But I digress.  On this 2010 spa trend prediction I would say we deserve an A for identifying it, and a minus for not having mentioned that this also pertained to online.  Grade?  A-

My twitter address: @susieellis

2) SpaFinder Spa Trend 2010: Year of the Hammam – Revisited

trump hammamimage003 300x274 2) SpaFinder Spa Trend 2010: Year of the Hammam RevisitedContinuing on with my review of SpaFinder’s 2010 Top 10 Spa Trends (and then evaluating how the trend actually developed), we predicted an increasing popularity of hammams.

Admittedly this trend took many people by surprise, in fact, I don’t think anyone really saw this one coming!  (I love it when that happens!)  Our research, however, put this one on our radar.  Having the chance to speak with many companies who create hydro and thermal experiences for spas, I knew that there were more hammams on the drawing board than in years past.  The spas at the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas and Trump Soho in New York were under construction and both would have hammams.  I knew that would be big news.  What I didn’t know was whether or not these spas would host authentic hammams, or if they would simply put the name hammam on a steam room (which is one of my pet peeves).  I was happy to learn that both committed to the traditional experience, even using authentic terms such as kese, pestemal, and belly stone for example.  The New York Times even made it a point to compliment the effort toward authenticity.

Here is what we wrote about the trend a year ago:

Spa Trend #2:  The Year of the Hammam

With spa-goers increasingly seeking authenticity, tradition, and that magical spa experience that also offers true results, the Eastern European/Middle Eastern/North African hammam (hamam in Turkey) represents one of the hottest trends for 2010, albeit with a distinctly modern expression. This is the year in which people who’ve never heard the term hammam will learn its meaning, and those already familiar with it will discover new places to experience it.

Anyone who has sampled this age-old ritual of cleansing and purification will not be surprised by its rising popularity. The combination of a vigorous full-body scrub and bubbly soaping, now often capped by a full-body massage, makes for an extraordinary experience, with results that last weeks. A traditional hammam, from an Arabic word meaning “heat,” consists of a hot room (the sıcaklık, or hararet), a warm, intermediate room, and the cool room (or soğukluk). And these are not ordinary rooms but typically architectural marvels.

Spa-goers love hammams because one can extend this Eastern European/Middle Eastern/North African multicircuit bathing experience for hours. Spa owners love them because of their photogenic “wow” design and the opportunity to make money, since the treatment requires a therapist and allows for top dollar/Euro pricing. And although traditionally they’ve been a same-sex experience, new modern twists have broadened the experience to couples.

Travel to venerable hammams like the 16th-century Çemberlita in Istanbul will increase, while brand-new spas will unveil distinctly modern incarnations. Introduced to the modern spa scene by lavish Middle Eastern resort spas (such as Dubai’s One and Only Royal Mirage or Morocco’s La Mamounia), next-generation versions are already gaining popularity in Europe, where top spa builders and product manufacturers report a serious increase in requests for a hammam component in new spa design. The trend is hitting North America: Ten Spa in Winnipeg, Canada opened a few years ago with a hamam and offers a variety of experiences including their “Hamam Fully Loaded” treatment. This year both the Drift Spa at Palms Place and Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas recently rolled out hammams, as did the new InterContinental Montelucia in Arizona. Trump Soho in Manhattan (slated for early 2010) will boast separate luxury hammams for men and women. And expect Turkish hammams in both the Traymore and Epic Hotels in Miami. You can also expect more floating versions on cruise ships soon.

And delegates attending the 2010 Global Spa Summit (fittingly taking place in Istanbul next May) will sample both ancient and modern local interpretations. In the future, look for sauna or steam rooms around the world inappropriately labeled “hammams” to be taken to task as the industry commits to higher standards of authenticity.

So how did we do?  I think this one was a mixed bag; clearly there was buzz about hammams as expected, however, there were several on the drawing board that were nixed due to the recession.  I was somewhat disappointed to find out that some hammams in the U.S. (Drift Spa, Traymore and Epic) are still used as steam rooms without the great scrubbing, soaping, and detoxing ritual that makes it such a great treatment.

On the other hand, I was really impressed with some of the exciting new products that gave nods to the hammam including:  The Red Flower Hammam Range, Davines Hammam Soap Ritual,  and the wonderfully fragrant line of hammam blend oils from [comfort zone].

Finally, I am proud of the fact that our alliance with NewBeauty Magazine, which now includes a SpaFinder supplement with each issue, showcased hammams in their inaugural issue!  Furthermore, because the Global Spa Summit was held in Istanbul, and most of the 250 delegates experienced a traditional hammam ritual, I am very optomistic that we will continue to see more true hammams develop around the world.

So, my grade for this trend would be an A -.  I am giving myself some extra credit for having taken the risk to predict something totally out of the blue!

More information on Hammam.

My twitter address: @susieellis