A resort spa does not a day spa make
April 18th, 2007 • Posted by Skip Williams • Permalink
Understanding the Differences Between a Day Spa and a Resort Spa
Sometimes we get caught up in the fact that we are all part of one big industry performing many of the same tasks and trying to do the best that we can within a new and burgeoning marketplace. Sometimes we are so close to our day to day operations that we fail to see the forest through the trees. It is easy to draw similarities between Day Spas and Resort Spas, because we do the same type of work. What is harder to see is how different we are through our Clients’/Guests’ eyes, and how they have quite different expectations from each type of Spa. As a Consultant, I find that often my Clients do not always have a clear picture of these differences, and consequently end up offering the wrong menu of services to their Client/Guest or worse yet, building the wrong facility.
For example: You are a savvy traveler; you have been to some of the finest Resorts in the world. You sometimes wish that you had such a Spa in your backyard and you figure that others wish for the same thing. So you plan to build a Day Spa that is reminiscent of these fine Resort Spas that you have been to. However, if you understood the dynamics of why Day Spas are different and what makes them successful, you wouldn't be so confident in your decision to build this Spa.
In a Resort Spa we call our customers “Guests” in a Day Spa we call them “Clients”, that says a lot about the difference doesn’t it? Resorts are successful when they sell a “Spa Package” because they need to sell as much as they can during the Guest’s short stay, while Day Spas need to sell in “Series” because they need the Client to come back time after time, to create a desired habit, and the Day Spa makes its money over months and years of Client loyalty. Because Resort Spa Guests are “getting away” often for romantic or family vacations, they go to the Spa with someone else more often than when they go to a Day Spa. They are also more “experimental” and looking for a Spa visit that is more “experiential”.
When they visit a Day Spa it is usually alone and looking for results, be it beauty or wellness, it is more about results than the experience, it is usually for maintenance, not about relaxation or pampering. That is not to say that relaxation and pampering can’t happen in a Day Spa, or that results can’t happen in a Resort Spa. However those are not the core reasons for the Spa Goers’ visit, it is a bonus they may receive.
I like to think of the Day Spa like a good Café, a place you eat at weekly. You go there because you are hungry, they serve good food, and they deliver what you would expect. On the other hand, the Resort Spa is like a Fine Dining restaurant, you don’t go there because you are hungry, you go there for the experience, and usually only on special occasions.
The Café counts on loyalty and many future return visits, it could not afford to offer high end Fine Dining service or experience, and you could not afford it on a regular basis if they provided it. So it would be a mistake for a Café to try to emulate a Fine Dining restaurant, in much the same way it would be a mistake for a Day Spa to emulate either the facility or amenities of a Resort Spa as well as its menu of services.
I know we always talk about “the customer experience” and it is important indeed, however, there is a big difference in selling “an experience” vs. selling “results”. People will buy an experience once, but it becomes harder and harder to sell the same experience over and over to the same neighborhood, and if you try you will only sell Spa services on a special occasions.
A Resort can sell “the experience” because they know that statistics say that only a very low percentage of Guests will ever return (even if the experience was perfect), and almost none will return within a 12 month period. Conversely, a Day Spa would starve if most of its Clients never returned or only returned once a year.
So the difference between Resort and Day Spas from the consumers point of view (even if it is more intuitive than analytical) is; “give me a wide variety of services that focus less on results and more on ‘the experience’ when I am away from home, and give me a very narrow focus of specialties that can deliver incredible results each time when I am at home.”
Day Spas should NOT try to be everything to everybody, the most successful ones are the ones that focus on one or two specialties and become better at them than anyone else in town, that is how they build a reputation in their community, not by being a “one stop shop”.
Square footage and the use of the space are important in both types of Spas. It goes without saying that a common mistake for a Spa is having too much amenity space and not enough revenue space. That mistake is even more critical in a Day Spa environment where the price points are lower and the rent and advertising expenses (unlike a Resort Spa) need to be factored in. It is for that reason that “waterfall Jacuzzis”, Steam, Sauna, and other amenities that take copious space are often inadvisable in a Day Spa environment, while completely acceptable at a Resort Spa.
Spa Management for Resort Spas have to be concerned with the overall Guest Experience even outside the Spa, as the goal is just as much about “putting heads on beds” as it is about making budget in the Spa.
To conclude, understand what you are and who your market is. Specialize if you’re a Day Spa, have a wide offering if you’re a Resort. Keep the amenities to a minimum when you’re a Day Spa, and don’t get carried away with amenities when you’re a Resort Spa. Understand the goals of your business and don’t try to be something you are not (or should not) be. Have a focused niche when you’re a Day Spa, have a broad menu of services when you’re a Resort Spa. “Results” is the watch word for Day Spas, “Experience” is the goal for Resorts.
I hope that this little article will help you to think through what is appropriate for your Spa. It isn’t always easy to stay focused on “The Mission”, it is easy to try to be more than we are, but understanding your Guests’/Clients’ needs as well as your own strengths and weaknesses are paramount in making your Spa a success.
Skip Williams, the author of “The Reluctant Spa Director and the Mission Dream”, is a recognized speaker and author in the spa arena, recently voted “Spa Person of the Year”, with over thirteen (13) years of experience in the Management, Financial Development & Operational fields, in the Spa and Hospitality Industry as Spa Director, Controller and Business project Consultant. He brings his previous years of analytical business experience in a broad variety of manufacturing, retail and service businesses to studying Resort Spas, Day Spas, Medical Spas, Wellness Centers, and Salons: their profitability, how they operate, and what makes them successful. Skip is also Vice President of Resources and Development.
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April 18th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Great article Skip. It's helpful to see whether the things we do "fits" the Day Spa model.
April 23rd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I think the death of a day spa is high overhead. Some folks simply shoot to high by trying to be something they are not. Excellent article to keep us grounded.
April 24th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Dear jiiva [at] comcast [dot] net
Thank you for you comments on the blog post regarding he differences between Day & Resort Spas. I am sure it is just a small misuse (or misunderstanding) of the word "overhead", but I must disagree with what was written even if it is not what you meant. Overhead expenses are the fixed expenses in a business like rent, management, utilities, etc. These expenses are very small when compared with the "direct" or "variable" expenses in a Spa business, namely the cost of provider labor.
If most Spas overpaid for their overhead it would not have that significant an impact on the bottom line as the overpayment for labor that exists in our industry today. So it is not overhead that will be the death of the spa industry, instead it will be the cost of direct labor that could kill us. I think that is what you really meant to say and that you simply misspoke when you said "overhead" so this post is just to clarify.
Best Wishes & Healthy Profits
Skip Williams
November 9th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Thank you for your aricle! I have owned a business for almost 15 years and have never called myself a spa. I am wondering if I should. Everyone in my area is starting to call themselves spas but I seem to be the one that offers the most! Alot of our clients come in for deep dissue massage and a series of facials and accupuncture for medical reasons. I just don't know if this would turn clients the other way if we called ourself a spa. Your thought would be greatly appreciated. Melissa