Outlook for 2024: the rise and rise of experiential travel
Seeking unique travel experiences will remain a robust trend in a growing global tourism market in 2024, which has key implications for hotel operators. Read more
Success takes several forms for a spa or a wellness facility. Reaching the expected return on investment by generating strong revenue flows and a healthy profit is an enviable achievement. A spa may even beat the market in profitability, although that’s a difficult task. Sixty percent of spas in the U.S. hotel and resort sector recorded profit margins of at least 20% in 2018, according to the International Spa Association’s latest annual industry study.
Design contributes to profitability and is a key factor in planning a new spa. Essential questions investors should ask about design before launching a project include: Financial results depend on how well hotel and spa departments complement each other. Success is a mutual affair. Spas should stand on their own financially, but they rely on economies of scale from being within a hotel (including areas such as F&B, housekeeping, laundry and shipping and receiving). In return, wellness facilities can increase hotel occupancy during off-peak periods and generate additional F&B and retail revenues. According to commercial real estate firm Avison Young, a hotel can really bring about a 30% to 35% profit conversion for a spa (excluding unallocated costs like administration and utilities) provided that the offering and design are correct for its market.
Good spa performance isn’t only outstanding ROI, revenue or profit. Wellness facilities ultimately need to provide excellent guest experiences to flourish. It is imperative they offer a robust spa menu delivered by an exceptionally caring staff, provide spotless facilities with lovely amenities and personalize services as much as possible, especially in the luxury sector where this is now a basic expectation.
Successful spa developers create facilities that, in addition to traditional relaxation, provide opportunities for fitness and exercise, social gathering, self-service opportunity, heat treatments, cooling services, relaxation areas and places of respite incorporating the great outdoors, depending on the location, the weather and the available budget.
However, specific treatments or services may not be what customers talk about as the ambassadors of the spa’s business. Spa guests tend to speak about their experiences as a whole, share their impressions from before and after treatments and give opinions about the environment or spaces where their spa experiences were delivered.
Intrigue and creativity win here. Customers seek unique spaces and adventures: what it is like to nap on a swinging bed or relax in a secret spa garden, how different temperate pools or a salt inhalation room feel, how they climbed a mountain or biked down a volcano or how they assisted the chef with dinner herbs in the restaurant. An exciting central feature creates a wow factor.
Design is even part of encouraging guests to share memorable moments on Facebook, Instagram or other social platforms. To encourage guests to post about their visit and interact with the spa on social media, spa designers can create special areas for selfies, use video storytelling to present the effects of treatments, add Instagram-able furniture or decorations and create Facebook events for spa programs.
The right design for a spa or a wellness facility incorporating appealing spaces and first-rate touchpoints helps investors, developers and operators reach their financial targets and is essential to customer satisfaction. While wellness and wellbeing be different for each guest, all guests respond to memorable special experiences. When a spa or wellness facility delivers that, it arrives at another level of success.
Seeking unique travel experiences will remain a robust trend in a growing global tourism market in 2024, which has key implications for hotel operators. Read more
Seeking unique travel experiences will remain a robust trend in a growing global tourism market in 2024, which has key implications for hotel operators. Read more
In RLA Global's latest article on Hotel Executive, Paul Sawford explores the fusion of historical preservation with modern resort development, offering innovative strategies for enhancing cultural tourism and protecting heritage in the hospitality sector. Read more
In RLA Global's latest article on Hotel Executive, Paul Sawford explores the fusion of historical preservation with modern resort development, offering innovative strategies for enhancing cultural tourism and protecting heritage in the hospitality sector. Read more
Roger Allen and Dimitris Manikis enjoy several days of strategic discussions and market exploration in Montreux. Read more
Roger Allen and Dimitris Manikis enjoy several days of strategic discussions and market exploration in Montreux. Read more
RLA Global celebrates a vibrant first quarter, with ongoing projects on four continents enhancing our global footprint and signaling a promising year in hospitality. Read more
RLA Global celebrates a vibrant first quarter, with ongoing projects on four continents enhancing our global footprint and signaling a promising year in hospitality. Read more
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