Ladies, what are the chances of hearing your husband or boyfriend discuss getting his back waxed, or how aromatherapy helped alleviate his stress levels? Slim, most definitely. However, what was once considered rare behavior -- men going to spas to relax and indulge -- is now commonplace. It's a trend that has been quietly building momentum for a number of years.
Ever since the late '90s, there has been a lot of anecdotal evidence circulating that men are becoming more open to the spa experience, although nothing concrete enough to allow an incentive planner to offer spa incentives to men in a big way. But that changed in 2003, when men's acceptance of spas and awareness of style and grooming achieved critical mass. With a hit TV show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, a research study, and a sociological buzz term -- metrosexual -- there's no longer just anecdotal evidence as to why an incentive program should offer spa options to men. It's practically a no-brainer.
Jim Dittman, President of Dittman Incentive Marketing Corporation in New Brunswick, NJ, notes that "ten years ago the spa issue was a nonfactor [among men]; five to eight years ago it was more driven toward females, and two years ago it finally touched on men, and has been increasing ever since." And now there's hard research to support in-the-field observations like Dittman's. A June 2003 study on "The Future of Men" by New York City-based communications group Euro RSCG Worldwide, and the Lexington, KY-based International Spa Association's (ISPA) "2003 Spa-goer" report, both found that men are more comfortable with their bodies and are discovering the benefits and luxuries of laying down their macho guard and accepting a spa treatment as if it were a round of golf.
Out of the Closet
There is a new trend emerging: Men are becoming more style- and grooming-conscious, as well as concerned with their mental and physical health. Metrosexuals are an emerging breed of straight men who know and care about fashion, food, and good grooming, and don't care who knows it, as stated in the study by Euro RSCG Worldwide. The report "found that the popular image of men as insensitive, macho slobs is a relic of the past," says Marian Salzman, chief strategy officer at Euro RSCG, who conducted this research. "In this century, [men] are finding the courage to explore the female domain without the fear of losing their status as 'real men,' " adds Salzman. "The trend stems from a growing social acceptance of men who embrace style consciousness and appearance concerns long associated with women. As gender roles become more homogenous, men are less tied to the tight restrictions of machismo and the traditional male boundaries." Men are satiating their so-called feminine desires and are not afraid to do so -- in fact, it's now even considered manly. It may be a little extreme for your man to discuss getting anything waxed, but more spa resorts are reporting a heavy increase in massages among men and are even creating spa menus to cater directly to this influx.
According to the ISPA 2003 study, more than 44.9 million people visited a spa from June 2002 to June 2003, 29 percent of whom were men, an increase of 5 percent from the previous year. The Euro RSCG survey found that 82 percent of the 510 males sampled consider good grooming essential for businessmen today, and 49 percent see nothing wrong with a man getting a facial. So it's no surprise that Deborah Evans, general manager of the Red Mountain Adventure Spa in St. George, UT, reports that when the spa opened five years ago, men comprised 10 percent of the total guests, but now that figure has jumped to 35 percent.
Metro Motivation
Many incentive companies, like Carlson Marketing Group in Minneapolis, have found that their clients will not consider a resort if it doesn't have a spa, since both men and women are attracted to spa treatments when they are on business or an incentive. "Many of our clients will not even consider going to a resort unless there is a spa on site, which is a big departure from years and years ago," says Cynthia Grissom, director of industry relations at Carlson. "The choice of having a spa activity on an incentive program has become a must these days. And it is as acceptable to do on a program as golf," adds Tim McKenna, manager of strategic travel and events procurement for Carlson.
Marci DuBois, a meetings and events consultant in Irvine, CA, who has planned meetings and incentives for Taco Bell, recently planned an incentive in Hawaii, and originally had to turn down her first-choice resort since it didn't have a spa. "We couldn't do our incentive there, since part of the program arranged for a spa day," says DuBois.
Health Watch
Why this increase in male spa attendance? For one, the spa industry has grown to become the fourth largest leisure industry in the U.S., reports Lynne McNees, ISPA's executive director. Also, says McNees, "Spas are no longer seen as a place for just pampering; instead they are seen as a place of healing and preventative maintenance. After 9/11, consumers were going to spas, looking for that safe, nurturing, healing environment -- men need that as much as women do. Today, spas have gone from being a luxury to now being a need. It is absolutely a requisite to stay healthy. It's your time to relax, reflect, revitalize, and rejoice." And men are doing just that. Spas now appeal to men because they are allowing themselves to indulge, and most of all, they're keen on remaining fit and being healthy.
"The spa industry is growing because people are working harder than they ever have before, but at the same time, everybody wants to look good," says Geri Palillo, owner of Valeria, Salon-Spa-Boutique in Huntersville, NC. "It's the age of cosmetic surgery and being fit and trim. People are taking better care of their health and of themselves." According to Jean Kolb, director of Kohler Waters Spa, in Kohler, WI, "The trend will only continue as more men become comfortable within the spa environment, and as more spa owners ensure that their male clientele feel welcome."
Man-Friendly Spas
Because men now comprise about 30 to 40 percent of spa clientele, spas are specifically devising marketing strategies to lure even more grooming, health-conscious males. Spas' marketing techniques have become more savvy and sophisticated. They are designing treatments specifically for men, to comfort them and fulfill their wants and desires, which are different from women's. Spas are noticing that a woman's facial, for instance, can't be similar to a gentleman's facial. There need to be different products in the services for each gender's treatment. Spas are actually making treatments just for men: A facial for a man will concentrate on ingrown hairs from shaving; and a man's pedicure will concentrate on massage, removing calluses, and not applying polish. McNees says, "Spas are changing the names of the services and the products they use in them, and are gearing the marketing toward the male consumer. Spas are no longer using the floral aromatherapy oils and pink fluffy robes, but making their environments more masculine." As a matter of fact, there is even handful of all-male spas in the U.S. now like Nickel Spa! in Manhattan (which offers a "love-handle wrap"), The Grooming Lounge in Washington D.C., and Gadabout in Tucson, AZ.
Power Pampering
Laura Barricelli, manager of program planning for Premier Incentives in Marblehead, MA, hosted a group of mostly male bankers at Bermuda's Fairmont Southampton Princess Resort and Spa and found that they chose both golf and massage as their incentive activities. "There were a fair number of men choosing a spa treatment, which was always a massage; however, whenever golf is an option, men always seem to pick that. Nevertheless, a lot of the men like the combination of playing golf, then getting a sports massage after it," says Barricelli. Jennifer Overton, spa director at the Desert Springs Marriott Resort and Spa in Palm Desert, CA, notices that "when incentive programs tie a physical activity like golf to a sports massage [to remedy the aches and pains], men are attracted to it." Indeed the ISPA's study reports that massage is the most frequently purchased treatment among males (62 percent), followed by steam bath or sauna (47 percent), and exercise classes (35 percent).
However, according to Evans at the Red Mountain Adventure Spa, men are just not signing up for sports massages -- they are experiencing facials and manicures. For Marci DuBois' incentive at the Montage Resort and Spa in Laguna Beach, CA, most men chose golf on one day and spa treatments on another. She observed that the men who went to the spa got facials and pedicures in addition to massages. Spa manager Karin Allen of Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, CA, says, "Men are definitely trying different types of treatments, including more body treatments, and are really starting to get into facials and manicures." Barbara Schultz, spa director at the Montage, says that men typically gravitate to more physical treatments. "We see more men signing up for the Ocean Radiance, which is a sea-salt scrub, and the Vichy Shower Rain Therapy, which uses multiple shower heads dispersing hot and cold water in intervals."
More and more resorts are finding that men like a little intensity added into their spa treatment. In fact, adventure-driven spa treatments are what attract men to some spas. Canyon Ranch in Tucson, AZ, held its first Fitness Matters for Men session in December. The five-day curriculum explored masculine health concerns from sex to spirituality through dozens of athletic classes -- including self-defense and Pilates. Conquering Your Inner Everest, a five-day men's program at Miraval in Tucson, AZ, sends participants out to the Sonoran Desert for survival camp, into a Native American sweat lodge, and up Baboquivari Peak. The most exciting spa sport currently on offer: late-night hiking and mountain biking trips at the Golden Door Spa at the Boulders in Carefree, AZ, where you can tackle the trails with the aid of night-vision goggles.