Rejuvenating the Spa's Image

The past three years have been tumultuous for the spa industry. AIG began the turmoil in 2008, when the mainstream press scandalized an incentive program held at the St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach in Dana Point, CA. The AIG group enjoyed spa treatments totaling $23,380—less than a week after the federal government had to bail the company out. Even the White House derided the expense as “despicable.”

Julia Sutton, chief operating officer and one of four founders of exhale spas, says attitudes toward spas have changed since this incident.

“Resort spas suffered a big downturn. It’s amazing to me that corporations will spend time and money on elaborate meals but will then get called out for promoting health for their teams,” she explains. “Business needs to understand that spas promote well-being, which increases productivity and creativity. Spa treatments help people live a healthy lifestyle and reduce stress. Who wouldn’t want this for their employees?”

As a result, the way meeting groups use spas has been transformed. Most are looking for treatments that provide tangible results, and attendees are booking treatments with an emphasis on wellness, not on excess. Less expensive therapies are being selected, and teambuilding programs are being created. Corporate groups have started to use treatments strategically to improve the performance of their attendees at meetings. For example, instead of sending attendees to the spa after the meeting, planners are scheduling classes to get everyone moving before a brainstorming session, and then end with some pampering, says Sutton. 

As the economic downturn has caused spas to reevaluate their businesses, they have focused on providing tangible results, often going back to basics in their menu offerings, reports the International Spa Association (ISPA). In fact, a deep tissue massage is the number one treatment amongst spa-goers worldwide. 

“We saw the AIG effect make luxury a bad word,” explains Lynne McNees, president of the Lexington, KY-based ISPA. “Elaborate treatments that incorporate caviar and diamond dust are a thing of the past. There was a time when you’d be presented a 50-page book of offerings with about 20,000 different facials. Now, spas are booking time and letting the [guests] determine what types of services are needed. The underlying objective is to manage stress.”

McNees points to a startling study. According to the World Health Organization, by 2020 the top five diseases that will kill us can be caused by stress. “We have to find a way to manage that stress, and spas can help,” says McNees.

 

According to ISPA’s 2010 U.S. Spa Industry Survey, at $12.3 billion in 2009, industry revenues were $500 million below their 2008 level, a decline of 4.3 percent. Visits decreased 10 percent in 2008 and 2009, but are starting to pick up. However, while more people may be going to spas, they are spending less. Another revealing statistic in the study is that 75 percent of spas are offering express treatments of 30 minutes or less—both less expensive and more efficient. 

The increased interest in such treatments has changed what spas offer their clients. There are presently 18 facilities in Sutton’s chain of exhale spas: 10 that are standalone facilities and eight that are in hotels including The Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, the Gansevoort Turks & Caicos in Providenciales, Hotel Palomar Dallas, Loews Hotel in Atlanta, and EPIC Hotel in Miami. 


All exhale spas provide yoga classes, massages, body therapies, waxing, nail care, facials, and retreats. But the company also provides transformational services, including nutrition coaching, detox and cleansing programs, cupping, reiki, acupuncture, and corporate teambuilding events.