Panel describes keys to successful spas. (Resort Management & Operations Report).

A spa can radically improve income and alter public perception of a resort--if it is based on a sound business model, designed to create the proper experience, and integrated into the culture of the resort, an expert panel told attendees at the third annual Resort Management Conference in San Diego in early March.

Participants on the panel were Robert D. Henry of Robert D. Henry Architects, New York, NY; Craig Madison, president, the Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa, Ashville, NC; Ralph Newman, chief operating officer, WTS International, Silver Spring, MD; and John Springer-Miller, chief operating officer, Springer-Miller Systems, Stowe, VT.

Among the successful spas architect Henry has been involved in are Pal Beach's Trump Mar-a-Lago, New York's Ajune, and the recently completed eco-sensitive spa at Amelia Island Resort in Florida. Henry told the attendees at the two sessions presented by the panel of the importance of the design function in creating a unique retreat for the spa guest. The greater stresses of recent years make the spa a critical part of the total guest experience. "From traditional massage and yoga to liquid balancing, a spa visit can purify, revitalize, and balance your body, mind, and soul." Henry presented images showing the importance of textures and materials, ergonomics, incorporating the feeling of the resort into the design vernacular, and of creating signature treatments associated with the resort.

Madison said that the Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa just completed the most profitable year in its 90-year history--a fact which he attributes in no small part to the contribution made by the resort's $40 million spa, which opened for business in February 2001. Madison said that contributed $8 million in income to the Grove Park Inn in 2002. More important, he said, the spa "put the Grove Park Inn on the map." While the property is four diamond, three star and well-known among historic resorts, the addition of the spa, Madison said, made a tremendous difference in public perception for the resort.

One of the biggest issues he encountered in opening the spa, Madison said, was in finding and training staff. Madison said that his property has actively recruited treatment staff from around the world. In terms of managers, he said that it is far easier to take an individual with management skills and familiarize them with spa treatments than it is to train spa therapists in management techniques.

Madison's statement was seconded by Ralph Newman of WTS. Newman's firm provides strategic planning, design, and staffing services in the fitness and spa industry. Staffing, Newman said, is the biggest challenge facing spa operators today. There is an extreme shortage, he said, of qualified spa therapists.

Newman told attendees that his firm determines the optimal spa configuration in a resort by applying a formula that takes into account transient and conference room nights (applying a different percentage of spa use to each), and types of treatments. Where possible, he said, treatment rooms are used for more than one purpose. Once the number of rooms needed in a day is arrived at, "you multiply that number by 1.6." The reason, Newman said, is to accommodate peak usage periods. Newman said that it typically takes three years for a spa to hit its stride in terms of profitability. If properly managed, he said, the spa's third-year profits (fully-loaded with utilities, laundry, and other operating expenses) should be in the range of 27 percent.

Management information system expert John Springer-Miller stressed the importance of integration of the spa with the rest of resort operations. In the past, Springer-Miller said, information from different aspects of the resort was collected in "vertical silos," so that information from front desk operations, golf, food and beverage, spa, etc. did not interface with one another. Now, he said, it is possible to collect information about guest preferences in a single database and use that information to deliver a better guest experience and to increase sales of resort amenities.

For example, he said, knowing that one spouse has reserved a tee time and that the other spouse has used spa services in the past, a staff member can offer to book a treatment. In addition to the information systems necessary to deliver this information, Springer-Miller said, it is critical that resort staff be encouraged and trained to capture guest information wherever possible.