Spa experience: what makes a successful club spa?

Even before the stressful events of the past few months, many of your members had discovered and availed themselves of the services of spas. According to reports in the spa industry, spa usage is continuing strong in the face of, and probably because of, recent events.

But what types of spa facilities are right for your club? What services should you be offering? What kind of income should you expect? How should you market spa your spa? What are the human resource issues?

Lynne Walker McNees, executive director of the International Spa Association (ISPA), said that consumers are definitely driving the spa experience. From the early days when the spa was the back room at a beauty salon with an on-call massage therapist, the increasing knowledge of spa treatments by consumers has increased expectations of what a "true spa experience is," both in day spas and other types of spas, Walker McNees said.

And the demand shows no sign of abating: She cited ISPA's 2000 Spa Industry Study, conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers, which found that consumer spa use had increased 56 percent between 1997 and 1999 and is expected to continue to grow at that rate.

Neil P. Smith, CCM, assistant manager of the Union League Club of Chicago (ULCC), said that his club has seen the impact that recognizing members' exposure to spa services -- plus some savvy planning -- can have in expanding this area of member services.

In September the 2,350-member Union League opened its co-ed spa. Previously, the club had three massage tables -- two in the men's locker area and one in the women's locker area. Sixty-four percent of the club's members have athletic memberships. There are between 6,500 and 7,500 sign-ins in the athletic area per month. With the way things had been configured, offering massage or aesthetic treatments was both limited by the location of the facilities and was less than pleasant and convenient for members, who had to traipse through public areas of the athletic facility to get their treatments.

The ULCC created new facilities in the women's locker room area with two whirlpools overlooked by a mural of one of the paintings in the club's famous collection, a rest area with two beds, steam rooms, and a sauna. The piece de resistance, however, is the reconfiguration of the treatment space. Now there are entrances from the men's and women's locker rooms directly into a corridor with seven treatment rooms. The club can now offer massage, tanning, waxing, makeup consulting, and paraffin treatments, and has the flexibility to devote space for other treatments as member needs dictate.

Currently the club provides between 450 and 575 massage treatments per month with no active marketing. "We're doing a very big push for holiday gift certificates," Smith said. "After the first of the year we'll begin active marketing."

Sticking With the Basics

ISPA's Walker McNees feels that massage should be the starting point for any spa experience. She said that even if a club is not ready to build a spa facility it should offer massage. Walker McNees is not a strong proponent of dedicated hydrotherapy space, "because much of the time that room will be sitting empty." She suggests that clubs with limited space create multi-use treatment rooms that can offer a variety of treatments.

Chris White, senior vice president for design of WTS International, a firm that both designs and manages spas and fitness facilities, notes that while many club members may whet their appetite for spa services in a resort spa experience, their expectations and needs when they return home to the club are much different.

"People are more time pressed when they're at home. In a resort their time is their own. [A club spa] is more akin to a day spa except in the scope of services." White recommends that in terms of the services they offer, club spas should, "major in the majors and leave the minors to resort spas."

The "majors," according to White, are massage, facials, and nail care. Those three items represent most of the activity and most of the profit in resort and day spas as well, he noted, but are particularly apropos of club spas. "Almost any resort does two-thirds of its business in massage and facials -- even the resort spas," White said. "Those are followed in frequency by manicure services. Pedicure is a totally different thing." While some clubs have hair services, White said, hair for women is not something that clubs are particularly successful at.

According to Joe Barone, director of fitness and spa at Boca West Country Club, Boca Raton, FL, spa usage by Boca West members mirrors the pattern suggested by WTS' White. "Our bread and butter are massage and facials. We also do a lot of nails here." While some younger members from the 3,600 households at the seasonal (November through April) club go in for wraps, waxings, and other treatments they've encountered at resorts, the basics have paid off well.

Barone said that in the eight years since Boca's new spa facilities have been open, spa and fitness revenue has grown from $48,000 to $700,000. That's not much compared to the $4 million-plus income that Barone estimates the nearby Breakers resort makes from its spa. But Boca also only charges $45 per hour for a massage or facial to the Breakers' $135 for 50 minutes. Barone said that he expects that other clubs, such as the nearby Polo Club of Boca Raton with younger memberships more inclined to avail themselves of additional spa services, do even better than his facility.

In season, Barone employs four aestheticians and 16-20 therapists on his fitness/spa staff of approximately 100. While they are employees of the club, Boca's spa staff is full commission.

Human resource issues are one of the keys to success or failure of a club spa, WTS' White said. "Staffing is the key issue. It enhances the experience or can ruin a facility. The big question is, are you going to be able to give them enough business to keep them busy? Even if you pay them a basic wage, the thing that makes the difference in their earning power is if you are going to earn enough to keep them busy.

Licensing is also a sticky wicket, White explained. "A nail technician can have different licensing from a hair technician. An aesthetician is also differently licensed. They may be enjoined from some waxing, but can do anything necessary from the neck up.

"The tough part is finding a person who is legally allowed to perform the basic services you would need -- and whether you want to have them as employees or independent contractors. That's a question mark in the eyes of the IRS. If your personnel people tell you have to them as employees, then give them extra duties. A massage therapist who's also a personal trainer would be an ideal combination."

Another way to make use of spa employees who are not delivering spa services is in promoting use of the spa, White said. For example, have an unoccupied massage therapist offer free 10-minute chair massages at poolside. Or even have the therapists at appropriate club events offer chair massages to fully-clothed members. It's fun, and it works, White said.

The "Super Room"

On a more down-to-earth note, what should a club wanting to offer spa treatments be looking at in terms of facilities and capital outlay? White recommends what he calls "super-treatment rooms" of 120-150 square feet each. The rooms are equipped with a table that can either be used flat as a massage table or can tilt-up for use as a facial lounge. The suite of equipment is completed with a portable manicure station and stool, a hot towel cabinet, and a chair that can be used for members dressing and undressing for massage, or for a member receiving a manicure.

The rooms should be located "on the seam between the men's and women's locker rooms," White said. He suggests "homey and otherwise complementary" finishes -- wood, drywall, wainscoting, and chair rail. Filling out the requirements for the treatment room are accurate and accessible climate controls (a degree or two in temperature can make a huge difference in member satisfaction with a treatment), adjustable lighting (up for cleaning, down for treatment), and a music system (a decent boom box will do in a pinch).

What's the total price ticket for this "super room"? The biggest item, White said, is the treatment table. Tables vary from portable models that sell for about $1,500 to $3,500, to whiz-bangs with hydraulic controls like a dentist's chair. The additional equipment for facials adds about $1,000. Fully equipped, each super room will weigh in at between $3,000 and $6,000.

Is it worth it? The increased consumer usage of spas point to a "yes" answer, as long as you stick to the facilities and services your members will actually use. "We're getting a lot more interest in spas from clubs than ever before," said White. He pointed out that the spa use in clubs is part of members seeking a more balanced approach to their lifestyles as a opposed to pretty people searching out the latest trendy treatments.

Your fitness staff and other club departments have a big role in the success of the treatment areas. "We're getting a lot of interplay between the massage therapists and the personal trainers. A lot of time the therapists will find a weakness that needs stretching, etc.," White said.

"Club members, who are often a little bit older, want fitness that fits in their lives. It's good for a golfer who wants to add length and for the new mother who wants to get back into the swing of things."