How to create a profitable SPA center
What are the distinctions between a private SPA center and a SPA commercial unit? What is the key to a certain return on investment? What is the paradox of high or low attendance and the reliance on it for profitability? Let us examine the industry's fundamental concerns.
A decade ago, investors boldly claimed, while beginning the implementation of the SPA zone in the general infrastructure of their facility, "I know how to create a spa, I have my own spa!" referring to a wellness area with a pool and baths in a private house. However, when it comes to getting their money back, many people put their trust in professionals in this field. The public spa centre represents a distinct visitor mentality and psychophysics, as well as distinct client and staff flows, other space formation principles, and technological equipment choices. Profitable operation of a spa area in huge public complexes is one component of this duty, therefore let's go over that in more depth. Of course, we cannot discuss general solutions to this problem or provide a formula for every situation. However, we will discuss methodologically sound approaches.
Everything is dependent on proper analysis and accounting, as well as macro and micro indications of the spa industry's object:
- Its location (a region or area, for example, a megalopolis - is one consumer specificity; a resort town - is another, rehabilitation areas - is a third)
- average population income level in the region and their guests, general background (even in a cross-section of the same resort area, there is a significant difference in income and the average bill of visitors to various settlements)
- total population (a city with a population of one million people is one concept, a city with a population of 300-400,000 people is another), and the definition of a "radius of action" within the limits of accessibility by car or convenient direct public transportation (no more than 30-45 minutes)
- Target audience description, characteristic portrait of a potential service consumer (mostly locals or visitors/tourists; young people or middle-aged people; weekenders)
All of the foregoing has an impact on calculating daily and single-step attendance at the spa, calculating the cost and selecting the list of spa services, the quality of equipment, and a variety of other factors. For example, it defines the proportion: how many square metres should be offered each person, and what the guest-to-staff ratio should be. It even has an impact on design (each consumer segment corresponds to the proper level).
The spa facility must then be evaluated from the standpoint of investment return. And, in this regard, this industry can be divided into three major groups:
- Spas in wellness complexes (sanatoriums, health resorts, and medical facilities), including so-called "City Spas," day spas, medical spas, and so on, where more emphasis is placed on generating income from the sale of various treatments and procedures
- Spa centres in sports or entertainment complexes (water parks, fitness clubs, office centres, sports and recreation complexes, and so on, where the main income is the sale of club cards (subscriptions) of various
- Spas in hotels, hotel complexes, housing condominiums, and so on, that is, spas where a portion of the income is included in the cost of the room, square metre of housing, and utilities.
It is obvious that you will need to model the proportion and ratio of space as well as the purpose of the rooms depending on the sort of spa.As a result, the first type of SPA-center must have more treatment rooms or care areas, such as hydro- and thalassotherapy, classical, Thai, or instrumental massage, cosmetology, Ayurvedic and acupuncture therapy, photo- and laser hair removal, rejuvenation, and physiotherapy.
The second sort of spa typically focuses on treatments that customers can attend on their own. Baths of various cultures, saunas and steam rooms, hydro massage and contrast different-temperature spa pools, salt rooms, and, of course, swimming pools - sports, with walkways, and entertainment - with a large water mirror and a variety of attractions (waterfalls, geysers, countercurrent, islands, the effect of "fast river," and more). Massage rooms and other procedures may also be offered, albeit to a lesser extent, because they require additional staff, which is not always in high demand.
The third form of spa (in residential complexes) shares the fact that enormous pools result in unnecessarily high monthly expenditures, thus medium-sized pools are preferable. Maintaining a swimming pool, even in the expensive residential complexes, even only for indoor usage, has proven to be prestigious but prohibitively expensive. However, during peak season, especially in resort hotels, the availability of pools creates a high consumer demand. Another aspect of hotel SPAs is that the proportion of the fitness area should be distributed as follows: cardio machines (simulating jogging, cycling, and cross-country skiing) should predominate, and strength-training equipment should be used to a far smaller extent. Hotels have minimal facilities for strength training. Because a hotel is a place for people to stay temporarily, group exercise rooms are usually empty. Group exercise rooms (fitness, Pilates, yoga, strip dances) and strength training facilities, on the other hand, are in high demand in residential complexes and office centers.
There are even more distinctions in the Beauty zone between hotel SPAs and those in residential complexes. Hairdressing services are generally in short supply in hotels of any "number of stars." Manicures and pedicures are the same thing. When a person visits another city, he or she can swim in the pool, sauna, have a massage, or book a beauty treatment in their spare time, but not get a haircut, coloring, or hair or nail extensions. Some designers make a costly error by requiring multiple hairdressing salons at the hotel. A single room with a multifunctional chair is sometimes sufficient, and vice versa - a beauty salon in an apartment complex can be a popular destination for everyone in the neighborhood. In any case, before you begin implementing the spa center as a successful business, you must perform a preliminary payback calculation, which includes the costs of implementation, start-up, and ongoing monthly expenses, i.e., to track all cash flow in a business plan to determine profitability. So, returning to the distinctions between private and public SPAs, why do not all public SPAs that follow in the footsteps of private ones become financially successful?
It is imperative to comprehend the distinction between public and private complexes:
- A public spa area is not the same as a private setup. This begins with a well-designed reception area, where the visitor is greeted, taught, and potentially given a bathrobe, towel, and slippers, as well as signed up for treatments and offered associated products. Then, by providing turnstiles or other options for access control and payment (electromagnetic cards in hotels, bracelets - in water parks), and finally, by providing a laundry disposal system (in a private home, you can just leave the laundry - the maid will take it away, but in a large complex, you must consider logistics of laundry transfer: laundry wires to the wash or technical corridors for carts).
- The most major structural distinctions are between the public and private complexes. To begin with, according to the requirements, columns in the pool are excluded (to avoid injuries), so the wider the water surface and the area of the complex, the greater the likelihood of utilizing large-span structures. Finally, private structural issues: for example, the construction of the steam room for private use can sometimes be Styrofoam foam. This material is not suitable for use in a public building. With a high visitor intensity, the steam room's construction can only be built on specialized materials such as extruded polystyrene foam.
- The contrasts between the public and private complexes in engineering and communications are also substantial. Proper computation, expert calculations: from the diameters and locations of sewage drains (bottom drains), the correct cross-section of cable to each point, and the locations of the various temperature, humidity, and motion sensors. If the plumbing is not operating properly, there is insufficient electrical power, or there is insufficient air exchange. The cost of making a mistake is prohibitively expensive.
- In terms of technology, there are significant distinctions between private and public spas. From severe architectural codes and regulations, sanitary norms, and other regulatory papers applied to technical solutions in public complexes, to philistine-level technological advances. Using vandal-proof fittings (where nothing can be unscrewed), automatic control systems for various operations, and metered water delivery systems are all examples.
- When comparing the design of a private complex to that of a public one, it should be understood that the private complex is a place of regular stay for one and the same individual, his/her family, so radical interior solutions should be avoided. And vice versa. The public complex's goal is to captivate, surprise, and even shock people positively. As a consequence, rather than drab classics that might generate dullness and lack of interest, there can be the most unusual colors and shapes.
In general, if you want a public complex to be effective, its design should be assigned to experts in this sector. Our staff will gladly develop a proposal based on your request for services in constructing an SPA zone or an entire SPA complex.
