Private Club Spa Trends

Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Club Spa

Spa Operations within Private Clubs continue to evolve, grow in popularity and become integrated into the new “Club Wellness lifestyle”. Following are the trends in the private club spas including the size and scope of spa facilities, spa services offered, and spa performance.

Treatment Rooms- Among private clubs, 80% report having spas with four or fewer rooms, with 45% only offering one treatment room. It would appear that for most private club fitness centers, spa facilities are still more of an afterthought amenity rather than a potential profit center than can enrich member lives and generate incremental revenues.

According to the International Spa Association (ISPA) the average spa in the U.S. has 6.6 treatment rooms

Treatment Room Occupancy- Treatment room occupancy is one of the most important KPI’s for predicting the revenue and profit potential for a spa. Among the private clubs, 40% report occupancy levels under 30%, while approximately 23% report having occupancy levels that exceed 60%. Empirical data from the spa industry indicates that a profitable spa needs to operate at above 50% occupancy and preferably above 60% occupancy. The largest spas, those with over 8 rooms or more, can generate high occupancy levels (80% have over 60% occupancy levels) while smaller spas, especially those with a single room, have occupancy levels under 20%. This difference in occupancy levels might be related to the management of these areas, with larger spas having a professional director for the spa while smaller spas (less than four rooms) are left under the direction of a non-spa professional such as a fitness director.

Types of Services Offered by Private Club Spas- Massage is the most popular spa service with 87% of private club fitness centers reporting they offer massage. Facial and body treatments are the second most popular with 40% of clubs indicating they offer these two services. When the data of services offered by private club fitness centers are compared to the data from the general spa industry, the trends are similar. In both general spas and private club based spas, massage, facials, pedicures and manicures are the most popular, while more esoteric services such as medical–based treatments (e.g., Botox) and acupuncture are not very popular. It should be noted that private club based spas, in particular, the larger spas, are more likely to offer medical-based spa treatments than the typical spa.

Pricing Practices for Private Club Spa Services- For the three primary services offered by private club spas (massage, facials and body treatments), more than 50% of the clubs report they charge over $75 for a single session. For manicures and pedicures, the pricing varies with a range of $31 to $50 the most popular price point.

Average Spa Revenue based on the Number of Treatment Rooms- The private club data clearly shows the revenue upside of offering a spa with at least five treatment rooms. Spas with five to eight rooms generate 2.5x more revenue than those with two to four and generate 7x more revenue than those with one treatment room. For spas with greater than eight rooms, the additional revenue can be 10x to 16x more than a spa that offers four or fewer treatment rooms. Depending on the number of treatment rooms, the average revenue per treatment room in a private club spa ranges from $63,000 to $112,000 per room.

Other Spa Trends

Integration is Key!- Spas within private clubs have a unique opportunity to provide the key integration with other wellness modalities that are leading to the following trends:

 

Integration of Massage and Fitness Programming- The success of specialty fitness training: golf and tennis fitness programs, corrective exercise, and physical therapy, are referring and integrating massage as an important element of member programming. Massage is positioned as an important “recovery” element of member’s fitness program rather than a luxury.

 

Massage and spa services bundled- Once a spa culture is established by the club, there is a trend towards bundled services, members coming in for more than one service and trying other menu items along with the traditional massage (i.e., adding on a facial, body treatment, etc)

 

Out Reach Programs that Integrate Spa and Wellness programming in other areas of the club- Chair massage, reflexology, and stretching techniques to golf tennis and even bridge/card room areas within the club to provide education and visibility for the spa

 

Spa Events and Parties provide education along with a social element and boost member participation in services other than massage.

 

Multi-Purpose Treatment Rooms- With limited space, inclusion of “multi-purpose” rooms where couples massage, facials, and wet treatments may be performed is a trend for private club spas. These rooms range from 120-150 square feet. Couples rooms are a bit larger, ranging from 150 to 200 square feet.

 

Importance of a Spa Lounge- The addition of a spacious and well appointed lounge or relaxation area within the spa is a growing trends as private clubs move away from the massage room as an afterthought concept, to creating a comprehensive spa experience for members.