Some spas are looking to offer hair, beauty and nail treatments too, in order to meet a client's every need. Some spas are looking to offer hair, beauty and nail treatments too, in order to meet a client's every need.

Becky Wyton, director of CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi makes the valuable point that, like any industry, spas should definitely adapt to health and well-being as the key focus for consumers moving forward.

“This is one of the few industries where demand actually increased during the recession as people valued their health and well-being during this time,” she adds.

The Glam Factor
Having said this, despite the state of the world economy, another on-trend movement is the ‘glam’ factor. Purportedly originating in the US, where blow dry bars are popping up all over the place — it is no wonder that the Middle East has more than expressed an interest.

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Yet our experts hold different views on the matter, Nadeau claiming the ‘glam’ trend doesn’t even come from the US.

“I think it got very popular here and then moved to the US. These days it is all about convenience: if you have a spa, you need to do nails, if you do nails, you need to do hair. It’s like a one-stop-shop instead of running around everywhere,” she asserts.

Spa and health club manager at Zen Spa Radisson Royal Hotel Dubai, Sana Bin Ammar, says the glam factor is definitely one of the major trends in the Middle East, but adds that Middle East spa consumers “have always been and will continue to be concerned about the result as much as the glamour”.

Patrick Taffin d'Heursel, spa director, Six Senses Spa at Hotel Missoni Kuwait, has seen the spa become a one-stop experience with massages being combined with nail and hair care. “More and more our spas have salons and link the rooms to have a full experience,” d’Heursel adds.

Hyatt’s O’Neill certainly sees a place for glam in the Middle East spa industry, stating “Middle Eastern residents and citizens are just as fashionable and beauty-savvy as the rest of the world”.

“While culturally there are many differences, we already see makeup stations in all of the big malls here. Blow-dry bars would require a more private space, given the cultural sensitivities, but it’s something that could easily be done. The glam-factor certainly applies here!” she adds.

But Hilton’s Barcock disagrees and says ‘glam’ is not currently a major trend in the region.

“There are a few independent brands that have built their businesses around this concept and are very successful at what they do.

"However, in general, what you see here (the Middle East) is a definite split between spas and salons, with both focusing on their own core services,” she asserts.

“Whilst some spas have crossed over into adding more services to attract guests and provide a complete range of services, you find that it is generally the salons that are following the trends in nail, makeup and hair. For spas, we are moving into a time of quick, effective treatments with no down time or negative impact.”

And while Jabr agrees that blow dry bars are “huge” in the UK and US, it is more of an express treatment that hasn’t factored in Middle Eastern spa offerings.

“The trend here in the UAE is still that of a luxury nature in addition to the local culture/clientele that is always seeking privacy and a personalised service.”

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