SPA PROMOTIONS
As well as incentivising staff, panellists also discussed ways to incentivise customers to choose your spa over the competitors. The consensus was firmly against discounting and daily deal sites, with spas instead choosing to focus on growing a repeat customer base.
“While they are used across the market, they have to be used sparingly as they can cheapen your brand,” said Cleopatra’s Spencer of vouchers.
“Discounting can be a much more effective tactic, with off-peak and on-peak pricing being a long-term alternative to what are only short-term solutions,” she added.
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Hilton Worldwide director of spa operations and development MEA Sharon Barcock declared “The days of the two-for-one and the Groupon are long gone. We’ve all learned the hard way that it produces volume, but doesn’t necessarily produce the revenue,” she said.
Grosvenor House, Luxury Collection Hotels and Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa complex director of spas Galina Antoniouk revealed that the hotel had tried to promote its spa services by subscribing to coupon sites, but quickly had to stop.
“Some spas give so many discounts, how do they keep their standards up and what kind of clients do these offers also attract?” she asked.
“We went down that route and we were offering some spa services through the promotion websites but then we had to stop because the type of guests coming in did not match our profile so you have to prioritise because it might make it more harmful and you lose your other guests.
“Of course during off peak season you have to find a solution; you have to decide how much discount you give – do you give 50%, do you give 70%? At the end of the day you may end up spending more than you gain and it might be better to send all the staff on vacation,” Antoniouk added.
She said her hotels now focus on rewarding repeat customers for their loyalty.
“I think the best thing in this case is something like a loyalty programme, where they get one free treatment after they have finished five treatments or something like that, so that people feel valued.”
Barcock, however, believes it all comes down to knowing the market you are trying to attract and setting the right price from the beginning.
“I think you need to be very aware of the market and be a bit more structured in saying ‘this is the menu, this is the price.’ You need to be very aware of who you are trying to attract – is it a hotel guest or an outside guest? What market do you sit in? Are you in an area where guests have a whole day and want the full experience or do guests want to be in and out after a quick massage? If you set your price correctly from the very beginning, that alleviates some of the problems you may have,” she explained.
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