While the equipment was costly, minimum investment was needed to convert Talise because the spa was already the “perfect environment” for such a focus on wellness, explains Butterworth. This doesn’t mean it is a simple concept to establish, however — the extension to Talise has been three years in planning and development.
“I know that a lot of other large hotel groups and other groups are looking to do similar things because the concept fits very well to spa. The problem is it’s not as easy as people think to do,” says Butterworth.
“It’s always hard to find the right people, but it sounds really simple to set up a medical centre and there’s very few people with that understanding of both spa and medical. Just to set up a medical centre in itself in the UAE is a whole challenge with the different licences you have to have etc, but to try and get it to fit with spa is a tricky thing too,” he says.
Sourcing products and the supplements prescribed to guests is also “tough”, according to the team.
“It is very difficult because a lot of these products have never been heard of before,” says Butterworth, which can make it hard to classify them in the UAE.
“Spa products have to be registered with the municipality, it’s a six-month process getting new products in. There are some supplements available in the local market but a lot of the individual elements are not available,” he says.
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With the team recruited, equipment sourced and products available, Butterworth’s next consideration was the pricing of the new Talise services. A variety of consultations are available, but the Talise Wellness Signature Integrated Consultation costs AED 650 (US $177), which includes the initial consultation, series of tests and feedback – during which the guest is provided with reams of information and ideas to help them embrace a healthier lifestyle specific to them.
“One of the reasons Talise is so successful in the local market is we understand that locals don’t like to be charged like tourists, so we’ve got a whole membership programme here that the locals use to make it affordable on a regular basis. So with the wellness components, if you price yourself out of the market just for the fact of being here then the success is not going to be there, so we wanted to create an affordable model for the local market.
“We’re going to work predominately with locals for the first six months and then the pricier options would be when people actually come and stay here in the resort and do the week-long programmes. Everyone thinks ‘it’s Jumeirah, it’s going to cost you a fortune’, but it doesn’t necessarily. The pricing for that wellness consultation, often you would pay that much money just for lab work,” says Butterworth.
Just as the development of the new Talise was a gradual process, so too will be the growth of the business. Word of mouth will be a key factor, as 90% of people will use a different health care facility based upon a referral, says Butterworth.
“That’s why it takes time to grow these things organically,” he says.
But gradually, he thinks the market for the integrated health services will grow, as it becomes “the new paradigm of healthcare”.
“You pay for a hospital room what you pay to stay here for a night, so you might as well stay here and get that same level of health care,” says Butterworth. “Hotels are springing up everywhere and they are all trying to differentiate themselves from one another, and I think you’ll find that in 10 years’ time, definitely in 50 years’ time, the medical model as we know it will be much more in this kind of environment.”
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