the itinerary includes a variety of outdoor classes, services
and activities, including meditation and nature walks.
in recent years, the Spa at Sun Valley has found success
marketing these events through its email database,
although harper notes that local print advertising has been
highly effective as well. although the spa doesn’t push out
its summertime specials through digital advertising, it does
use social media to build its brand and promote the “Sun
Valley Spa lifestyle,” says harper.
rethinking the strategy
Like most caribbean resort spas, fern Tree Spa is busiest
during the winter vacation season, slower in summer, and
slowest in the fall. Despite this, the Jamaican spa has been
able to find ways to boost its profitability even when there
are fewer vacationers in the area. Their secret? Experiment
with new ideas.
“one summer, we introduced a summer price list,” says
Spa Director Tanya Vassell. although the summer prices
were lower, Vassell quickly noticed an issue: customers
were getting a discount that they didn’t realize they were
getting, leading to less of a revenue boost than anticipated.
“our summer clients want to know that they’re getting a
deal,” Vassell says, “so the following summer i introduced a
marked twenty-percent discount” that was listed alongside
the year-round price. Even though the resulting price was
the same, the latter approach yielded an improvement in
revenue.
Vassell has since altered this strategy by offering added
value promotions, rather than price discounts, in recent
years; for example, the purchase of a 90-minute massage
service might come with a complimentary body exfoliation
treatment. The result has been a marked increase in year-
over-year revenue per treatment, according to the spa
director.
With less pressure to perform well during the slow
season, fern Tree has also used this time to test out new
treatments. Some may not work out—“sand bathing was
an option which got some interest, but not many
bookings,” according to Vassell—but others have been so
successful that they’ve become year-round fixtures on the
spa’s menu, such as “visiting instructors who offer yoga
and meditation with singing bowls.”
other treatments which may not be popular during the
spa’s busy winter season have proven far more popular in
the summer, such as outdoor baths. fern Tree Spa offers
these treatments all year long, but the extended daylight of
summer affords resort guests more time to soak in the
outside tubs after a day at the beach.
Like red mountain resort, Vassell also uses summer as
a time to train her staff. in addition to training for new
treatments and refreshing on old standards, Vassell lets
each team member have their own “spa day” at the spa in
order to experience each treatment just as a guest would.
additionally, fern Tree Spa works with its vendor partners,
including Elemis, to schedule week-long hands-on training
for the spa’s estheticians.
regardless of whether this summer finds your spa
swamped with bookings or—as the song goes—with too
much time on your hands, there are a variety of ways to
make the most of the season. With training, promotions,
marketing initiatives and special events all on the docket,
these three iSPa members are making the most of the
summer. how will you? n
f e at u r e d s o u r c e s
marci
hoWard-may
Director of Spa and
Wellness
tracy harper
tanya vassell
Director of Spa &
Wellness
Spa Director
fern tree spa
the spa at sun valley
red mountain resort
– sagestone spa
APriL
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