s n a P s h ot s u rv e y
THE EVER-CONTINUING BATTLE OVER GRATUITIES and service
fees/charges was examined in the May Snapshot Survey. Respondents
were asked a variety of questions about their practices for tipping, gratu-
WHAT IS YOUR COMPANY’S
GREATEST CHALLENGE WHEN IT
COMES TO GRATUITIES?
ities and automatic charges. Notably, resort/hotel spas and day spas often
differed greatly on how exactly they handle tips and service fees.
Among resort/hotel respondents, 65 percent charge an automatic
service fee, while only 20 percent of day spas do the same. The amount
charged by respondents ranges from a small fee of 1 percent up to 22
percent. Generally, a 20 percent fee—with 15 to 18 percent going directly
“Explaining to colleagues that
sometimes there isn’t a method or
reason for a guest’s gratuity. They
leave what they do and we need
to graciously accept that.”
to the service provider—was the most common service fee structure.
The communication of a spa’s service fee and gratuity policy continues
to be a major hurdle, and is handled differently by day spas and
resort/hotel spas. Among day spa respondents, 93 percent simply ask
guests to pay a gratuity at checkout, compared to only 46 percent of
resort/hotel spas. However, hotel/resort spas were far more likely (42
percent versus 4 percent) to automatically populate gratuity options on
guests’ receipts—either on a printed receipt or via the POS system.
When asked what the biggest challenge is vis a vis gratuities, most
respondents cited some form of customer misunderstanding or confusion.
“Explaining the concept of a
service charge to overseas guests.”
“Service providers feel the front
desk doesn’t advocate for the
gratuity enough.”
“We would like ideas on how to
implement therapists doing a
tip-out for support staff.”
Many responses cited that guests do not
understand the difference between a
service fee and a gratuity, and that this
distinction is particularly difficult for the
international clientele serviced by
resort/hotel spas.
It is noteworthy, however, that it
seems that spas themselves struggle to
differentiate between the two: when
asked to share their gratuities policy word-
for-word, approximately a quarter of the
shared policies were for service fees
instead.
58
PULSE
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aUgUSt 2019
ISPA SPA MEMBERS
Does your spa have automatic service/fee charges?