“Guests are more informed than they were even ten
years ago, so we have to make sure that we offer
the latest, greatest treatments and technology.”
— DRU KOSTI, Director of Spa, Evensong Spa
Shared experiences are becoming more common across the spa industry.
end of last year. “We were the first spa in our area, but a lot of
spas have opened up over the twenty years we’ve been open,”
says Clark. With increased competition offering innovative treat-
ments, Monterey’s menu had grown long in the tooth. “We
were sitting on our laurels and not reaching our community,”
Clark comments.
The doldrums extended to their therapists, who had grown
bored with the same-old-same-old. When therapists are bored,
they’re less engaged; when they’re less engaged, they interact
less with guests. The end result is reflected both in customer
comment cards and in the therapists’ tips, according to Clark.
Evensong Spa, in Green Lake, Wisconsin, reboots their spa
menu every two years to keep pace with new products and
technology. “Guests are more informed than they were even ten
years ago,” says Spa Director Dru Kosti, “so we have to make
sure that we offer the latest, greatest treatments and
technology.” By regularly scheduling a menu overhaul, Kosti
ensures that the menu stays fresh and relevant.
At Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, their most recent menu
Four Seasons Hualalai's newest menu places an
emphasis on nature-inspired treatments.
refresh was spearheaded to boost revenue and decrease “talk
time” that was spent explaining unnecessarily detailed treatment
descriptions to guests. And much like Evensong Spa, Four
Seasons Resort Haulalai wanted to “be in tune” with increas-
ingly well-educated guests, according to Director of Spa Cecilia
Hercik.
Focus on Feedback
All three spas agreed on the importance of gathering feedback
any way that you can: sales, customers and employees. At
Evensong Spa, Kosti prioritized getting feedback from their local
clientele, saying that “because we have a relationship with
them, they’re more open to giving feedback.” Kosti also tracks
sales data and talked to her therapists about what they find
compelling. The end goal is to eliminate treatments that “are
just there for fluff,” she says.
Heidi Clark at Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa stressed the
importance of using sales data to look at what works and what
doesn’t. “We’re looking at our raw cost to provide a service and
January/February 2019
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