“You can’t think, ‘Let’s just do it for the next few
weeks.’ We believe these standards will remain
in place for longer than half a year.”
– THERESE MARTIRENA, Director of Spa, The Dolder Grand Spa
The Dolder Grand Spa, pictured here and on the opposite page, reopened earlier than spas in the U.S.
soon as possible, in accordance with Swiss guidelines.
“The spa has a huge impact as an added value for our
guests…it was important to increase room sales,” says
Therese Martirena, director of spa. In essence, people visit
The Dolder Grand to visit the spa. Without the spa, there
would be no bookings at the hotel.
While closed, the spa set up a small fitness area in the
hotel’s ballroom with physical-distance-compliant spacing
between the equipment. Now that the spa has reopened,
Martirena’s team has taken a number of precautions to
maximize the safety of both staff and guests. “We’ve reorganized
the loungers so that there is more space between
them, and we’ve ensured proper distance between the fitness
equipment.” They have reduced the spa’s capacity—
currently, only hotel guests are allowed to visit the spa.
Day spa and external guests are prohibited, a restriction
which has had “a huge impact on revenue,” according to
Martirena.
Many of the spa’s guests have requested information on
the spa’s sanitation guidelines before they visit; others
request to see the guidelines upon arrival. In either case, it’s
recommended that any reopening spas have a codified list
of guidelines to present to guests upon request. Martirena
also adds that this will likely be, as others have said, a ‘new
normal’ for the industry. “You can’t think, ‘Let’s just do it for
the next few weeks.’ We believe these standards will remain
in place for longer than half a year. We have to be transparent
with our guests in terms of next steps.”
If your spa is still closed or about to reopen, Martirena
also suggests beginning the process with fitness while continuing
to offer curbside retail pick-up. If your spa has frozen
its memberships while closed, she further recommends
waiting to unfreeze them until the spa is fully open. n
FEATURED SOURCES
TRUDY SMITH
Spa Manager
THE SPA AT
KILAGA SPRINGS
LINCOLN, CALIFORNIA
CARRIE KENNEDY
Director of Well & Being
WELL & BEING SPA AT
THE FAIRMONT PRINCESS
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA
THERESE
MARTIRENA
Director of Spa
THE DOLDER GRAND SPA
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
JULY 2020 ■ PULSE 33