An upscale day spa franchisor, The Woodhouse Day Spas Corporation has more than 25 locations and more than 20 more in development.
expenses. Before opening a location, Massage Envy franchisees
also receive a week of training at corporate headquarters and have
access to ongoing training.
“By developing inclusive training programs for massage therapists and estheticians, as well as front office staff, Massage Envy
is able to provide consistent, high-quality services to their
members and guests, which are key to maintaining brand standards on a large national scale,” Funk says.
The Woodhouse Day Spa:
Early Trailblazer
The Woodhouse Day Spas Corporation, based in Victoria, Texas,
was an early trailblazer in spa franchising. Established in 2001, the
25-unit upscale day spa began franchising in 2003. The estimated
initial investment for opening a Woodhouse Day Spa in the U.S.
ranges from US$402,750 to US$530,000, including a US$45,000
franchise fee.
Today, the company has more than 25 locations in 14 states
with more than 20 locations in development. Each location offers
more than 40 different treatments ranging from massage and
facials to manicures and microdermabrasion.
“All of our franchisees have a desire to help others and their
communities, but it’s not required to have a background in the
spa industry in order to be successful,” says Jeni Garrett, The
Woodhouse Day Spas Corporation founder, president and CEO.
Maurita Elias and her husband, Robert, own a Woodhouse
franchise in Kingston, Pennsylvania and are also shareholders on
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the board of the corporation. When the Elias’s opened their spa
in November 2003 and became the first franchisees of The
Woodhouse Day Spa, they had a decade of retail franchise experience under their belt, but lacked any knowledge of the spa
industry. Maurita Elias says being part of a franchise made it easy
for them to open and successfully run the spa.
“From the design of our spa, to the ordering of our inventory
and equipment, to our grand opening marketing, we were able to
hit the ground running with no downtime,” she says. “The training was second to none and our therapists were uniformly trained
to perform all of our services. Follow-up sessions with the corporate staff continued for a year after to ensure our success.”
Marketing the Franchise
With recognized names behind their operations, franchise spas
benefit from both a local and national marketing presence. To
market The Woodhouse Day Spa, Elias uses signage and email
marketing promotions aimed at her target audience. She also
utilizes social media like Facebook and Twitter and keeps a
blog. Attending trade shows, health fairs and hosting special
events for local nonprofit organizations have also proved
successful, she says.
“Certain times of the year, we will do radio advertising and
billboard marketing. Any promotion or event we have had has
always resulted in increased awareness of our spa,” Elias says.
Garrett credits The Woodhouse Day Spa’s strong Facebook
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