Waters Spas , Miller and her fellow leaders elected to keep their existing menu in place when their doors opened once again in July of last year .
“ We didn ’ t change our menu at all ,” Miller notes .“ We kept every service that was there in February when we reopened in July . So many spas , I know , cut the menus and only offered one or two services and relaunched all these COVID-specific services . We felt confident in our services , but on top of that , we felt so confident in our safety protocols , there was no reason to take anything off our menu . All the staff knew what to do . Why cause another disruption to their routine ? And then I didn ’ t have to deal with , in six months , going , ‘ Oh , wait , what you knew six months ago and then didn ’ t do for six months because we took it off the menu , we ’ re now going to bring it back .’ We just kept everything consistent for them .”
menu items rather than having a very expansive menu ,” he says .
Bayer ’ s confidence in his spa ’ s approach proved to be well-founded , as was his instinct not to introduce an array of touchless or low-touch treatments . With occupancy restrictions and sanitation protocols in place , Bayer believed that those kinds of treatments may have sounded appealing , but was concerned that they wouldn ’ t be a fit for those guests who were willing to return for a treatment right away . “ I think that a lot of the people who designed a
“ I knew spa would bounce back quickly when we reopened because everyone would be craving human connection and touch . Massage is by far the most popular service , but guests seem to be more apt to buy packages now rather than a single service because they want to make a day of it , truly relax and enjoy their ‘ me time .’”
— REBECCA DICKERSON , director of health and wellness , The Kentucky Castle Spa
A Little Trim
At the Milk + Honey Spa , which has multiple locations in Texas , owner Shon Bayer ’ s primary concern during their shutdown — which lasted for about three months — was crafting a menu that spoke to guest and staff concerns about safety . “ That first phase was very much dominated by looking at statutory and regulatory rules ,” says Bayer . Those considerations did lead to a fairly substantial trimming of the menu , but Bayer was ultimately confident that 15 years ’ worth of experience crafting a treatment menu would put the spa in a good position when it came time to reopen . “ We ’ ve learned over time that what works best for us is to have fewer
The Kentucky Castle Spa has found success by emphasizing package deals , which both increase guest spending and meet demand for more extensive spa visits .
SPA PRO TIP
“ GUESTS LOVE A GOOD DEAL , so bundle services and offer packages at a small discount . Not only are you making it easy for them to plan their visit because they don ’ t have to pick and choose for themselves when you have the perfect combinations already paired up , but you ’ re increasing your per-person spend . The best part is , we paired the couple ’ s massage with a choice of body scrub or facial so that we utilize the estheticians who often have lighter schedules . It ’ s a win for everyone !”
— REBECCA DICKERSON
16 PULSE ■ MAY 2021