in order to gain their trust. They know
about ingredients in products, procedures and what is popular,” she says.
“This is great for our industry as it adds
pressure on us to keep our team properly
trained and informed, elevating the level
of service we should provide.”
While she generally overhauls the
spa menu every two years, she stays
on-trend by adding seasonal and special
treatments in between. “The process
basically starts with listening to our
guests, studying the top requested
services and eliminating the ones that
aren’t popular,” she says.
Vendor selection is a big part of the
treatment design process. “I look for
passion,” she says, adding that it’s
important for her to see that resource
partners believe in the product they are
selling in order to make her spa team
love the products. “If the team believes
in the product, it will sell!” she says,
adding that she looks for qualities like
high-quality, responsibility, consistency
and efficacy in a product or brand.
Happy Guests
When it comes to marketing, Quesada
sums up the spa’s strategy: keep guests
happy. “You need to know your market
in order to reach out to them. I have,
as much as I don’t prefer to, offered
discounts, because the local market
likes to hear the word ‘discount,’” she
says, adding that the spa offers specials
daily at certain times and promote
treatments during less peak times at a
discounted rate.
“The idea is to bring them into the
spa and suggest an enhancement to
their service, to justify the discount. We
also offer ‘mini’ services at the pool and
beach areas. This has been a great
marketing strategy as the 25-minute
treatment by the pool or beach areas turn
out to be a great hook for them to come
in for a longer experience at the spa,”
Quesada says.
The spa also stays on top of special
holidays or celebrations and offer custom
activities based on them. “For example,
for Yoga Day, we increased our yoga and
meditation classes for the day on a
complimentary basis. When you open the
door for them to experience the quality of
your services, they are attracted to experience them again, even when treatments
are no longer complimentary,” she says.
Guest education is a big part of their
marketing strategy. “We offer classes to
teach our clients and increase their
awareness [about the benefits of spa].
Educating guests is for our very own
benefit in the end,” she says.
Quesada says she also works with
other businesses for incentive programs
and spa specials in order to better understand what their guests are looking for as
well as capture a market that the spa may
not normally reach because they don’t
have access to a similar database. “I love
the statement ‘If you don’t like your
results, change the procedure but not the
goal.’ If I need to improve my financial
results, I need to try new things, including
new marketing strategies in order to
attract the clients I want,” she says.
But with a focus on offering Mexico’s
unique experiences, Four Seasons Punta
Mita is infusing just the right kind of
strategy to get guests coming back. ■
ABOUT
THE SPA
Spa open date: September 1999
Square footage: 20,500
Number of treatment rooms: 12
Number of full-time spa staff: 29
Guest ratio percentage (female vs.
male): 60 percent vs. 40 percent
Method of staff payment/
compensation: Flat salary plus commission
Signature treatment: Punta Mita
Massage and Hakali Massage
Product lines used: Knesko Skin,
COOLA Suncare, FarmHouse Fresh,
Éminence Organic Skin Care, CND,
Moroccanoil
Contact: Four Seasons Punta Mita
Punta Mita - Bahia de Banderas
63734 Nayarit, Mexico
Phone: 52.329.291.6000
Website: fourseasons.com/puntamita
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