“ There are so many guests that are very used to a set regimen …. But there are all these little opportunities to open someone up to what different types of therapies are available .”
— DANIEL SPENCER guests , who qualify for reduced prices . “ That gives us an opportunity to have more people coming in who have been to us before , and then when they find out that we have these different programs for locals , it allows them to work in those services a lot because they ’ re just around the corner . The feedback we ’ ve gotten from the guests that we ’ ve seen so far — it ’ s really positive .”
A Shifting Approach
Collecting and analyzing guest feedback is , of course , a crucial component of a spa ’ s programming and marketing efforts , and from what Trilogy Spa Holdings ’ Vice President of Marketing Erin Stremcha has seen , spa guests are on the hunt for ways to serve their wellness needs , even if they don ’ t say so explicitly . “ I don ’ t know that [ guests ] are necessarily communicating that they ’ re looking for a specific wellness service ,” Stremcha says . However , she notes that services that include components guests perceive to serve a wellness function — vitamin C and CBD , for example — have been highly popular . “ Guests are choosing [ CBD treatments ] over just a regular massage , even though it ’ s more expensive ,” she says .
Stremcha also points out that , even though guests may not use the word “ wellness ” to explain why they are seeking out a particular type of service , marketing highlighting the wellness benefits of spa treatments has been effective because it speaks to the concerns about stress , fatigue and burnout that so many have experienced during the pandemic . “ Am I playing on that from a marketing angle ? Absolutely , because I ’ m meeting the consumer where they are when they ’ re booking . ‘ I ’ m going to take care of myself ’— that ’ s the kind of feedback we ’ re getting ,” Stremcha says .
Despite COVID-19 ’ s role in shifting attitudes regarding personal health and well-being , Stremcha notes that Trilogy spas have consciously pulled back from positioning their services as a response to the impact of the pandemic . “ Guests were so sick of hearing about COVID that we cut [ that messaging ] off and made it wellness-focused from a standpoint of , ‘ Come and take care of yourself .’ [ COVID ] is in their faces 24-seven . They ’ re trying to move past it .”
In addition to reducing the COVID-focused aspect of the spas ’ marketing , many Trilogy spas have opted to lean away from the seasonal treatment offerings ( and the marketing efforts that typically follow ) in favor of emphasizing services and add-ons that may have a more obvious relationship to health and well-being in guests ’ minds . “ We moved off of the seasonal treatments … and started to focus more on the services that had magnesium , or CBD , or Himalayan salt . We moved more towards the wellness aspect ,” Stremcha explains . That shift hasn ’ t just had an impact on the spas ’ marketing , but also in the way that they approach guest education about treatments and their potential benefits . “ We ’ ve moved away from the fluffy , fun piece of [ education ],” says Stremcha . In its place , she says , is a more outcome-focused approach that aligns with guests ’ increased attention to how their spa routine might benefit their health overall .
For some spa leaders , it may seem like much of what Stremcha describes is par for the course . Spas have long touted the benefits of spa services to mental and physical well-being , after all . What may be changing , then , isn ’ t necessarily what spas offer guests , but how spas position those offerings and the lens through which guests are now equipped to view them : not as a “ nice-to-have ” luxury , but as a key part of maintaining their health and wellness at a time when they are more attentive to those things than ever before . �
FEATURED SOURCES
PAMELA MAES Spa Director MIRBEAU INN AND SPA
DANIEL SPENCER Director of Spas SUNSTONE SPA AT AGUA CALIENTE RANCHO MIRAGE
ERIN STREMCHA Vice President of Marketing TRILOGY SPA HOLDINGS THE SPA AT COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG
OCTOBER 2021 � PULSE 35