La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa

RockResorts to Continue to Manage La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa Under New Ownership by the Gencom Group

The Gencom Group led partnership announced the purchase of the 157-room La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa, a RockResort, from Trinity Hotel Investors today.
La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa has a history dating to the late 1880s. Today, La Posada de Santa Fe is Santa Fe, New Mexico’s only member of Leading Hotels of the World. “We are excited to continue to manage La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa.

The RockResorts collection includes Hotel Jerome in Aspen, CO; The Pines Lodge in Beaver Creek, CO; Keystone Lodge & Spa in Keystone, CO; The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in the Vail Valley, CO; The Lodge at Vail in Vail, CO; La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa in Santa Fe, NM; and Snake River Lodge & Spa in Jackson Hole, WY.

Founded in 1987 by Karim Alibhai, Gencom Group, an investment and development firm, is a major player in the hospitality and related real estate industries. By aligning itself with prominent investors, Gencom has become one of the nation’s leading joint-venture investment enterprises, which has enabled the company to be involved in more than 10 luxury hotels and resorts with significant residential components for a total investment value of $6 Billion

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Day Spa Revenues Down, Medical Spa Revenues Doubled

New ISPA Research Reveals Day Spa Revenues Down, Medical Spa Revenues Doubled

The International SPA Association (ISPA) recently released its preliminary 2007 figures on the United States spa industry. The revenues from day spas–which represent 80% of all spas–declined significantly. There were 10,128 spas in April of 2004.

Numbers of Spa by Type, 2007:

The number of day spas, resort/hotel spas, medical spas and destination spas all increased between 2006 and 2007. The number of club spas and mineral springs spas decreased. 1,345 resort and hotel spas, 9% of the total.

• 976 medical spas, 7% of the total.

• 428 club spas, 3% of the total.

• 51 mineral springs spas, 0.4% of the total.

• 79 destination spas, 0.5% of the total.

Revenues at medical spas more than doubled.
Annual Revenues By Spa Type:

• Day spas : $5.294 billion in 2006, down from $6.794 billion in 2005.

• Medical spas: $1,063 billion, up from $469 million.

• Number of Visits to U.S. Spas

There were 110 million spa visits in 2006, a 16% decline from the 131 million spa visits in 2005.

Number of Employees in the U.S. Spa Industry

• The number of spa employees also declined.

There were 234,588 total spa employees in July 2007, compared to 267,400 total spa industry employees in August, 2006.

There were 215,200 total spa industry employees in April 2004.

The International SPA Association (ISPA) released its preliminary 2007 figures on the United States spa industry in August of 2007.

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Spa Employment Opportunity

Position Currently Available:
Full Time Dual Licensed Massage Therapist/ Esthetician

Spa Xanadu, Arcadia, CA

Voted

“Top Ten Day Spas Around Greater Los Angeles” by Los Angeles.about.com

“Top Ten Spa in L.A.” by Spa Living Magazine

Qualifications:

· Minimum 1 year experience in a day spa environment

· California: Massage Therapist Certification Program of 500 hours or more

· Licensed by California State Board of Cosmetology, Esthetician or Cosmetologist.

We are looking for hard-working, committed, dependable. experienced, customer service oriented people, with professional high standards. If you would like to join the Spa Xanadu family, send your resume to spaxanadu@spaxanadu.com or fax to (626) 821-9679.

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Massage Technique

Question From Mckensi

I recently did a full body exfoliation and seaweed body treatment. Our spa is a very small spa with no showers. After the client was taken out of the heated bed and I began to wipe the seaweed off, she complained of being very cold. Is there a technique I’m not aware of to keep the client warm? Thank you!!

 
There are several things you can do to keep your client warm during the product removal, first make sure you check the temperature of the room.  The room temperature should be comfortable for the guest not the service provider.  So, make sue that the AC is not blowing or blowing directly down on the guest.  Next make sure that you have a heated table.  You can use a twin size electric mattress cover or an electric blanket.  A solar blanket also helps to retain the clients body temperature.  When you go to wipe off the product only use hot towels.  Apply Wipe and then Apply and wipe again.  Cover the area cleaned with a fresh towel and solar blanket to keep it warm as you go.  Remember any area that is wet or damp will feel cold to the client.  Keep the feet warm with microwavable booties.
 
Hope these tips help.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
 
Sincerely Yours
Marie Bernat
COO Spavelous
The Largest US Spa Directory
888-887-7831 ext 1818

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Spa Advertising

Question From Lemans –

I have a magazine in Northern VA that is eager for me to advertise some what expensive 1300.00 a month any feedback

Dear Lemans,

So much information must go into making a marketing decision like this. 

First, what is your monthly marketing budget?  Your monthly budget should not be more then 10% of your top line revenue a month (with some fluctuation for seasonality).  In some cases due to your fix costs, your budget may be less (3 – 5%).  What is your marketing budget?  Does this cost fit into your budget?

Second, what is the ROI (return on investment).  I like to look at it this way, how much will that ad need to bring me on the top line to pay for itself on the bottom line.  If right now, you are averaging putting 20% on the bottom line each month, that would translate to for every$100,000 on the top line you put $20,000 on the bottom line.   So in this example, if you spend $1300 of your bottom line, then this should generate  at least $6500 on the top line to pay for itself.  If your average service is $100 this means that the ad would need to generate 65 treatments to pay for itself.  Can this ad do that?

If you do decide to move forward with this, you should run an ad with a coupon this way you can track redemption to see if you get the ROI. 

What is the distribution of the magazine?  How is it distributed (subscribers by mail, available for free in supermarkets, placed in hotels)?  Is it geared toward the  demographics of your clients?  Have you spoke with other advertisers in the magazine to see what type of results they experienced?  How long has this magazine been in business.  Is it a read once and throw out magazine or is it a coffee table magazine.  What is the readership of the magazine? 

I am familiar with N. VA, I lived in Fairfax and I still have a sister who lives in Sterling by Dulles Airport.  I will be happy to help you as much as I can with research on the publication. 

Today, depending on the location of your spa, most consumers are finding their spas by word of mouth and on the internet.  For $50 a month or $500 for an entire year of service, my company Spavelous  will support you.  We work with you on your word of mouth by having you stay in touch with your current clients with newsletters and email blasts.  We assist you with building sales by posting your spa deals and spa specials on our web site and in our Spa blogs.  Many of our members receive these specials daily through RSS feeds.  You can review our offering more at http://spavelous.com/mkt/index.html There are four plans to choose from.  At very least you should sign up for your free listing. 

As you can see by my posts, I am truly here to support you and the spa industry.  If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me directly.  I am located in AZ so I believe I am 3 hours behind you now.  888-887-7831 ex 1818 

I hope you have found this information helpful and not too confusing.

Sincerely Yours,

Marie Bernat
Spavelous – The Largest US Spa Directory

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Developing Spa Business Plan

Question From Latoya –

I am in the process of developing my business plan to open my own day spa. I wanted to find out how I conduct a market analysis and determine who my target market is? Any suggestions on where to go to get industry population, average pricing, age range of spa goers? 

Also how do I determine how much to charge for my services? 

Thanks
Dear Latoya,
 

Here are some simplified answers to your questions.  However, based on the questions you asked, you may want to hire a spa consultant to assist you so you have a better understanding of what you are getting into and set yourself up for success.   You have not indicated where you are located, so I have based this on the USA.

Market analysis of the demographics:  First you need to know the demographics of the city that you want to build your spa in.  You can go to your city’s website to pull up the latest population demographics, or you can get a rough estimate on line form the AP site for Census Data.  You will first select the state and then using the pull down menu select the city.   The numbers in blue you can click on for greater detail.  An even easier and more specific way if you are in a shopping center is to get the information form the commercial realtor for your shopping center they can give specifics broken down to radius miles around your specific site.  This information will be the most accurate.  

What is the demographics of the Spa Client:   I recommend that you become an ISPA member.  They have several publications that will assist you.  The 2006 Spa-goer study will give you general demographics.   Your demographics may be different, so I recommend that you situate yourself outside your competitors and do random counts during peak periods.   

For the question What should you charge.  You want to be competitive in your market, but you also want to make sure that your services are priced to be profitable.  This means you need to know what product line you will carry and what services you will offer.  Start by doing a Google search with the name of your city and the word spa.  In this link I did “Scottsdale, AZ Spa”

A map will come up with the spas in that area.  If the spas near you have a web site go online to their website and pull up their spa menu.  Start a spread sheet so you can Spa name, chart services, cost, and facility information, product line.   You can also go to my website http://www.spavelous.com we have the largest database of spas in the USA in one location.  We are still growing, so we hope that all spas will sign up for their free listing so people can find them.  This will also tell you who your competition is.  

After you let your fingers do the walking to view the menus, services and facilities, book some spa appointments.  Nothing can replace a first hand experience.  This will help you view the spa as your guests will view you.

Good Luck, if you need any other information, please call.  Spavelous is here to support the success of the spa industry.  Don’t forget to sign up with Spavelous before you open, we can even help develop your spa website and a year of our services for $500. 
 

Sincerely Yours

Marie Bernat

Spavelous – The Largest US Spa Directory

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Microdermabrasion

Question From Holly – 

I am finally purchasing my first microdermabrasion unit for my salon/spa, though i’m now having problems deciding which one. I know the company who i will buy from but they have two different machines. One is the Skinborn Microderma S-100 which uses crystals, the other is the Dermapeel “Diamond”Microdermabrasion, which uses a diamond tip wand. The diamond peel is 5,900 USD and i read that this is the newest technology. The Skinborn S-100 is 8,300 USD, and i’m not sure why it costs more. Could you explain to me why this machine would be more. Or just let me know which one you would recommend. Thank you so much for your time.

Dear Holly,

Of the two, I would go with the Diamond Tip.  For years I have looked for a microderm machine that uses vitamin c crystals instead of aluminum oxide crystals. Call me old fashion, but all of the studies that I have read, indicate that aluminum is correlated to Dementia, Alzheimer’s  and other mental disabilities.  I would not want to risk my health as a client or my aestheticians health for the sake of beauty.  

Over the years I have spoke with many machine representatives, and they tell me that I could use Vitamin C crystals or baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) in the machines instead, but they do not know who would supply it as they do not carry it.  

If you can find the Vitamin C Crystals or the Sodium Bicarbonate, I would go with that if not select the diamond tip.
 

Marie Bernat

Spavelous
The Largest US Spa Directory (ranked #1 by Google Search)

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