A Profitable Approach to Spa Hydrotherapy
by Douglas Preston

When thoughts turn to starting up or expanding into a spa business, the entrepreneur will often focus on a few compelling concepts that will eventually decide the design, and fate, of the business-to-be. Chief among these ideas is a spacious and relaxing environment, a unique spa concept, and glamorous, seemingly fun-to-perform services that include the use of Vichy showers and Hydrotubs. It’s exciting to imagine that equipment getting a good workout from throngs of eager, hydro-savvy clients that will make your business investment a successful one. But it seems that few spa business owners have investigated thoroughly just what’s really needed to make an investment in specialized, sophisticated equipment and services profitable.

Many hydro equipment vendors have expressed dismay with customers who sometimes fault the costly devices for their failure to generate adequate customer demand. Vendors correctly feel that if the equipment is working properly, has been serviced promptly, and sufficient operational training has been provided, then their obligation to the customer has been dutifully fulfilled. However, many spa operators have begun to expect, even demand, that equipment vendors also provide marketing assistance, service plans and protocols, pricing help, and routine technical training for a revolving door staff. And while the price structure of hydro equipment sellers does not–and competitively cannot–include the cost of all these post-sale services, it is also reasonable to understand that the seller may not feel obligated to do so either. Think about it–you may plunk down $75,000.00 for a new Mercedes Benz, but the dealer is not going to provide you with driver training, auto insurance, or vacation planning. You get a warranty, care and maintenance tips, and some basic operating instructions—all that anyone should or can expect. Anything you need beyond that must be obtained from resources whose business it is to provide it: insurance companies, driver training schools, and travel agencies.

Somehow a trend has developed for customers to insist upon services that go above and beyond what’s realistic when purchasing high-end spa equipment. But if we’re going to plan and operate a spa successfully, we’ll need to face the fact that we will need to independently locate, utilize, and incorporate the best overall service and management systems we can find. And this means taking full responsibility for our decision to run our companies. Think of it this way: as business owners we love our spa customers. We recommend appropriate home care regimens and give instructions on daily use, and troubleshoot if they run into a problem with a product. Beyond that–it’s up to them to decide what to do with what we’ve provided. We cannot, and should not, be expected to do more.

Hydro equipment and the specialty treatments they permit are fun and interesting to work with, but how much did you really know before setting up shop about attracting the hydro client, keeping them returning, and actually making a profit from those sales? Unless you have a clearly detailed and working business plan for this service department, you have no plan at all. No planning means no direction, and no direction means you bought the car but can’t think of where you want to go, and don’t have a map to get there even if you have a destination in mind. Yet you do have the car and at least some people are willing to ride along with you somewhere—but where?

Rather than ask this magazine to print an entire business plan (also known as an educated guess) let’s simply assume that our goal is to keep our hydrotub from becoming a convenient place to store used linens. It would also be nice to turn on the Vichy shower for purposes other than rinsing the dust from the table below. In other words, we want strong service sales generated by the mere presence of this miraculous machinery in our spa. We open up for business, stand ready at the keyboard and then…well, maybe almost nothing. It may be slow in the beginning, and it will take enough effort to get our standard services such as facials, manicures and pedicures going let alone the more esoteric. Should we call our vendor and complain about this scarcity of customers? Should we demand that they give us more training, treatment ideas, and a foolproof marketing campaign? Were we falsely lured into this expensive investment by predatory, heartless salespersons? No. The vendor delivered and we have now painfully discovered what failing to plan properly will do to any part of any business. So instead of attacking a sales let’s learn how to make a hydrotherapy operation as successful as it can and should be.

There’s going to be some new work to be done by you but it’s better than doing a lot more of the wrong things. As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is in doing something over and over again while expecting a different outcome. And remember this article is for those of you who are just now planning to enter the hydrotherapy business, and those still looking to get it out of the starting gate. If you’ve already built a prosperous hydro department in your spa then just…keep reading a little longer.

Step 1: What is your goal?
Yep, you need a goal, and not a vague fuzzy goal such as, “I want to have a good hydro clientele.” We need more. First of all, assuming that we’re going to buy this equipment no matter what, we need to know why we’re getting into this service area. If it’s to make more money, then we’ll need to look into the cost of each treatment, find a breakeven point per service, and then price the services to make money beyond that. How much should you charge? Find that breakeven point first, check out your competition, and then price your services above both. Anybody who’s not planning to be the best spa in your area? No? Then charge like you’re the best. You can’t realistically expect to be the highest quality spa and the low cost leader at the same time. Just go ahead and allow yourself to make some money, please.

So, we want to make more money through superior hydrotherapy services, right? The next question then is:

Step 2: Who is your target customer?
Oh yeah, the client. Remember him or her? The one breathlessly waiting outside before we even open who’s savvy enough about these services to want to hop into that tub or on the table for a little healing rain? What will get customers into your spa for these specialty treatments and keep them rescheduling for more? What results will they be expecting? We don’t really know for sure, do we?

To keep your hydrotub and Vichy equipment spouting water, you’ll need to be very clever in making sure that you’re appealing to the right consumer. There are two types of spa users that you will be serving most often: the dyed-in-the-wool, just gotta have it, Spa Enthusiast, and the gift certificate-waving Spa Package Pamperling. Each of these spa visitors have their own unique way of utilizing your services, and each represent a very different kind of business opportunity for you. Let’s examine them closely and see how we can make the most of their visits with us.

Spa Enthusiast
Get down on your knees and worship this person! She (I’ll say she) is the most lucrative and rewarding client you can possibly find. Treat her like gold! This lovely creature loves your spa, loves your services, and wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else for her treatments. She doesn’t need to be reminded hourly that she has an appointment with you—she can barely wait until she comes back in! She buys all of her spa products from you without any coaching, rarely if ever returns a purchase, and loves to experiment with your new arrivals. And fun? This woman is an absolute joy to work with! Why can’t they all be just like her? She’s healthy, a true believer in personal care, and is current on all the latest techniques for keeping her face and body beautiful, just like her close friends whom she refers to you. This client is the ultimate calling card for your business, and you can find her if you look carefully enough.

Step 3: Actively market your hydro services.
How to get this customer interested in your hydrotherapy program? Speak directly to her in your marketing efforts. She’s not a typical bargain hunter but loves an unexpected deal or perk. Charge her top dollar but deliver nothing but the best that you have, and deliver on it consistently. Tell her what to do and she’ll do it. If toning and firming of the body’s skin is what she wants to achieve, then give her a program that promotes those results. Treatment series coupled to a faithful home care routine is a must for this woman, as is maintaining a properly kept appointment schedule with you. Don’t be afraid to take a proactive approach with her—she’s there for the results and you are the professional that’s advising her. But remember, be as serious about what is needed to get treatment results as a nutritionist would be about the behavior needed to reduce weight. The same goes for all of the other benefits your hydro equipment is designed to produce. Believe in it, talk about it everywhere, schedule and lead your clients, and earn a wonderful reputation for great results and sterling professionalism; your hydrotub is not an amusement park ride.

Spa Package Pamperling
This is the life-giving blood of any new or established spa business. They come in every size, age, and enthusiasm about the role of a spa in their life. They are less likely to see the spa as a serious or affordable routine for themselves, but rather are there for a little “pampering”. Pampering is that scary, hard-to-recognize result that is so much taken for granted in the spa business.

One thing is certain: the Pamperling has come to the spa because either she or some kind-hearted soul wanted her to have a day of sheer personal indulgence, and it’s unlikely that they don’t really know what to expect from the spa beyond something unforgettable. And that’s exactly what you’ll give them by recommending your hydro services!

Step 4: Package your plan.
This is the golden opportunity to make those hydrorooms splash with pamper-making magic! While the Spa Enthusiast will likely follow your recommendations for good self care and thus partake of your hydro programs, the Spa Package Pamperling is less likely to reschedule, less likely to make a significant product purchase, and much less likely to articulate the benefits of “pampering” in a way that will lead to the getting of more of it. Probably another gift certificate will be needed to see her again, and that for another one-day-a-year pamperfeast. Your spa packages need to be a marvelous way to introduce new customers to new services, and hopefully get them to reschedule for more. That means you should design your spa package programs to include a healthy tour of your various exotic offerings. Who wouldn’t love a relaxing and toning hydrotreatment followed by a skin smoothing sea salt exfoliation under the Vichy rain? Here’s an example of a spa fantasy experience:

So go ahead and confidently let the water flow in those spa packages. Create several different versions of them but make sure there’s some hydro in every one. This has been my instruction to many a spa and virtually all of them have found the plan extremely productive in selling these specialty services and products.

Is that all there is to it? No, there’s more.

Step 5: Service and sales training.
Let those hydro vendors off the hook and let training professionals handle this part of your business investment for you. There are some great resources available out there whose business it is to keep your spa team up-to-date on all the latest advances in hydrotherapies and treatment products. A good trainer will know how to use most types of popular hydro devices and will thoroughly understand the needs and sensitivities of the hydrotherapy client. This is no place to pinch pennies. Ask the experts for referrals to skilled spa trainers, and be sure incorporate that training into your own in-house program. This is an investment in your business; you’ll pay dearly for poor, perfunctory spa training, believe me.

An important and almost always neglected component of any meaningful spa training is in service and product sales. Why again is it that the hydro services have been moving more slowly than expected? Who exactly in the spa is actively selling customers on them? Be honest now. Are you really doing all that you can to interest spa visitors in the services they know the least about? Don’t wait for clients to discover them on their own. Many clients, even long time regulars, use a remarkably small percentage of what your service menu offers, just as most repeat restaurant customers select from a narrow portion of the dinner menu—that’s why they create “daily specials” to sell the halibut. Even then they still have to have to print specials on the menu or, better yet, instruct the wait staff to describe them in tempting ways. The same goes for you and your spa staff if you want to attract a greater number of your customers to your specialty hydro treatments. It’s still a developing market.

Step 6: Be focused.
My spa, Preston Wynne, removed its hydrotub (a menacingly mean-tempered machine of poor quality) after 10 years of battling with it. Service sales never grew appreciably and we needed the space for more in-demand treatments. Did the tub fail? Other than mechanically (relax, most of them are very reliable these days) no; we failed to focus on the hydrotherapy business sufficiently to make it successful. For us hydrotherapy was always a sideline to our aesthetics services around which we have built a considerable reputation for results. We just weren’t that serious about hydrotherapy, although we continue to operate a Vichy shower that has become the pivotal device in many of our body therapies. The point is, it may not be prudent to spend thousands of dollars on equipment and products with which you plan to take a "plug and play" approach. It’s not likely to benefit your business unless, perhaps, you’re a large resort operation who has the financial resources to provide marginal amenities that meet every client request. In that environment it is the availability rather than the frequent utility of specialty equipment that matters most. Unless you can afford to indulge customers on that level, you should plan to manage your hydrotherapy investment with care and dedication. This is the way to prosper in the specialty services business!

Best of luck to you!

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