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BITAC - Healthcare & Hospitality Merging To Create Mind Body Trend We're all getting older – ick! – but we all want to feel younger. BITAC Spa & Health debuts by dissecting this nascent trend. Monday, August 13, 2012 Glenn Haussman

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Healthcare and hospitality may not instantly seem like a powerful combination, but the overlap is downright astounding. The more you think about it, uniting the two can be a winning formula to boost business, especially within the local communities.

This is no fad. In fact, though this concept is still bubbling below the surface, it’s a trend ready to burst into the consumer consciousness. That means hoteliers and healthcare operations such as assisted living facilities need to get prepared now to secure their piece of the action.

Essentially there are two elements here working congruously that ensure this is no short lived desire, but irrefutable shift in the way consumers utilize spas. Sure pampering still rules, but that’s not the only way spa goers want to feel good. 

Americans are getting older demographically yet psychographically everyone yearns to feel younger, healthier; fitter.  So it’s time both these groups play in each other’s sandboxes as Generation X and Baby Boomers move toward a healthier approach to life.

This was a cornerstone issue discussed at the first ever BITAC Spa & Health event being held this week at the incredible Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada. The event is bridging the gap between healthcare and hospitality to educate professionals in both fields how they can maximize profits by adopting some of the other industry’s best practices.

“People – no matter their age group - want to feel healthier,” said Julia Sutton, COO of Exhale Spa and Salon, which has 19 facilities, 10 of which are in hotels such as the new Revel in Atlantic City.

Sutton said mind-body classes are surging in popularity as people are getting better in touch with their physical state of being. But to turn their desires into continued attendance at yoga and Pilates classes for example -- or for the company’s Core Fusion approach – they offer different levels of classes depending on psychographic and experience.

To Sutton, it’s all about making people feel comfortable. “People are looking for quality of personalization so every location must have mind-body wellness program,” said Sutton, who said all Exhale facilities must have this critical component.

The connection between mind and body is about to explode according to BITAC Spa & Health attendees. One of the cool things about all our BITAC events – of which there will be nine in 2013 – is conference attendees become part of the panel. That is, they can vote in real time on issues affecting the hotel business.

When asked which spa revenue category drives the highest gross profit margin, and brings in the highest percent of traffic from non-hotel gusts, just 4.3 percent said mind body classes with spa getting 67.3 percent of the vote and retail at 28.3 percent.

But don’t look at the raw numbers. This is truly about potential. It’s our belief this number shows the unbelievable amount of growth this market is about to experience precisely because that figure is currently such a small percent. When attendees were asked what kind of demand increase are they seeing for mind body classes an unbelievable 74 percent said they are seeing a sharp or moderate uptick for these types of programs. Just 26 percent said they are seeing no difference…yet.


Meanwhile, the spa business is once again resurgent, according to 90 percent of attendees.

Jeff Kohl, SVP/ COO of Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas, which has 31 locations, half in hotels, said the business is moving forward again but the customers are more interested in overall experience.

“People are spending less, but they are still spending and they want experiences. “Couponing” specials are driving business but the loyalty of customers is increasing.

Kohl said they are not giving steep discounts with coupons, rather deals they put out in the market feature value-adds that do not damage price integrity. The idea here is to get new customers young and early.

“We start by capturing them when they are young and we take customers through senior-living,” said Kohl, who added the company takes a “back to basics” approach with clientele to understand their needs and the types of experiences they desire to boost loyalty.

The average age at Red Door is the Generation X market if customers between the ages of 38 and 49.

Kohl added that it’s also critical to take care of staff in order to create the right experience, which will bring them back in the door. He added they also track guests’ patterns such as when they come in and how often. That helps his team better understand guest desires and reveals marketing opportunities.

He also noted that the people that care most about your location are within a three mile radius of the hotel, so he deploys sales people in that area to make face to face connections with guests.