Spas: The State of the Union

I read some surprising news from the International Spa Association via spas.about.com
According to the 2007 state-of-the-industry study by the International SPA Association, though there are currently more day spas this year (775 to be exact), the industry generated more money last year. That means, it seems, that there isn’t enough business to go around. Specifically the spa industry, they say, lost over a billion dollars in revenue. The statistics refer only to day spas. Hotel and resort spas seem to not be affected. So is the medical spa industry. (Why are medspas counted as spas? They’re not spas at all; just well-appointed venues to have non-surgical and surgical beauty treatments.)

I look forward to what will probably be a lively discussion at this year’s ISPA conference, which will be held in Kissimmee, FL on Nov 11-15. But though I want the spa industry to remain healthy and thrive, maybe this is a signal that spa goers are becoming savvier and won’t roll over if they’re not getting the level of service they deserve. Maybe this just makes more room for the pure-of-heart spas to deliver their quality services without bottomliners muscling in to cash in.

What is a spa, really?

I've been having a back and forth conversation via blog posts with Andrew Moorhouse, the blogger who writes about spas from the male perspective at the Great Spa Search.

Andrew was nice enough to follow up on the story I suggested he read in Dayspa trade magazine about how spa operators are trying to attract more men to indulge beyond a hot shave with a beer chaser. Andrew asked for comments on the article and as I was trying to make the comments thingy work it really got me thinking expanding on the-post-that-never-materialized idea. So here are some thoughts:

The author of the Dayspa You've Got Male article quotes a stat released this year by ISPA, which states that 31% of males are currently using spas. I think that this stat is correct but misleading. It all depends on how you define the word spa. These days the term is used so loosely that we don't really know what the place is going to look like and what its vibe is until we arrive. You may be envisioning tranquility and quiet ambiance only to find something else entirely.

It would be interesting to know if the quoted 31% includes MedSpas as well, which is a very different beast. I check and see. In the meantime, nail and hair salons are now attaching the word spa their business names. But aside from the one that are true hybrid venues and do offer bonafide spa treatments such as massage, that stat is likely ramped up because of researchers' lack of specificity. So do your own research—ask your Q's to get your A's because I doubt this naming trend is going anywhere fast. And check in here frequently as I continue to elaborate on treatments that you may have heard about but are not so clear on what they do as to what they are.