ASK AN EXPERT K
eeping track of turnaways was our saving grace in the
All Fairmont Raffl es spas
recession. At the time spas were laying off staff. By tracking turnaways, how- ever, I could prove that there was still demand for business and that we needed to keep therapists. By recording the type of treatment we turned down, I could also calculate the amount of money lost and show that it would actually be cost-eff ective to hire more team members. I think spas should turn down some busi-
ness because it shows that they have a good reputation and that they’re in demand. How- ever, the turnaway level should be low – no more than 10 per cent on a daily basis. Our main focus, however, is on not losing
business in the fi rst place. If we don’t have availability for one service, we’ll try to sell another or encourage off -peak bookings – as we’re a city spa we can do this more because
LINDSAY MADDEN-NADEAU Spa director, Amrita Spa, Raffl es Dubai
we have regular customers nearby. As people in Dubai always seem to book at the last- minute we also have a waiting list. It’s important to look at turnaway num-
bers because you can review your customer levels and see when you’re busy and what you’re getting bookings for. Our reception staff are responsible for col-
lecting turnaway information manually and the protocol for this is covered in their train- ing. Each evening these numbers are then entered into our corporate report spread- sheets. I’ve found that the best way to ensure that the details are recorded is to explain to them the importance behind doing it and to get them to take ownership of the task.
The best way to make sure receptionists record turnaway fi gures is to explain the importance of these numbers and to get them to take ownership of the task
E
ven though most operators recognise the importance of
avoiding turnaways, few explicitly track or analyse the reasons they occur. One of the fi rst challenges
DANIEL LIZIO-KATZEN Co-founder and COO, GramercyOne
is defi ning what constitutes a turnaway, as this depends on the type of spa, and the market segment it operates in. A destina- tion resort, for example, will have a higher level of turnaways, since most people don’t book treatments when reserving their holi- day so prime times are oſt en full when they arrive. In contrast, urban day spas will have a lower number, as they rarely run above 80 per cent occupancy, except during peak times. T is means taking a general approach
to turnaways is oſt en wrong and detailed knowledge of peak times is needed before eff ective changes can be made. As more reservations move online and
onto mobile devices, the time between when a service is booked and when it’s consumed is decreasing, meaning more treatments are booked at the last minute. T is makes it even more challenging to schedule optimum staff - ing and room allocation without the proper tools. If a client calls to book and there’s
no availability, spas can try selling them an alternative time or service, but if this isn’t possible, the only option may be to put them on a waiting list. In January, our SpaBooker spa manage-
ment system will launch a Smart Waitlist with features to track turnaways. T is will enable operators to both forecast demand and optimise the management of live turna- ways. T e module will automatically record details of customer requests that can’t be accommodated, saving time for staff . T is ‘smart’ waitlist will automatically pri-
oritise waiting customers by their value to the business. T e system will enable them to be contacted via social media, SMS, email or phone to ensure the highest possible uti- lisation – and profi t – is achieved. Additionally, it will be possible to exam-
ine the previous 30/60/90 days of sales and reveal whether turnaways were caused by under-staffi ng, to determine optimal staff -
56 Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital
have a standard for record- ing turnaways and I think most other large hotel spa chains would too. However, I think they’d be surprised at how in-depth our system is.
We record the turnaways using a track
sheet, which lists all the treatments and times. We note turnaways based on service type and analyse the fi gures on a daily basis (especially in peak times) to drill down into the rea- sons why. Was it because the service wasn’t available (no therapist) or because we didn’t have enough room? We then re-evaluate our operations and look at what we can change to enable us to lower our turnaway levels. It’s diffi cult to track turnaways in Dubai
on a monthly basis as there really isn’t much consistency in how people book. We do run into issues of male and female staff availabil- ity in turnaways due to the culture here, so we’re cautious of that in staff schedules. T en there’s the high demand at the week-
ends (Friday to Saturday here). Again, we try to limit this through up-selling other treat- ments or times or through promotions.
Madden-Nadeau has worked in Fairmont-Raf- fl es spas for 10 years. Details: www.raffl
es.com
ing levels by time-of-the-day and day-of-the-week. If a spa has room and
staff availability for facials, but customers are request- ing massages, then staff can be retrained. If all resources
are being utilised, perhaps it’s time to adjust the pricing? T e exception is that in spas with regular customers, peak times should have turnaways to encourage customers to book early and reverse the trend towards last minute bookings. T e system will highlight which days spe-
cifi c staff or treatments are booked or which have the highest utilisation. Using this infor- mation, less tangible things that impact on performance – like therapist popularity – can be better understood. T e goal of every service business is to
fully utilise staff and facilities. When you combine the ability to gain insight into why turnaways are happening with the appro- priate tools, you gain the ability to allocate resources in a more intelligent manner.
SpaBooker, the online scheduling and business management soſt ware, is owned by GramercyOne. Details:
www.spa-booker.com
SPA BUSINESS 4 2010 ©Cybertrek 2010
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