facials and body treatments; customers can add on a thermal circuit session for an extra ca$20 (us$20, €15, £13). Pricing is structured this way to allow visitors more flexibility, Rake explains. “Urban people sometimes want treatment only sometimes, and ther- mal other times,” he says. About 50 per cent of visitors go for the
thermal circuit alone, with 50 per cent also seeking treatments. Te most popular option is the Cloud9 package – a one-hour Swedish massage, plus a thermal experience.
OPEN ALL HOURS SkySpa’s location in a high footfall enter- tainment complex, among cinemas and restaurants, with its late hours – it’s open daily from 10am to 10pm – also help it to stand out from competitors. Customers take advantage of packages the spa offers in conjunction with restaurants and theatres in the complex and many drop into the spa with friends as a social activity, rather than deciding to go shopping or catch a movie
– 40 per cent of visitors walk in without an appointment. “SkySpa is the same sort of activity as going to the cinema,” Rake says. Interestingly, he actually considers cinemas and restaurants to be his biggest rivals, as opposed to other spas. The spa also has an interesting acces-
sibility philosophy: “I want the spa to be accessible to everyone, not just the rich,” says Rake. To achieve this, SkySpa charges ca$25 (us$25, €18, £16) for its thermal experience on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (it costs ca$39
SPA BUSINESS 1 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
Located in a leisure complex, SkySpa attracts 16- to 35-year- olds in search of a social/leisure activity
(us$39, €29, £24) the rest of the week), while students can use the circuit for ca$24 (us$24, €17, £15) at any time.
“It’s important for new cli- ents, who’ve never been to a spa before, to have a good experience [that’s not too expensive],” says Rake.
SKYSPA BY NUMBERS
n SkySpa employs a staff of 110 n Te cost of a 60-minute facial or body treatment without a thermal experience starts at ca$79 (us$80, €58, £49) n A 60-minute facial or body treatment with a thermal experience (including the Cloud9 package) is priced at ca$99 (us$100, €73, £62) n Overall revenue streams include treatment sales (60 per cent), giſt cards (30 per cent), product retail (5 per cent) and SkySpa Privilege cards (5 per cent) n Termal circuit experiences – as a standalone service – make up 40 per cent of spa service revenue
“Maybe aſter that they will then want more specific treatments.” Te approach has worked. Te majority of
SkySpa’s demographic is in the 16 to 35 age range. “Very different from the usual spa,” Rake laughs, noting that the spa’s marketing has been web-based to appeal to this group. Treatment room occupancy hovers around 40 per cent, with most guests visiting on Fri- days, Saturdays and Sundays; Rake’s happy with this right now but plans to continue to try to increase numbers.
GETTING CUSTOMERS HOOKED Rake puts the repeat customer rate at 80 per cent; contributing to this is the SkySpa Privilege Card. Guests purchase the card for ca$10 (us$10, €7, £6) on their first visit and receive a ca$5 (us$5, €4, £3) rebate on each of six future visits – saving ca$30 (us$30, €22, £19) in total – as well a two for one
thermal experience and another two for one thermal experience and massage. More than 1,000 of the cards, which can also be used at Nordic Station, have been sold so far. Giſt cards are also very popular and make up 30 per cent of overall revenues. In an effort to further the SkySpa brand,
the spa is currently experimenting with its own product line aſter switching over from Comfort Zone products; giſt baskets are available, but retail isn’t a big part of the business yet, Rake says. No specific decisions have been made yet
for what city to take SkySpa to next – for now, it will remain a peaceful thermal oasis on the seafront. “We have a lot of rivals, but right now we don’t have competitors exactly like us,” Rake says. “It’s tough to find a loca- tion like ours. We’re in the best environment that you can be in.” l
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