MENU ENGINEERING T
he number of treatments we off er varies with the location –
resorts have a slightly larger menu with an increased number of packages. It also depends on the age of the property as we open with a smaller menu and build on this over time. Too many treatments, however, can be a recipe for mediocre quality. Menu engineering is important because
it enables you to keep pace with the mar- ket and to keep your off er fresh. While we do take profi tability of treat-
ments into consideration, it is not our major driver. We look at what sells, but we also like to maintain a wide-enough range of choices. A good menu ensures a vari- ety for guests and therapists. Everyone has their ‘favourites’ and the ‘anticipation factor’ of the spa experience means that menu deletions can be disappointing for regular guests who we strongly value.
SHEILA MCCANN Corporate director of spa brand quality, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
T at said, we have developed a frame-
work of core menu treatments across diff erent resorts to enable therapists to move between locations if necessary. A treatment description is impor-
tant. When we launched CHI, T e Spa [Shangri-La’s in-house brand], we used ethereal language for some therapies as that was part of the concept. While these remain very evocative of the ambience we want to create, we’ve refi ned some of the language to include details about the tech- nique, pressure, benefi ts and how a guest might feel aſt erwards. If a spa-goer can link the description to their own needs, the treatments will have greater appeal. It also helps us to overcome cultural barriers
We have developed a framework of core menu treatments across different resorts to enable therapists to move between locations if necessary
A
s a city spa with eight treatment rooms, we nor- mal l y o f f er
– massage is just one word but an individual’s expec- tations of techniques diff er according to their back- ground. We think about the order of the menu. We used to place the most
expensive packages fi rst, but now put the most popular treatments upfront to make it more accessible for guests. It can be tricky to cut down treatment
menus, especially local treatments. Spa directors, in-house trainers and thera- pists oſt en research and contribute to the refi nement of local treatments. If they’re enthusiastic about a treatment, they take great pride in them and are more likely to suggest them to a customer and to give a really passionate treatment. T e key is to re-craſt with a combina-
tion of old favourites and new, interesting items. But my advice would be to plan a least six months to a year ahead. New treatments require adequate training, you need to think about order cycles and delivery times and stock levels need to be considered to avoid waste.
McCann has over 30 years experience in the service industry and oversees 35 spas globally at Shangri-La. Details:
www.shangri-la.com
25 treatments and no more than 30. If you get up to 40-50 treatments, it becomes confusing for the guests to choose. Every year, I go through a treatment menu
LYNSEY HUGHES Spa director, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
Directors can use this method to look at
engineering process as it’s essential to make sure we don’t off er treatments that the guest doesn’t want. You don’t want your therapist spending time on a treatment that isn’t profi t- able and only gets booked twice a month. It’s also a good opportunity for a spa director to ensure they’ve positioned their price point correctly within the market place as competi- tors may increase their price or new spas may have opened with a competitive price. For our menu engineering, we use CRASE
– Cornell’s Restaurant Administration Simu- lation Exercise. T e system was initially used to analyse food menus and it covers sales ver- sus the profi t margin of items. T e result is a quadrant grid that plots your treatment Stars (high sellers, high profi t), Plow Horses (high sellers, low profi t), Dogs (low sellers, low prof- its) and Puzzles (low sellers, high profi ts).
SPA BUSINESS 1 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012
performance month by month or by catego- ries such as massages versus facials. What I tend to do, however, is to analyse it per activ- ity so that you can really see how well you’re doing treatment to treatment. Our top three Star treatments are our ori-
ental essence, therapeutic and aromatherapy massages. T ey’re popular and profi table because they only require oils, unlike facials which require gels, creams and serums. A Plow Horse is an example of a treatment
that isn’t booked as oſt en as our massages and works out less profi table. But we like them because they give our menu depth and set us apart from our competitors. As the therapist is with a guest for up to three hours, the cus- tomer receives a thorough, bespoke treatment and there’s less wear and tear on the facility. Puzzles are treatments that need tweak- ing. Our Oriental Harmony – a four-handed
massage – could be an example of this as it involves two therapists and is costly. Similarly, a Dog might be a shirodhara treatment that uses up two litres of high- quality oil which literally
ends up down the drain. Yet just because a treatment falls into the bottom two quad- rants, it doesn’t mean that you automatically cut it out. In these two examples, you could raise the price point to cover costs. While the CRASE diagram is a useful tool,
you shouldn’t use it in isolation and you need to look at the business as a whole. If a treat- ment isn’t selling, it may be that you don’t have enough therapists trained, or maybe you do but they’re not on the right shiſt s. I would avoid making too many changes
in one go as you wouldn’t want your regu- lar guests to feel that they can no longer get what they want. T e maximum number of treatments I’ve ever changed or taken off in one reprint of a brochure is three.
Hughes has worked in Mandarin Oriental spas for more than 11 years. Details:
www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong
Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100