The majority (80 per cent) of business comes from the US, but Henkin is looking to grow internationally to even out the split to 50-50 in the next two to three years
name, Washington Tennis Services, was apt but arguably unambitious and 39 years later, the moniker is no longer quite as fi tting. Now named WTS International, the pri-
vately owned company employs 2,000 people worldwide and, although it still off ers ten- nis services, up to 65 per cent of its revenues are generated through spa management and consulting, with high-profi le clients includ- ing Ritz-Carlton, Wyndham Worldwide and Trump. And while up to 80 per cent of its business currently comes from within the US, with the remainder from overseas, Henkin expects, “in the next two to three years for that to look more like 60-40 or 50-50.”
ORGANIC GROWTH
So how exactly does a small tennis operator become a global spa business? According to Henkin, he wasn’t initially looking to diversify.
“For the fi rst 16 years we were very focused on tennis,” he says. “T en in the late 80s,
SPA BUSINESS 1 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012
fi tness facilities began popping up in hotels. And we felt that our approach – hiring and training great people, fi nancial management, marketing and promotions, programme development, maintenance and retail sales – was applicable to a diff erent space.” WTS’ fi rst fi tness project was the opening
of a 10,000sq ſt (929sq m) health club within a hotel and offi ce complex in Washington DC. Despite the company’s lack of expe- rience in the sector, it was a great success and proved to be a springboard to similar projects across the US. T eir move into the spa sector in the late
90s was similarly organic, beginning with the management contract for a failing spa and fi t- ness centre at a small hotel in the US Virgin Islands. “Operationally and fi nancially it wasn’t the easiest start,” says Henkin. “But we man- aged to turn it around in both areas. And with that we took on additional accounts in the US Virgin Islands, and ultimately back home.”
Today, WTS projects range from opening
hotel spas for Trump in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Honolulu to developing a pro- prietary spa brand for Wyndham Worldwide. Henkin adds: “We also have a whole portfo- lio of small to moderately sized spas, some of which have just two or three treatment rooms. A spa doesn’t have to be big to be profi table, or a wonderful, relaxing space.”
UNDER THE RADAR
Although WTS also off ers feasibility studies, plus brand and concept development, its three largest service areas are design consultation, pre-opening and management. Yet in contrast with many spa operators, the company prides itself on operating under the radar. “From an operative standpoint, we actually become an integrated part of our client’s [property],” says Henkin. “To the guest, we’re invisible.” While WTS’ overseas growth is driven almost exclusively by new-build spas, an
Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital 69
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