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OVERBUILDING T


he debate on spa sizing is between the marketing men – “give me


a large spa so I can get a great hero shot, good PR and boost the hotel’s profi le” and the accountant – “does the spa give me a good return on investment?” Currently, the accountant holds greater


SIMON SHEPHERDSON Managing director, International Leisure Consultants


sway and chains such as Shangri-La are down-playing the luxurious CHI, The Spa their in newer properties. Meanwhile, Mandarin Oriental no longer looks to have a minimum 15,000sq ſt (1,394sq m) allocated to the spa and its new spas now fi t the size of the property being developed. But this doesn’t apply to all and individual


hotel owners oſt en think of the spa as a sta- tus symbol and that ‘biggest is best’. An 80-bedroom Starwood hotel planned in


western China has 12 treatment rooms; while a new Luxury Collection hotel in Shanghai includes a 1,000sq ſt (93sq m) VIP spa suite.


You could ask if this is practical or sustainable, but what if the owners are using these facilities for business entertaining, as they increasingly do, and conclude a us$30m deal this way? Generally, the size of a hotel spa can be


linked to the number of bedrooms and the potential capture rate – 5-8 per cent in city hotels and 10-15 per cent in resorts. In resorts, spa treatment rooms tend to be bigger – 400- 500sq ſt (37-46sq m) – to give a greater sense of escape, while 150-200sq ſt (14-16 sq m) is adequate for a city location. Do these diff erent sizes create equal rev-


enues? Smaller rooms, without showers and toilets but with a minimum size of 120sq ſt (11sq m) for comfort, are suited to shorter, straightforward treatments so can gener-


A spa can be a good return on investment – though small (120sq ft) to medium (180 sq ft) size treatment rooms are the most effi cient


T


here are few stand- ards for how much space should be allocated to spas


ate greater revenues with quicker turnover. Yet double rooms, with a 180sq ſt (17sq m) minimum, are increas- ingly important with spas being visited more oſt en by couples, friends and busi-


ness associates. Treatment rooms over 500sq ſt (46sq m), however, are too large to allow for an intimate experience. Good design can make treatment rooms


seem larger and also to appear more lavish and it helps when spas are taken out of the basement to allow for natural light. It’s diffi cult to reconfi gure treatment rooms


because of sinks and showers. But allowing additional space in the design gives some flexibility – an extra relaxation lounge planned early on can be turned into treat- ment rooms as demand grows. And if your rooms are already too big? Work with your marketing team to sell the size and create packages to promote this feature. Don’t let the accountants win. A spa can


be a good return on investment – though small (120sq ſt ) to medium (180sq ſt ) size treatment rooms are the most effi cient.


Shepherdson set up ILC, which specialises in spa and club design across Asia, 15 years ago. Details: www.ilc-world.com


and what components they should have. T is can result in costly design faults ranging from overbuilding to under-sizing. Common errors include lack of consideration being given to operational fl ow and back of house space (see sb08/1 p76), the omission of facil- ities that would enhance the experience and incorrectly sized treatment rooms. T e size of treatment rooms varies con-


siderably – I’ve seen rooms larger than 100sq m (1,076sq ſt ) and as small as 6sq m (66sq ſt ). T e larger rooms are more oſt en in resorts where there’s less premium on cost per square metre. In my opinion, there’s no doubt that guests appreciate space in a treat- ment room, but once it exceeds a certain size satisfaction diminishes. In a single treatment room for example 12-16sq m (129-172sq ſt ) with a shower could be considered adequate. Our minimum is 20sq m (215sq ſt ) because we also allow for a seating area. Frequently, however, the operator is not the one deciding the size and layout of the


SPA BUSINESS 2 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012


ANDREW GIBSON Group director of spa, Mandarin Oriental


spa. Yet they’re leſt with working out how to generate suffi cient revenue from the space. Ideally, a rough treatment menu should


be in place before allocating size. In this sce- nario, the operator will be able to include features such as a shower, steam shower, toilet and seating, enabling them to create treatments and packages that are sold at a premium. Spa suites – with such features – are suitable for multiple types of treatments and therefore present more revenue oppor- tunities. T ey also enable operators to sell couples treatments (which are becoming very popular around the globe), or a pre- mium service for individuals and couples, as well as an upgrade opportunity to regular guests. If there’s enough space, they can also be hired by groups on a time basis. T e optimum size of a treatment room is


subjective as it needs to fi t the concept of the spa. At Mandarin Oriental, for exam-


ple, we give designers a very detailed specifi cation of what services we need to provide in the room and how big it should be. T at said, the size of the room is only one consider-


ation when it comes to luxury. T e overall impression, attention to detail, placement of controls, lighting and safety features all add to the guest experience T ere’s no magic formula for calculating


the number of treatment rooms. We’ve used equations that focus on the number of hotel bedrooms, urban versus resort location, aver- age length of stay and leisure versus business guests – but they’re guidelines at best. As a very loose rule of thumb, I would suggest one treatment room for 15-20 guestrooms. T en the anticipated hotel occupancy divided by 10 will give the number of treatments from in-house guests per day. Using both of these fi gures, you can roughly determine the number of treatment rooms.


Gibson oversees the operations of 22 spas worldwide in his role at Mandarin Oriental. Details: www.mandarinoriental.com


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