The resort’s all- inclusive offer
includes at least two spa treatments a day
ments – up to 40 per hour, with the spa operational 12 hours per day. Founders of Serenity Holding, Louk Len- naerts and Marco van Aggele, hit upon the idea as a way of differentiating their resort. “It took a while to educate people about our all-inclusive spa offer and we did a lot of marketing, bringing media, travel agents and sales reps to experience the resort,” explains van Aggele, the group’s CEO. “For us it’s always been important to look beyond the bottom line. We realised that if we accounted for the costs of four treatments per day – electricity, oils and the therapist’s time – into our room rate, we could then offer a slightly higher resort rate than our competitors but still be perceived as great value.” Built for VND254.5bn (US$12m, €9.1m,
£7.9m), Fusion Maia Da Nang is the very def- inition of laid-back five-star luxury without the premium price tag. Offering added value, whether this is through all-inclusive spa or all-inclusive culinary activities, is a com- mon factor of all Fusion Resorts, including the upcoming Fusion Maia Phu Quoc and Fusion Alya Hoi An, both of which will be unveiled in Vietnam this year. Van Aggele explains that the group’s res- idential units are an attractive proposition
Spa Business 3 2013 ©Cybertrek 2013
We realised that if we
accounted for the costs of four treatments a day into our room rate we could offer a slightly higher resort rate yet still be perceived as great value
for wealthy Vietnamese, who are restricted from investing overseas, and therefore turn to property development at home. “The Viet- namese like to own luxury resorts where they can invite their friends and family,” he observes. “This means it’s easier to find partners to invest in five-star concepts than those at the three-star level.” Serenity Holding has developed a
vertically integrated model in which it con- ceives, designs, builds and operates its own properties, usually in partnership with Viet- namese-based investors. The dynamic team has become accustomed to the idiosyncra- sies of the Vietnamese system. “If you have
the ability to build something, you don’t have to wait years for a construction licence; you simply call the government office and set up a meeting,” van Aggele continues. For van Aggele, the country’s warm and
playful people are its greatest asset. Yet with- out an inherent spa culture, like in Thailand or Bali, finding therapists for Fusion Maia Da Nang spa was no easy task, with members of the resort team having to travel into the local town and personally spread the word about the opportunities. “We found it difficult to find therapists with the required skill set so we decided to focus on recruiting people who had the right personality, and provide full training instead,” explains Devoy. “We’ve brought in specialist trainers in facials, yoga, reiki, spiritual hospitality, ayurveda and trig- ger therapy to teach all our therapists, who each undergo at least two months of train- ing before starting work. In fact training is ongoing and we already have three reiki mas- ters, for example. “In Vietnam, there’s a still a stigma
attached to working in a spa. Some fami- lies don’t wish their daughters to take jobs as they’re worried a spa is the equivalent of a massage parlour or worse. But we’ve reas- sured families with our professionalism.”
Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com/digital 57
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 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116