The future of spas and beauty centers after Coronavirus

If you are reading this article, you are also fully aware that the Covid-19 health emergency has changed us and that, in the future, we won’t be able to pretend that nothing ever happened. This dramatic situation has taught us a lot and it reminds us that, now more than ever, it is important to adapt to change, to live the present with clarity of thought and to see the future with optimism, to be able to regroup with new goals and objectives.

Moreover, there is a big upcoming challenge for all of us operating in the world of Wellness: our customers’ needs have changed and it’s up to us to understand and fulfil them. We must give the utmost professionalism, in order to put well-being and health at the core of our offer.

We collected some of our customers’ questions and concerns to share them with you too and provide you with some valuable ideas for an eagerly awaited and sensitive reopening.

The reopening of spaces which are dedicated to personal wellness is crucial because these are places where people can benefit from solutions for their body strengthening.

Just think about Finnish sauna: thanks to its 90 degrees of dry heat, it contributes to the elimination of toxins and heavy metals, thus exercising the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and stimulating vital organs and tissue oxygenation. A sauna session is equivalent to an intensive running; it produces endorphins and promotes a physical condition which is beneficial to a responsive and efficient immune system.

Glamour Collection by Starpool Wellness Concept

Even the steam bath, with its 45 degrees of heat and maximum humidity, has a key role to play in your customer’s health: breathing humid air makes the respiratory tract smoother and stronger, thus contributing to skin renovation and removing the accumulated impurities.

The market will inevitably adopt, at least at an early stage that could however last for a few months, some “private” solutions, with an increasingly strong focus on hygiene and the reorganisation of spaces and services that are offered.

By taking a few precautions and a great care of your customers’ health and wellness, it will be anyway possible to successfully restart your business:

• Manage your spa common areas as private spaces available by appointment.
• Rely on a “personal spa trainer” who may welcome your guests and guide them along their spa path, thus appraising your equipment and arrange some paths aimed at the specific objectives of each customer.
• If you manage a hotel, use one or more rooms as a “private spa”, by equipping them with a sauna and a steam bath.
• Make sure your spaces are properly aerated and constantly disinfected.

Beauty centres, as well as spas, will have to take some measures in order to offer a service that protects guests’ wellness, health and safety, such as managing well organised appointments, avoiding people gathering in waiting areas, ensuring a proper aeration and disinfection of spaces.

Watch out for your staff! There is no more space for improvisation: you need know-how, professionalism, planning and proven skills in beauty care. It will be crucial to convey a feeling of safety and serenity not only during the sale of the treatment but also and particularly during the treatment itself.

Watch out for your equipment too! We know that it will be difficult to think about new investments, but now more than ever it is necessary to be provided with equipment allowing the integration of mental and physical health with beauty and beauty care.

Yes, absolutely. We are all suffering from an emergency that overwhelmed us and showered down on us so much concern about the future, our loved ones, our job, our freedom. The way of promoting your wellness offer will have to be clear, effective, targeted, modern and, most of all, honest. 

We must put an end to the promise of quick results and miraculous treatments. Every link in the wellness chain has the crucial task of “educating” the market about a conscious choice towards deeper well-being. We, as manufacturers, we should do it by offering innovative equipment and solutions, like dry floatation, and supporting our customers with appropriate and effective training activities. Beauty centres and spas will have to do it by advertising their wellness offer properly and revamping their menu, thus integrating it with scientifically proven treatments which may impact on the mental and physical dimension of wellness.

We think that the Covid-19 emergency has largely contributed to this awareness. We have all understood the importance of our health and the narrow link between mental attitude and the consequent ability or not to adapt to a difficult situation with confidence and awareness.

We suggest you to use a simple and sincere storytelling, best if combined with some practical examples.   Here you can find some interesting and useful ideas:

• If you work on cortisol reduction (the stress hormone), you can indirectly reduce water retention;
• If your offer includes treatments working on sleep quality in the long run, wrinkles will be reduced and the skin will rediscover its glow;
• If you guide your customer towards proper breathing during a treatment, you will eliminate neck pain and promote the correct tissue oxygenation;
• If you offer a real and deep relaxation treatment, you will be able to allay your customer’s anxiety and, as a consequence, its associated behaviours (excessive smoking or drinking, emotional eating).

It is an undeniable fact that this lockdown has had and will continue to have serious repercussions on companies’ turnovers and on household and personal wealth. The same can be said for that part of society that will have to face a decrease in spending power.

However, we suggest you to stop thinking about a crucial point: if you are able to work on a good communication strategy, by relying on the most important aspects of health, and to be aligned with it thanks to a suitable offer, your customers will realise it and will be happy to pay for a treatment or to book another one in order to regain mental and physical well-being.   

If you manage a beauty centre, a beauty spa within a hotel or a day spa, send us en email to info@nuvolaexperience.it to receive advice or information about the most appropriate strategies for a restart after such a complicated and unexpected period. We will be happy to reply, relying on Starpool experience which has been designing and creating solutions for people’s wellness for more than 45 years.