Re:SPA at the Reebok Sports Club has a 35–40 per cent male clientele
Men’s wellness and grooming is a hot topic. Research highlights that men are getting more interested in visiting spas and wellness centres across the world, and so these businesses are tapping into this trend and reaping the benefits.
Research carried out in Thailand and revealed at the World Spa & Wellbeing Convention (WSWC) in September 2013 indicates that – in that region at least – the numbers of male spa consumers have increased over the past few years. Carried out by Stenden Rangsit University with the Thai Spa Association and based on answers from 463 male current and potential spa-goers, the study also reveals a growing demand for back-to-basics, authentic wellness treatments such as massage.
Hilton Hotels’ Emerging Global Spa Trends 2012 research also highlights that wellness for men is a strong emerging trend – something health club spas would do well to take note of. Evidence-based treatments will be key in tapping into this audience, as Louise Moore, the company’s director of spa operations and development in Europe, explains: “Men buy primarily based on facts and results.” However, she continues: “The male market is deeply loyal. When they find something they like, they’ll stick to it, which is fantastic. But they’re also impulsive and don’t typically pre-book, so it’s a challenge for operators.”
The Hilton research also found that the way wellbeing centres communicate with male clients is important. Jargon is to be avoided and communication needs to be clear, concise and uncomplicated. The study found that most men – 80 per cent – opt for massage, usually sports/deep tissue therapy treatments. But interestingly, research conducted for ISPA in 2013 suggests that the second most popular reason men go to a spa is to attend a fitness class – an important finding for health clubs wanting to cross-sell their spa offering.
Meanwhile, retail sales-based research from Mintel reveals that men’s grooming product launches have increased 70 per cent globally from 2007 to 2012. The US men’s grooming market has grown almost 20 per cent, and the UK market 12 per cent, with 59 per cent of US men saying using personal care items boosts self-esteem. In China, 82 per cent of men in cities think using men’s toiletries makes them more sophisticated.
SPORTS-FOCUSED THERAPIES Re:SPA, Reebok Sports Club London, UK Spa manager: Sally Fairbanks Percentage of male clients: 35–40 per cent Product houses: Aromatherapy Associates’ The Refinery collection, Murad, Guinot, OPL
What are the benefits of having male clients? Attracting more male spa-goers has helped increase our turnover year on year.
What do male spa-goers want? The Reebok spa is located within a health/sports club and, in the first instance, many of our male clients visit the spa for services such as physiotherapy. Only then do they make appointments for other treatments. They like treatments that are more manual as opposed to electrical, and deep tissue massage as opposed to lighter massage movements.
How is the spa promoted in the fitness area? The cross-promotion information is sports-orientated, targeted and sometimes medically-orientated – sports massage for athletes, for example. Much of what’s on offer at the spa either enhances or assists the healing process. Also, we ensure the fitness team all understand and are aware of what’s on offer within the spa.
SPA SAMPLING eforea spa, Hilton, Pattaya, Thailand Spa manager: Tara Hanrahan Percentage of male clients: 51 per cent Product houses: VitaMan, Li’tya, Kerstin Florian
Where do your customers come from? Our customers come from leisure, business, and sports and fitness visits. Spa-going couples are also increasing.
What do you offer male clients? We introduced results-driven treatments specially designed for men. These include the De-Stress Face Treatment and Realigning Sports Massage. We also have a separate men’s spa zone, locker room, bathrobe, slippers and underwear for men.
How is the spa promoted in the fitness area? Our spa therapists and receptionist will walk around the pool once or twice a day offering people a free five-minute mini neck and shoulder massage. If guests would like a full treatment, we make an appointment and escort the guest to the spa. We gather two guests a day by doing this.
Men are more concerned with health than beauty, so we focus on the links between fitness and spa. We also have spa visuals on the TV in the fitness area to promote general information about eforea spa, such as the Men’s Journey treatment, plus any promotional offers. The spa brochure and price list is displayed in the gym and we do product give-aways in the locker rooms.
The eforea spa in Pattaya offers free mini treatments to promote its services
BOOSTING AVERAGE SPEND Spa My Blend by Clarins, Toronto, Canada Spa manager: Jill Carlen Percentage of male clients: 28 per cent – a 16 per cent increase since 2012 Product houses: Spa My Blend by Clarins, Clarins For Men
How is the spa promoted in the fitness area? The spa and 24-hour gym are located together on one floor of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Toronto, and the gym is considered part of the spa facilities. It’s an integral part of our health offering to include the gym as part of the spa experience, and all spa guests have access to the gym.
A third-party fitness company maintains the gym and saltwater lap pool and we work with them to offer all new clients a complimentary 30-minute treatment as a welcome, and a 15 per cent discount on spa services for fitness members. We have several local gym members, most of whom are men, and they use spa services quite frequently.
What are the benefits of having male clients? They have a higher average spend per visit. Our female average spend is $195 versus the male average spend of $199. They also spend less time in the spa, which is quite good for business and results in a higher dollar per minute ratio than for women.
What do male clients want? Our results-orientated treatments are the most popular with male clients and, if they are coming to the spa with a female, a treatment such as our 150-minute Blokes and Beer treatment – a men’s manicure, facial and massage followed by a beer – works well.
Spa My Blend by Clarins’ male visitors spend more money in the spa, but less time
REGULAR CUSTOMERS Six Senses Spa, Westin Hotel, Paris, France Spa manager: Melina Pourcel Percentage of male clients: 50 per cent Product houses: Sothys, Visoanska
What do you offer male clients? We offer a mixed menu and have a deep tissue massage that our male clients love.
How often do your male clients return on average? Once a month, once they’ve put their trust in a therapist. We have a mixed male/female team to give customers the choice of either. From the moment the male customer finds the masseur or masseuse who provides the treatment they need, they give their trust and come back to the spa regularly.
Men are loyal to their massage therapist
MALE-ONLY OFFERING Pour Homme Luxury Mens Grooming, Fairmont Hotel, Dubai, UAE Salon manager: Dennis Doroja Percentage of male clients: 100 per cent Product houses: Hommage
What do you offer male clients? A complete male grooming service – haircut, shave, facial, manicure, pedicure and waxing. We use only products designed and created for men.
How do you promote the salon in the fitness area? We offer a special discount to all fitness club members and hotel apartment residents.
How do you market your services to men? Most of our new clients are the result of referrals from satisfied clients. We mostly gain popularity through word of mouth. Men are simple in their needs. Make them feel comfortable and let them sink in.
The Pour Homme spa in Dubai caters exclusively for men
PRIVACY MATTERS Four Seasons Resorts, Maui, US Spa manager (Americas): Pat Makozak Percentage of male clients: 40–50 per cent Product houses: OM4 Men, HydroPeptide, Somerville, ISUN
What do male spa-goers want? Men want skincare produced with men’s skin health in mind. By bringing in more male-orientated skincare products, we’ve seen retail purchases by men increase 42 per cent.
Men also want to try out products in privacy. OM4 Men created an amenity display for our men’s locker area that makes all of its products available for guests to use at their discretion, in privacy. It’s confidence-building for our male clients to be able to try before they buy and it’s working wonders.
How do you market to men? Activities and food are good images to use to reach men. Most of our guests are active and want to know what all the options are. They play hard, rest hard, then have a great meal.
As a resort property, marketing our services to couples always works well for us too.
Luxury health club spas are increasingly offering more wellness services just for men. Kate Corney takes a look at this growing trend
Kate Corney, The Leisure Media Company
Re:SPA at the Reebok Sports Club has a 35–40 per cent male clientele
Men’s wellness and grooming is a hot topic. Research highlights that men are getting more interested in visiting spas and wellness centres across the world, and so these businesses are tapping into this trend and reaping the benefits.
Research carried out in Thailand and revealed at the World Spa & Wellbeing Convention (WSWC) in September 2013 indicates that – in that region at least – the numbers of male spa consumers have increased over the past few years. Carried out by Stenden Rangsit University with the Thai Spa Association and based on answers from 463 male current and potential spa-goers, the study also reveals a growing demand for back-to-basics, authentic wellness treatments such as massage.
Hilton Hotels’ Emerging Global Spa Trends 2012 research also highlights that wellness for men is a strong emerging trend – something health club spas would do well to take note of. Evidence-based treatments will be key in tapping into this audience, as Louise Moore, the company’s director of spa operations and development in Europe, explains: “Men buy primarily based on facts and results.” However, she continues: “The male market is deeply loyal. When they find something they like, they’ll stick to it, which is fantastic. But they’re also impulsive and don’t typically pre-book, so it’s a challenge for operators.”
The Hilton research also found that the way wellbeing centres communicate with male clients is important. Jargon is to be avoided and communication needs to be clear, concise and uncomplicated. The study found that most men – 80 per cent – opt for massage, usually sports/deep tissue therapy treatments. But interestingly, research conducted for ISPA in 2013 suggests that the second most popular reason men go to a spa is to attend a fitness class – an important finding for health clubs wanting to cross-sell their spa offering.
Meanwhile, retail sales-based research from Mintel reveals that men’s grooming product launches have increased 70 per cent globally from 2007 to 2012. The US men’s grooming market has grown almost 20 per cent, and the UK market 12 per cent, with 59 per cent of US men saying using personal care items boosts self-esteem. In China, 82 per cent of men in cities think using men’s toiletries makes them more sophisticated.
SPORTS-FOCUSED THERAPIES Re:SPA, Reebok Sports Club London, UK Spa manager: Sally Fairbanks Percentage of male clients: 35–40 per cent Product houses: Aromatherapy Associates’ The Refinery collection, Murad, Guinot, OPL
What are the benefits of having male clients? Attracting more male spa-goers has helped increase our turnover year on year.
What do male spa-goers want? The Reebok spa is located within a health/sports club and, in the first instance, many of our male clients visit the spa for services such as physiotherapy. Only then do they make appointments for other treatments. They like treatments that are more manual as opposed to electrical, and deep tissue massage as opposed to lighter massage movements.
How is the spa promoted in the fitness area? The cross-promotion information is sports-orientated, targeted and sometimes medically-orientated – sports massage for athletes, for example. Much of what’s on offer at the spa either enhances or assists the healing process. Also, we ensure the fitness team all understand and are aware of what’s on offer within the spa.
SPA SAMPLING eforea spa, Hilton, Pattaya, Thailand Spa manager: Tara Hanrahan Percentage of male clients: 51 per cent Product houses: VitaMan, Li’tya, Kerstin Florian
Where do your customers come from? Our customers come from leisure, business, and sports and fitness visits. Spa-going couples are also increasing.
What do you offer male clients? We introduced results-driven treatments specially designed for men. These include the De-Stress Face Treatment and Realigning Sports Massage. We also have a separate men’s spa zone, locker room, bathrobe, slippers and underwear for men.
How is the spa promoted in the fitness area? Our spa therapists and receptionist will walk around the pool once or twice a day offering people a free five-minute mini neck and shoulder massage. If guests would like a full treatment, we make an appointment and escort the guest to the spa. We gather two guests a day by doing this.
Men are more concerned with health than beauty, so we focus on the links between fitness and spa. We also have spa visuals on the TV in the fitness area to promote general information about eforea spa, such as the Men’s Journey treatment, plus any promotional offers. The spa brochure and price list is displayed in the gym and we do product give-aways in the locker rooms.
The eforea spa in Pattaya offers free mini treatments to promote its services
BOOSTING AVERAGE SPEND Spa My Blend by Clarins, Toronto, Canada Spa manager: Jill Carlen Percentage of male clients: 28 per cent – a 16 per cent increase since 2012 Product houses: Spa My Blend by Clarins, Clarins For Men
How is the spa promoted in the fitness area? The spa and 24-hour gym are located together on one floor of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Toronto, and the gym is considered part of the spa facilities. It’s an integral part of our health offering to include the gym as part of the spa experience, and all spa guests have access to the gym.
A third-party fitness company maintains the gym and saltwater lap pool and we work with them to offer all new clients a complimentary 30-minute treatment as a welcome, and a 15 per cent discount on spa services for fitness members. We have several local gym members, most of whom are men, and they use spa services quite frequently.
What are the benefits of having male clients? They have a higher average spend per visit. Our female average spend is $195 versus the male average spend of $199. They also spend less time in the spa, which is quite good for business and results in a higher dollar per minute ratio than for women.
What do male clients want? Our results-orientated treatments are the most popular with male clients and, if they are coming to the spa with a female, a treatment such as our 150-minute Blokes and Beer treatment – a men’s manicure, facial and massage followed by a beer – works well.
Spa My Blend by Clarins’ male visitors spend more money in the spa, but less time
REGULAR CUSTOMERS Six Senses Spa, Westin Hotel, Paris, France Spa manager: Melina Pourcel Percentage of male clients: 50 per cent Product houses: Sothys, Visoanska
What do you offer male clients? We offer a mixed menu and have a deep tissue massage that our male clients love.
How often do your male clients return on average? Once a month, once they’ve put their trust in a therapist. We have a mixed male/female team to give customers the choice of either. From the moment the male customer finds the masseur or masseuse who provides the treatment they need, they give their trust and come back to the spa regularly.
Men are loyal to their massage therapist
MALE-ONLY OFFERING Pour Homme Luxury Mens Grooming, Fairmont Hotel, Dubai, UAE Salon manager: Dennis Doroja Percentage of male clients: 100 per cent Product houses: Hommage
What do you offer male clients? A complete male grooming service – haircut, shave, facial, manicure, pedicure and waxing. We use only products designed and created for men.
How do you promote the salon in the fitness area? We offer a special discount to all fitness club members and hotel apartment residents.
How do you market your services to men? Most of our new clients are the result of referrals from satisfied clients. We mostly gain popularity through word of mouth. Men are simple in their needs. Make them feel comfortable and let them sink in.
The Pour Homme spa in Dubai caters exclusively for men
PRIVACY MATTERS Four Seasons Resorts, Maui, US Spa manager (Americas): Pat Makozak Percentage of male clients: 40–50 per cent Product houses: OM4 Men, HydroPeptide, Somerville, ISUN
What do male spa-goers want? Men want skincare produced with men’s skin health in mind. By bringing in more male-orientated skincare products, we’ve seen retail purchases by men increase 42 per cent.
Men also want to try out products in privacy. OM4 Men created an amenity display for our men’s locker area that makes all of its products available for guests to use at their discretion, in privacy. It’s confidence-building for our male clients to be able to try before they buy and it’s working wonders.
How do you market to men? Activities and food are good images to use to reach men. Most of our guests are active and want to know what all the options are. They play hard, rest hard, then have a great meal.
As a resort property, marketing our services to couples always works well for us too.
Originally published in Health Club Management 2014 issue 2
