Nowadays customers request their hotels to have spas. The biggest trend is a massage. Especially business travelers who work whole day appreciate for example an evening massage. Another popular and wanted treatments are body scrubs, pedicures and facial wraps. These services became part of the luxury. Conference planners often include a visit of a spa to their plans to bring more people to the conference.
According to Richard Lewis, a spokesman for the Virginia Tourism Corp, many people go on vacation to a spa resort or to facilities that provide spa services. In Virginia, the history of spa treatments as part of hotel accommodations dates to Colonial times to The Homestead resort. This resort is located in Hot Springs and takes advantage of its mineral waters.
According to “Identifying the spa traveler”, a report prepared by the International SPA Association and the Canadian Tourism Commission, there are some 32.2 million people in the U.S. that can be identified as active spa consumers. A spa consumer is familiar to various kinds of spas therefore he is more demanding but also more spending.
A spa can bring quite a big money to a hotel but investments to the equipment are huge. Things like the massage table, the machines and the environment are expensive.
The Homestead is still a golden standard in spa facilities. But nowadays there is a stiff competition from e.g. the Wintergreen Resort in Wintergreen, Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, and the Landsdowne Resort in Leesburg. There are also spas at the Association for Research and Enlightenment in Virginia Beach and the Embassy Suites in Hampton.
Business travelers are still in hurry and so hotels chose a new kind of approach to the clients these days. For example in Four Seasons hotels in the United States they offer 25- or 30-minute “mini-treatments” that feature a massage, a facial or a manicure. The hotels are also becoming more flexible and they offer treatments both in the spa and in a guest’s room.