Spas on the move with an eye on stressed travellers

The in-transit spa experience is the latest trend reaching a whole new level. Spas, which began as a novelty, has turned into big business that targets today's captive travellers.

The spa industry is in full expansion with a turnover of Dh2.3 billion across the region in 2008.

Research denotes that the UAE alone accounts for more than 42 per cent of this figure, or Dh986 million. This translates to year-on-year growth of 34 per cent, according to the organisers of the forthcoming Wellness and Spas Middle East exhibition, Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH.

The exhibition is scheduled to take place from June 7 to 9 at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Adding transparency and credibility to the nascent spa industry in the Gulf is the launch of a benchmarking tool by the global company Ernst and Young.

Launched in Dubai recently was the first ever regional monthly Spa Benchmark Report for spa operations. The report revealed that Spa treatments booked in Dubai increased by seven per cent from January to March 2009.

However, consumers are becoming more price-sensitive as treatment revenue increased only by four per cent over the same period, the report stated.

The report has also found that the share of day spa visitors were increasing as compared to visits by hotel guests. Ernst & Young also added that, the business mix of spa guests appears to be shifting towards day spa visitors.

Within beach hotels, the year-to-date percentage split of spa treatments booked by hotel guests versus non-hotel guests is 56 and 44 per cent. In city hotels, the year-to-date percentage split of spa treatments booked by hotel guests versus non-hotel guest is 47 and 53 per cent.

These percentages of spa treatments booked by hotel guests in both types of hotels are down from 60 per cent and above, as estimated by spa operators last year.

This trend could be a result of a decline in hotel occupancies along with hotel guests tightening their belts due to lower travel budgets. It also indicates a greater interest for spa visits among Dubai's resident population in response to special packages offered by spas that target residents.

Paul Arnold, Director, Transaction Advisory Services, Real Estate, Hospitality and Leisure of Ernst & Young Middle East, underlined the need for establishing benchmarks within the spa sector.

"There has been an absence of consistent metrics to measure performance within the spa industry. To fill this void, we have undertaken this new benchmark initiative.

"The data collected aims to give spa operators and hotels a chance to review their operations objectively. It enables operators to benchmark them against existing standards in Dubai. They will also be able to better communicate their performance to industry stakeholders."

Nikita Sarkar, spa specialist with the Ernst & Young Middle East Hospitality and Leisure team, says, "An innovative, and as yet relatively unused metric covered in the Spa Benchmark Report is the RevPATH or Revenue Per Available Treatment Hour. This is conceptually similar to the RevPAR (Revenue per available room) metric currently used by hotels. The measure allows for true comparison of operational performance over different types of spas by presenting revenue generated over a time period of 60 minutes."

Spas in the Middle East continue to excel in their development of medical facilities, and in comparison to the rest of the world in terms of price, the spas here would be quick to react to general price indicators and are likely to stay competitive, according to Elisabeth Brehl, Managing Director of Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH.

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