DAYSPA is the magazine of spa management. Spa owners and spa managers turn to DAYSPA for spa management trends, spa management tips and more.
Issue link: https://dayspamagazine.epubxp.com/i/680733
16 DAYSPA | JUNE 2016 TREND WATCH TREND WATCH At Bellís Therapeutic Spa (bellistspa.com) in Farmington, Michigan, the Refreshing Retreat Package (120 min./$130) includes a soothing sauna treatment, deep cleansing facial, Swedish body massage and hot stone foot massage. This comprehensive service starts off in the sauna, where intense heat readies muscles for a relaxing massage. "Our clients love this package because it's the complete spa experience, all wrapped up into an affordable price," says owner Brandi Ellis. In addition to relieving stress and detoxifying the body, Ellis notes that saunas are great tools for promoting weight loss— a 30-minute session may burn up to several hundred calories. Incorporating a sauna component into Bellís Spa's service menu has proven to be a worthwhile business opportunity. "We often have guests who come only for the sauna, but end up staying for another treatment," explains Ellis. "Plus, a sauna session can be added to any service and generates revenue without tying up a therapist's time." To provide guests a traditional experience of a Mexican sweat lodge, Sense, a Rosewood Spa at Rosewood Mayakoba (rosewoodhotels.com) in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, boasts an authentic, dome-shaped temazcal, meaning "house of heat" in the Aztec language of Nahuatl. "A conventional sauna is mostly powered by gas and steam, whereas a temazcal experience is dry, created using heated rocks, and the air is infused with herbs and plants," explains spa director Emmanuel Arroyo. Mayan Healing Hands (6 hrs./$975), one of two temazcal offerings at the resort, is a half-day experience billed as a "once-in-a-lifetime journey." An individual session with a shaman is followed by: an energy-healing ceremony; a private bathing ritual at the spa's cenote, a secluded Mayan well; a 60-minute temazcal session; and a 90-minute massage. "Temazcals are an integral part of Mayan history," notes Arroyo. "Clients appreciate the opportunity to learn about, and participate in, native practices while indulging in a luxurious spa experience." Spa-goers can experience Russian wet and dry saunas, a Turkish steam sauna and an aromatherapy sauna (all-day admission, $40) at Fair Lawn, New Jersey-based BRC Day Spa & Sauna Resort (brc-spa.com) . "Dry saunas have low humidity levels, which allows clients to remain in the heated space for longer," explains spa manager Brian Bekkerman. Alternatively, wet saunas enable guests to cool off slightly; visitors may fill buckets of cold water to pour over themselves, or soak a towel to wrap around their head or limbs. These options, says Bekkerman, appeal to a wide range of needs and sensitivities: "Individuals can receive healing heat in more than one way," he points out. One of BRC's noteworthy treatments, the Broom Body Massage (15 min./$40), takes place in the sauna, where the therapist uses an essential oil-infused bundle of oak leaves and branches to graze the skin. "This uplifting service helps kill pathogens, open pores and improve circulation," adds Bekkerman. Sweat lodges and sauna-based treatment packages help draw out toxins and draw in revenue. By Pamela Brill Some Like it Hot PHOTO COURTESY ROSEWOOD MAYAKOBA