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/346862
28 DAYSPA | AUGUST 2014 BUILDING BLOCKS Retail Superstar We're all familiar with drive-through restaurants and drive- in movies, but how about drive-up gift card cottages? This innovative idea was the brainchild of Karen Houschultz of Apple Day Spa & Salon (appledayspa.com) in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Aimed at time-crunched, gift-card-buying clients on the go, the cottage—located in the spa's front parking lot—opens its window for business during peak retail times, including Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and the holiday season. "We've had drive-up gift card availability for more than a decade," Houschultz explains. "It started out as primitively as a pop-up tent, then we borrowed a lawn shed from a local shed company, and fi ve years ago we had a cottage custom-made, complete with Dutch door, and everything our service support staff needs to complete drive-up gift-card purchases: built-in desk, internet connection for credit-card processing, lighting and, most importantly, heat!" The cottage is clearly a hit: around half of the spa's gift cards are purchased this way during those prime retail periods. Adds Houschultz, "It's a fast and convenient solution for 'spa-phobic' gift givers, moms with kids in car seats, disabled people or just busy shoppers. And it's nice for clients to stay in the comfort of their cars during bad weather!" The star: Somme Institute Transport Pads The spa: The Spa at The Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pennsylvania Why they fl y off the shelves: "The pads are really popular with our guests because they appeal to all skin types, even sensitive ones," says Robynn M. Cyr, manager, spa sales. "Somme Institute's skin care does exactly what it claims to do, thanks to its results-driven MDT5 technology. The pads gently exfoliate the skin— they improve tone, texture and clarity—plus, they're so conveniently packaged that they travel well." How they're promoted: "We promote internally on our retail shelves, but Somme does a beautiful job of helping by offering deals like a two-for-one every year," notes Cyr. "During that time we can't keep the pads on our shelves long enough! What also works well for us is our Chocolate Spa Club membership, which has around 700 members. Plus, our estheticians do one-on-one consultations with guests, who go wild for the product once they see it, touch it and feel it. Hotel Hershey has a highly active Facebook page too. The guests are very participatory— they know spa and good products when they experience them. When we ask what their favorite Somme product is, 90% of them say the Transport Pads!" Mobile devices have become part and parcel of our everyday lives: even during our "downtime," we devote on average more than three hours a day to them, with 85% of that time spent on apps.* So with apps representing such prime real estate, companies are aiming to help spa owners maximize app- driven business around the clock. One such company is cloud-based platform Booker, which has launched its own customizable app in collaboration with mobile app creation platform Como. The app allows spa clients to book their appointments 24/7 and on the go. Says Matt Mahoney, vice president business development at Booker, "The idea of a native app is great, but spa owners want to be able to do something with it. We're looking for ways to make clients as 'bookable' as possible, day or night. With the app, we've created an accessible option, plus it takes just minutes for us to build it for our clients if they're already set up on Booker. It's all about getting branded presence on to devices that people have with them all the time." For further details, visit info.booker.com/Booker- Customer-App. *Source: Flurry RO BYNN M. CYR Booking Good Cot age Industry