Each season brings something unique that’s worthy of celebration. With the arrival of summer, you can expect longer days, warmer weather and plenty of time in the sun. As a spa professional, you will want to consider how best to harness the shift in the seasons for your business.
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Each season brings something unique that’s worthy of celebration. With the arrival of summer, you can expect longer days, warmer weather and plenty of time in the sun. As a spa professional, you will want to consider how best to harness the shift in the seasons for your business.
Summer comes with both challenges and opportunities for your spa. With proper strategic planning, you can seize every marketing opportunity and mitigate the impact of any potential obstacles. Keep reading to learn about the importance of seasonal planning and how to ensure your spa’s success this summer.
Summer 2024 Spa Trends
The spa and wellness industry is always evolving. After all, who doesn’t want to explore a hot new treatment that promises new levels of relaxation? Music and sound therapy is one trend that’s continuing to rise.1 More and more spas are exploring how sound baths, live music, DJs, tuning forks and more can enhance mood and mindfulness.1,2
Another trend to look out for is adventure and nature-based wellness. Pairing traditional spa treatments with outdoor adventures like hiking, forest bathing, a dip in thermal baths, and fresh-air yoga or meditation sessions can offer a deeper connection to nature and one’s well-being.1
Other trends this season include personalization, sustainability, cryotherapy, holistic wellness and tech-enhanced treatments (particularly when paired with traditional techniques).1,2
Beyond seasonal trends, there are summer staples that will never go out of style. Treatments featuring lightweight formulas with vibrant, tropical ingredients such as pineapple, coconut and citrus fruits, packed with nutrients like vitamin C, are always an excellent match for the summer season. The light, fresh, uplifting scents feel like a celebration of summer—no wonder they’ve proven to be popular time and time again.
Treatments focused on the skin’s specific needs during summer aren’t going anywhere, either (think: smoothing, exfoliating and toning treatments for both the face and body). These treatments will leave skin glowing from head to toe.
In addition, sun care treatments are always a must for summer. This includes services focused on protection from the elements and after-sun care to address the damage that excess time outdoors can cause.
Customizing Your Summer Menu
Regularly updating your spa menu is highly encouraged to excite clients, secure appointments and boost post-treatment satisfaction. When introducing new treatments, consider the influence of these two things equally: seasonal industry trends and your spa’s unique strengths. For example, high-tech treatments are great at a medspa, while treatments featuring summer botanicals are ideal for an organic spa.
Regardless of your specialization, these treatments are typically in high demand during the summer:
- Tropical facial and body treatments using seasonal ingredients.
- Exfoliating and smoothing facial and body services that bring out a beach-ready glow.
- Personalized treatments with customized steps.
- Holistic treatments that focus on mental and physical well-being.
- Sun care and after-sun treatments.
- Eco-friendly facial and body treatments.
Your summer spa menu can also include treatment packages that offer savings for booking multiple treatments. This is a great way to secure repeat appointments while helping your guests get more bang for their buck, especially if the summer months tend to be a slower season for your business.
Related: Summer Spa Services for Beauty and Wellness
Marketing Strategies for Summer
One of the biggest challenges this time of year is coaxing clients out of the great outdoors and into the spa. A thoughtful marketing plan will help you increase bookings while generating excitement for your seasonal offerings. But where to begin?
Go Digital
Whether existing or prospective, guests are bound to interact with your digital presence at some point—particularly when seeking to learn more about your spa. Be sure to update your website, social media channels and other digital touchpoints to draw attention to your summer offerings. You can advertise summer-only spa treatments, include FAQs, tease new products, and share testimonials and promotional shots that specifically highlight the season.
Email is another digital channel you can leverage for your marketing. Send newsletters promoting summer specials or any additional news your clients want to hear about. Remember to get creative! There are many ways to interact with clients to get them excited for a mid-summer visit to your spa.
Seek Collaboration
Why not bolster your spa's visibility by partnering with another business in your area? Look for partners with similar (though not competing) values in your community and propose a plan for cross-promoting your products and services to each other’s audience. Consider co-branded giveaways, contests, events and discounts.
Partnerships also offer new opportunities for creating unique product bundles with other retailers. Contact local gyms, health food stores, restaurants, skin care companies and yoga studios for collaboration.
This is a chance to think outside of the box. Collaboration can take many forms, and you can get as creative as you like!
Although collaborations may require some effort to set up, they’re truly a win-win for both businesses. Cross-promotions give you access to a new, untapped market, solidify your brand image and help you win allies in your community.
Get Involved in Your Community
Like collaborating with another business, you can also sponsor summer events in your community. In exchange for financial support, an event will feature your spa’s name and branding prominently.
You may get additional perks depending on the type of sponsorship you choose. Summer events near you may include marathons, sporting events, plays, improv shows, festivals and art shows.
Supporting events helps you generate leads, expand your spa’s visibility and build a positive reputation while making your community more vibrant.
Enhance Your Spa’s Atmosphere
Giving your spa a fresh look for the season isn’t just fun; it can help ensure your continued success. Begin by thinking about the image you want to create for the summer. You could try something light, airy, beachy, earthy, or vibrant and citrusy. Whatever you choose should enhance your spa’s overall image while supporting your summer spa menu.
Remember, you don’t have to remodel your entire space (unless you want to). Small changes can have a significant impact. Think of decor like candles, art, pillows and throws for your foyer.
You can also enhance your spa’s environment with seasonal aromatherapy. If you have the space, you can use the outdoors to perform treatments in a naturally beautiful locale. Little touches like these can add up and improve your clients' experiences, which can, in turn, secure their continued business.
Staff Training and Prep
Ensure your spa staff are well-versed in your summer protocols by scheduling specialized training sessions on new services. This may include hands-on demos, info sessions, Q&A sessions and quizzes. You can also introduce incentives, like prizes for the most retail sales, to help increase bookings and revenue.
While gearing up for summer, you should also prepare your retail space to help boost summer sales. Pick out products that complement each summer treatment and extend results between appointments. During staff training, you should ensure everyone has all the resources needed to secure sales.
Customer Feedback
After all this hard work, you’ll want to monitor your spa’s success through the summer. Encourage guest feedback by providing them with post-treatment surveys. You can elicit their opinions on their spa experience, covering everything from your decor to their treatment and the quality of your staff’s service. Positive feedback will affirm what you’re doing well, while negative comments will let you know where your opportunities for growth lie.
Customer feedback may also come through digital channels, whether they take the form of online reviews or social media comments. Engage whenever possible by answering questions, and liking and replying to comments. For reviews, thank people for their kind words or offer to resolve issues privately. We can often underestimate the power of the online world, but your clients are active there too, so it’s worthy of your attention.
Summer is an exciting time of year. It brings revitalizing energy and a sense of fun. For your spa, it will also bring opportunities and some unique challenges. You can turn this summer into a dreamy, profitable season with the right market research, spa menu offerings, marketing strategies, training and customer feedback surveys.
Get creative and have fun. When you plan ahead, you can reap all the benefits that summer has to offer.
References
- “How Spas Are Implementing 5 Wellness Trends in 2024.” 2024. Wellspa 360. January 23, 2024. https://www.wellspa360.com/business/management/news/22884835/how-spas-are-implementing-5-wellness-trends-in-2024.
- “5 Luxury Health and Wellness Trends Changing the Industry.” 2023. Wellspa 360. September 28, 2023. https://www.wellspa360.com/wellness/therapies/news/22874495/5-luxury-health-and-wellness-trends-changing-the-industry.
Amber McBain, vice president of marketing & communications at Éminence Organic Skin Care, is an innovator with more than 15 years of marketing and communications experience. Continuously striving for improvement in customer experience modeling and brand management, McBain has spearheaded marketing strategies for the most successful product launches in Éminence’s history.
