WELLNESS
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bliss Lunch-break facials and infrared sauna sessions – how mini experiences can increase your revenue and satisfy your client’s new needs.
W
e are always on the lookout for the next BIG thing within the industry, so when wellness entrepreneur Tony De Leede said the following at BEAUTY & SPA Insiders, our ears pricked up. He mentioned that customers would pay for mini experiences in spas and clinics. Keen to understand what that means, we took a deep dive into the brains of some of our industry’s forward thinkers and technology leaders to unpack the concept of a mini experience and find out how you can create one in your spa or clinic.
What is a mini experience?
The O2 Breathing Chair can be a cost effective treatment add-on
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A mini experience is a quick and cost-effective burst of wellness or beauty for time-poor clients. They can be a condensed version of a signature treatment or something Tony likes to call tech-enhanced treatments. “There are many different ways to deliver these, but as it relates to the spa and clinic environment, let me give you an example of what we’re launching at Gwinganna. We have taken two of our spa rooms and converted them into a tech-enhanced experience. Each room has two of our wellness pods – an infrared sauna and the other either an O2 breathing/meditation chair or recovery/massage chair,” Tony said.
These rooms are booked on an hourly basis for under $70, and guests can choose how much time they spend on each device. The treatment totals around 45 to 50 minutes.
Rapid evolution Tony believes there will be a rapid evolution of spas and clinics adding tech-enhanced treatments to their menu. Compacted by the shortage of labour within the industry, a mini experience is a cost-effective way to service clients without a therapist. “I think many business owners will soon realise that getting somewhere close to $60, with none of the costs or hassles of dealing with staffing issues, will be a better return than traditional means. Machines don’t talk back nor do they want overtime,” he said. Along with the obvious cost benefits for spas and clinics, mini experiences open up wellness and beauty to those who previously found cost a barrier to participation. Consumers can dip their toes in and see what they enjoy instead of diving headfirst into costly and grand treatments. A snappy 45-minute treatment in an O2 breathing chair is just the precipice into the chasm that is meditation, as is 25 minutes under a LED-light therapy mask into more extensive aesthetic treatments.