The following are some of the key lifestyle and trend design ideas to consider when planning spa facilities, programs and experiences that are marketable and profitable:

• Create, orchestrate and deliver a unique spa "story": you need to play the role of the story-maker, producer, director, set decorator, wardrobe artist, actor, audience, etc. and make sure that everything you do is focused on creating "raving fans."
• More in not necessarily better. You don’t need to have a big, luxury, expensive spa with the "encyclopedia of international spa treatments." Sometimes you may be better off with a Simple, Pleasurable, Affordable approach that is more stress-free, non-intimidating and indigenous to your environment.
• Create facilities that are nurturing, relaxing oases of tranquility for your guests by paying attention to textures, aromas, lighting, sound, etc. At the same time, the flow needs to be operationally efficient for the staff and able to generate profits for the owner/operator. The spa does not need to be confined to what will fit within 4 walls. The spa can be as much about outdoor activities as it is about indoor treatments.
• Make sure the treatment rooms are flexible and multi-functional: they should accommodate a variety of treatments while being accessible to both male and female guests and staff members yet have a flow that allows for privacy.
• Train the staff to be "experience makers rather than order takers" …don’t just sell a treatment, create a memorable event. The spa is more about how you serve your guests than what kinds of services you offer.
• Customize and personalize the spa treatments so that you create an experience that touches all 5 senses with such precision and care that the guest transcends into a 6th sense which becomes their personal transformation journey. When you are able to connect to a guest on this level, you have established a USP that no other spa can duplicate or imitate.

By Judy Singer, Health Fitness Dynamics www.hrdspa.com

Excerpted from www.hotelexecutive.com