SpaFinder Names Top 10
Global Spa Trends for 2011
President Susie
Ellis Predicts “Aging-Raging,” An Explosion of Spa Brands, A Liberal
Dose of Salt, and Dubs 2011 “The Year of Asia”
Click
here
for a detailed version of SpaFinder’s 2011 Spa Trend Report™.
NEW YORK, NY –
December 22, 2010 – SpaFinder, Inc., the global spa and wellness
resource, today announced its annual spa trend forecast, now in its
eighth year. SpaFinder’s Spa Trend Report™ identifies global spa
trends that will influence spa experiences for both consumers and
the industry in the coming year and for decades to come.
The report is
based on analyses from a large team of experts who visit hundreds of
day and stay spas each year; interviews with top industry analysts;
ongoing research across the spa, travel and beauty sectors; and data
derived from SpaFinder’s relationships with over 9,000 spas and
salons across the globe.
The Spa Trend
Report™ is developed under the direction of SpaFinder President
Susie Ellis, who is also the author of an influential blog and
column and a contributing editor to NewBeauty magazine. Ellis
is credited for being the first to forecast numerous industry
“mega-trends” that have taken hold in spas around the world.
“As someone who’s
watched the modern spa industry from its infancy, I have never seen
the aggregate level of creativity and talent in the field, as
wellness, fitness, beauty, design and cuisine are blended in unique
new ways, just as the economy begins its upswing,” Ellis says.
2011 SPA TREND REPORT™
1. The Pain
Relief Massage
Relaxation
– that’s been the number one reason people go to spas for over 25
years. With the oldest baby boomer reaching retirement age in 2011,
look for relaxation to soon be replaced by pain relief.
Baby boomers are
the fastest-growing demographic in the world. As millions of Boomers
(which galvanized the spa/wellness revolution) are now turning 65
each year, spas will begin to incorporate exercise physiologists,
chiropractors, orthopedics and naturopaths focusing on rejuvenation
of joints, pain relief and mobility.
Pain relief massages,
“corrective facials,” and “everything anti-aging” are increasingly
found on spa menus.
2. Salt Rooms
and Inhalation Salt Therapy
Healing traditions
involving basking in salt caves are coming of age in some of the
most modern spas. The benefits to skin, breathing, and rejuvenation
are making inhalation salt
therapy -- or halotherapy -- one of the hottest trends to
watch in 2011.
Spas are finding
stylish new ways to recreate the natural salt cave microclimate,
infusing salt and negative ions into the air. Some examples have
encrusted, stalactite-drenched grottoes (comprised of tons of
imported Himalayan salt crystals). And with decreased need of a
therapist’s involvement, the treatments are attractive to spas from
a cost side. Bottom line is that salty is sweet for
spas and consumers in the coming year.
3. Sample,
Express, Mini-sized, and Simultaneous Treatments
We inhabit a
stressed-out, 24/7 world, and the spa industry is responding,
helping people spa anytime and offering “sample” “express”
mini-sized” and
simultaneous treatments.
While “In a New
York minute” is jargon for how things move faster in hectic New York
City, it’s also the name of a suite of mini (15- to 30-minute) spa
treatments (performed simultaneously by multiple therapists) at the
new Auriga Spa at The Setai Fifth Avenue NYC.
Equally a nod to
the “New York Minute” is the move toward simpler spa menus and a
decline in elaborate
rituals at many spas, to get right to the heart of the
matter: the therapeutic treatment.
A 9 p.m. closing
time is the new spa norm, and “open late” means 2:00 am. The
explosion of airport spas worldwide plays into the “express” trend
neatly. The quest for efficiencies is also reflected in new
facility design directions, with locker rooms on the decline and
even check-in counters being rethought, and 24/7 online appointment
booking, and mobile apps helping people find and book spas on the
fly.
4.
Farm-to-Massage Table and Farm-to-Spa Cuisine
Spas have been
moving away from the generic “could be anywhere” vibe for years,
meeting spa-goers’ intensifying desire for authenticity and
immersion in treatments, food, design and experiences indigenous to
the spa’s unique place and culture. A maple scrub in Canada, organic
food from the spa garden, or facilities built of local stone, while
not new, were, until relatively recently, novelties.
But spas are now
going hyper-local,
putting unique twists on the “farm-to-table” movement, with
farm-to-spa cuisine and farm-to-massage-table treatments.
Hyper-local also means ramped-up
community/philanthropic
projects; 100% locally sourced building materials; mandating
local hiring policies; and finding creative new ways to connect
people more deeply with place and nature. Guests are gardening,
farming, preparing their own food, and making expeditions to local
artisans and schools.
5. Demand for
Scientific Proof Behind Spa Treatments
Is there
scientific proof that massage reduces stress? Are mineral-baths
medically proven to alleviate pain? Is ear candling proven to remove
earwax? The answers: yes, yes and no. Get ready for a new era where
more questions about the
effectiveness of spa therapies and products will be asked,
and where questions will get answered more transparently, as the
emphasis on evidence-based medicine and the “science behind spa”
heats up.
A recent example:
The New York Times reported on a major US medical study
revealing that a 45-minute massage resulted in a significant
decrease in stress hormones, while boosting immunity.
6. Extreme…and
Painful Beauty Treatments
The common element
in spa beauty these days is beauty-seekers taking it to the max. We
are far beyond Botox®;
stem-cell facials, plasma therapy (where blood is drawn and
re-injected) and Ultherapy (no surgery, using ultrasound to
regenerate collagen under the skin) are the new buzzwords.
There is also
extreme pain, something people seem to be tolerating more and more,
as long as it delivers the goods. Derma-rolling hurts, chemical
peels can be uncomfortable and the zapping of lasers is no picnic.
And facials aren’t just for faces anymore; now they are being
applied to every extremity, including “booty”
and “vagina” facials.
Extremes like
military-style boot camps, Rolfing and Bikram yoga, where pain meets
pleasure are on the rise also. Even organic and natural products’
boundaries are being pushed, with raw food cuisine gaining
popularity during intense detox retreats.
What everyone can
agree upon? They want
extreme results.
7. The Asia
Spa Boom
Asia’s impact on
the spa industry is profound: Yoga, Thai massage, Ayurvedic medicine
and acupuncture are staples on global spa menus, and the “Zen”
nature of Asian design is felt in spas worldwide.
But if,
historically, it’s been a tale of the mass exportation of
Asian spa influences, a powerful new story is unfolding: The
explosive growth of hotel/spa development within Asia (a
market of 4.1 billion people), especially within the two
fastest-growing world economies, China and India, where
extraordinary new class mobility is being unleashed.
Asia-Pacific has the
largest number of spas and hotels under development of any
region in the world, and by 2015, China will have 100 million
outbound travelers, many seeking a luxury lifestyle, including the
“western” spa experience.
8. Unique
Group and Learning Experiences
Increasingly, spas
are developing distinctive specialty programs to draw patrons
seeking something more - a unique group or
learning experience.
While destination spas have been doing yoga and healthy cooking
weeks for years, retreats now span everything from a high-flying “Trapeze
Experience” to creative jewelry-making to the more sober and
grounded gathering for survivors of loss.
Celebrity authors
and artists now headline these programmed stays, like the recent
“Dine and Dive Week” in the Maldives headed up by Jacque Cousteau’s
son Fabien. We expect this trend to flourish in the coming year, as
spas and resort destinations find creative new ways to prove that
unique is indeed chic for the savvy consumer.
9. Spa Brands
Go Global
Traditionally the
province of standalone spas, the industry is moving rapidly in the
direction of branded experiences. 2011 will be a watershed year for
franchised/branded spas, as consumers seek the consistency of
treatments they know and love, and major players expand into new
markets.
A stratified
market offers choice: From the cool, urban Bliss or Exhale to the
eco-luxury of Six Senses; from, the lavish opulence of Mandarin
Oriental to Mandara’s more affordable Chevana brand, or the
low cost options such as
Massage Envy, look to see a brand new world of spa
lines going global.
10. Spas
Embrace Deals and Coupons
Gone are the days
when coupons were unfashionable things people snipped out of
newspapers and spas wouldn’t think of using the term “deal.” Put an
“e-” or “group” in front of “coupon,” and you suddenly have the
hottest Internet mania of 2010, poised to accelerate at an even more
dizzying pace in 2011.
Online
group-buying deals have burst onto the global scene, and the
old-fashioned “deal” has morphed into a hip online industry. And
with spa/wellness deals a
mainstay of generic deal sites like GroupOn or LivingSocial,
it’s a sure sign that spa-going has achieved mainstream traction.
With so many spa
deals being blasted into inboxes, millions of people are now
expanding their spa horizons,
trying new spa experiences
they wouldn’t have without the “50%-75% off.”
About SpaFinder, Inc.
The world’s largest
spa media, marketing, and gifting company, SpaFinder, Inc., connects
millions of wellness-focused consumers with thousands of spas
worldwide. SpaFinder’s media properties include the award-winning
SpaFinder.com, the Club Spa e-newsletter and blog, and the annual
NewBeauty SpaFinder Guide to Global Spa, Wellness & Beauty.
SpaFinder and its spa-beauty gift division, SpaWish, offer gift
certificates and cards that are redeemable at a combined network of
over 9,000 spas and salons, and are available at more than 90,000
unique retail outlets in 79 countries. SpaFinder Europe and
SpaFinder Japan offer regional spa marketing and gifting programs,
including localized, native-language websites. Founded in 1986, the
privately held company is headquartered in Manhattan. For more
information visit:
http://www.spafinder.com
About
Dave's Pick