A traditional 50 or 60-minute treatment just isn’t fitting the needs of today’s client anymore. Instead, they are requesting polar opposites — either express services of 30 minutes or less or extended single treatments of 90 to 120 minutes. The trend in express treatments speaks to the need to have maintenance done while living in our fast-paced, 24/7 connected culture. The trend toward longer treatments, on the other end, is driven by the need for those overworked people to fully relax — and the length of time it takes to relax them — when they have a block to dedicate to overall wellness.
For The Spa at Sandpearl in Clearwater Beach, Fla., the move toward both express and long is seasonal. “When we are in convention season, people come in for the quick treatments. In spring, we have the European market come in, and they want the longer two-hour traditional or deep tissue massages and are adding on services to their facials to make them longer,” says Maureen Vipperman, corporate director of spa operations for OPL hotels, which owns Sandpearl Resort. “It’s important to know your market well and be on up your clients’ changing needs.”
For The Spa at Sandpearl in Clearwater Beach, Fla., the move toward both express and long is seasonal. “When we are in convention season, people come in for the quick treatments. In spring, we have the European market come in, and they want the longer two-hour traditional or deep tissue massages and are adding on services to their facials to make them longer,” says Maureen Vipperman, corporate director of spa operations for OPL hotels, which owns Sandpearl Resort. “It’s important to know your market well and be on up your clients’ changing needs.”
EXPRESS SERVICES
Express treatments speak not only to the busy client always on the go, but also to the client who wants a mini break from their day. “Some clients don’t want the relaxation or chit-chat and just need to come in for the immediate benefit of the treatment, such as a cleansing facial, or for relief of some tension in a short massage that simply targets their troubled spot,” says Vipperman.ONE the Spa at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, Calif., gets a lot of express clients who are simply seeking a chance to quickly recharge. “We offer the opportunity to take a spontaneous break in their day to de-stress and recalibrate before an important meeting or starting a big project,” says spa director Rachel Stacy. “You don’t necessarily have to plan in advance for an express treatment like you have to do for a traditional 60 or 90-minute service. You can use the impromptu break to gather your thoughts, focus your energy and clear your mind.”
The Express Pure O2 Infusion treatment (30 minutes, $150) is one of ONE the Spa’s most popular express treatments. It features a combination of customized organic certified extracts, firming peptides and vitamins A, C and E, which are infused into the skin with medical-grade oxygen.
SenSpa in San Francisco added a 30-minute Express Massage ($85) to their menu after getting client feedback from one of their surveys. “We do surveys every few years and this is what they asked for,” says outreach manager Terri Eaton. “We have a lot of professionals and commuting is challenging in the city. Since we close at 9 p.m., we are regularly booked by commuters between 6-8 p.m. who want to wait out the traffic before heading home.”
EXTENDED SERVICES
While long packages and “spa days” that feature several different treatments have long been popular, there is a rise in the extended version of single treatments as more spas are adding 90 and 120-minute versions of their existing massage and body treatments.“At the end of a 50 or 60-minute massage, you might be just starting to decompress,” says Vipperman. “When your body starts to twitch like when you’re ready to go to sleep that’s when it’s just getting good. So to add on another half hour or hour to the massage will allow the client to really soak in the benefits of the service.”
One of Sandpearl’s most popular extended treatments is The Quench (120 minutes, $230). This body treatment includes dry brushing, a body scrub and body butter massaged in with warm stones for hydration, firming and relaxation. “It prevents the hyaluronic acid breakdown to keep the moisture in the body,” says Vipperman.
Milk + honey spa, which has five locations in Texas, first introduced a two-hour massage for Valentine’s Day in 2008, and it was so popular that it’s not only become a staple of the menu, but they’ve extended other services as well. The spa previously offered 60 and 90-minute services, but has added 75, 105, and 120 minute options with much success.
“Any service provider will tell you that an hour massage is not enough time to address most people’s wish list for their massage,” says general manager Summer Smith. “It doesn’t give enough time to really focus on the areas that a client is complaining about, pain or soreness or where their tension lays. Two hours allows for more time to focus on those areas.” Smith adds that the two-hour massage is also a popular gift item.
Two-hour services allow for time on other areas that are usually quickly brushed over. The spa’s Ultimate Massage (120 minutes, $205) is one of milk + honey’s most popular treatments for those little extras. “In addition to the full body massage, it includes 15 minutes of foot work in both prone and supine positions,” Smith adds. “As well as 15 minutes on the scalp and neck, all the yummy inclusions, and more time on the hands too.”
