As the economic downturn hurts the hotel business, spas are trying to maintain their revenue by marketing their services to a local and regional clientele. This seems like a smart strategy for hospitality businesses in general, in the sense that it is always better to get creative and target new customer segments rather than severly cut prices and eliminate profit margins. This strategy sounds especially prudent for small to mid size hotels and hospitality businesses, who can’t make up for a drastic price cut with huge volumes like the national hotel chains.
According to the article, hotels like the Ginn Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn in Sonoma, California, have all begun offering promotions and incentives for local residents like reduced admissions fees or discounts on treatments at their spas.
In addition, many hotels are offering spa packages as a way to incentivize guests. By bundling a number of spa services into one package, hotels are able to bring revenue into the spa without drastically cutting prices and they’re able to increase room bookings without substantially lowering room rates. Package deals are a highly recommended hospitality marketing strategy to provide extra value to guests without cutting room rates.
Hotel spa packages appear to be catching on as a hospitality Social Media Marketing (SMM) strategy as well. A discounted massage and facial package that was heavily promoted via Facebook has been extended twice due to demand at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, California.
Get the full story at The New York Times.
