You Don't Own a Salon. You Own A Business.
In his latest blog, Leon Alexander Ph.D., challenges industry conventional thinking to help owners add more to their bottom lines.
Tranquility's Beauty Bar and Sleep Lounge
Two features in the Tranqulity Day Spa and Salon's newest location in Haymarket, Virginia, are changing the way their guests experience the spa.
October 26, 2012
3 min to read
Last January, Tranquility Day Spa and Salon in Haymarket, Virginia, celebrated a grand reopening with a new location that focused on two new revolutionary spa concepts: a Beauty Bar and a Sleep Lounge.
The Beauty Bar caters to guests who want to stop in to try quick and inexpensive services, such as an eyebrow wax, nail polish change, hand treatment or eye treatment. And, it doubles as a space used for special events, hosting guest speakers and workshops that share a common goal of inspioring guests with healthy living tips. The Bar offers wine and cheese pairing and a variety of snack, such as homemade chicken salad, fresh fruit and Tranquility’s famous signature cupcakes.
The Sleep Lounge is an extended spa lounge where guests can rest after services for a rejuvenating nap before they resume their busy lives.
SALON TODAY recently checked in with Tranquility’s owner Gloria Harding to see where she got inspiration for these two concepts and how guests were responding to them 10 months after later. Here’s her report:
“The Beauty Bar concept has been one of the most effective marketing concept for overall growth of our spa. The featured services of the Beauty Bar are ‘minis’ or express services that mirror our full-size services but are less expensive and less time consuming, which is extremely appealing to today's consumer. The original concept was to use the bar to draw guests in to try our services—they don't need an appointment to have one, and can stop in anytime to have them done while still enjoying our wonderful hospitality, a glass of wine or cheese, crackers and homemade chicken salad!
“The Bar was an instant hit! As the first few months developed, we realized that if we can offer the same service but take them to the spa to do it, instead of having it at the bar in the front lobby, then we could expose them to how fabulous the spa is! So, we started doing that instead and it worked brilliantly!! Most people book a full size service before they leave now!
“The other major way the beauty bar has grown our business is with our Beauty Bashes. We hold these on Friday night after we close. For $60 per person and a minimum of 6 people, guests can each choose 2 services, and receive our refreshments, including a full-size cupcake each. We decorate and make it festive, and the guests have the entire spa to themselves! People love this! It's typically our loyal clients booking these parties and bringing their friends that are first-timers, and they are blown away! More than half of these parties book future appointments before they leave. We have done birthday parties, bachelorette parties and even weight watchers parties (i.e., ladies celebrating their weight loss).
“The Sleep Lounge has given us a direct competitive edge in our area. We are the only spa around that has one! My husband and I went to a fabulous spa in Vancouver about eight years ago, and they had one and there is nothing more amazing than a nap after having your services done! We vowed that if we ever had the room, we would add one to our spa. When we relocated and moved a year ago, we had that opportunity! It is a small and cozy room with two loungers, and a guest or two who are spa-ing can go in there, close the door and actually rest. The comments we frequently get are: ‘Do I ever have to leave?’ ‘I can't get a nap at my house to save my life! This is a dream come true!’ It’s been a huge hit!”
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