Spa and Wellness area Service Design, Culture and Quality

While the spa industry continues its explosive growth, it also grows increasingly competitive with customers becoming more demanding and savvy about the spa experience. To be successful, however, requires a commitment from the spa owner and managers to an industry that focuses on wellness, health and pampering. When people visit a spa, their worries should be forgotten and relaxation should set in. A successful spa creates a lasting memory through design and superior service, just as any spa should do.

Every small thing in spa service design matters. Some of the integral elements of the service design are location, atmosphere, materials, lightning, spa room themes and circulations.

Location of the spa is the key because it is vitally important to have the spa entry easily accessible from the hotel entry. The spa must be easily noticeable from the entrance of the hotel to be able to attract clients. The location of Body & Mind Spa can be said to be favorable for the hotel. It is located a few meters away from the hotel reception and can hardly be left unnoticed. A large name plate ?at the entrance to the spa attracts attention of the customers.

Atmosphere is of great importance for a spa. Upon entering through the spa doors, clients should instantly feel a transition in mood and ambiance. In Body &Mind spa this is achieved by the use of aroma in the entrance hall and a soothing greeting from the staff. The sound of water and nature sounds in the background are design elements that enhance the atmosphere and help clients’ transition into a tranquil environment. The lightning in the spa reception area comes from a window just next to it and the intensity of the daylight can be adjusted by the use of blinds. The window in a spa overlooks the sea and the swimming pool area which makes people remember that they are on holidays in a beautiful Greek island of Greece. The spa is decorated with some fine paintings, candleholders, earthy colors, materials of wood and marble, decorative arrangements of flowers and some other fine details.

Also part of the transition is going from street clothing to the soft plush robe and moving into the relaxation room, which is a critical part of the spa program. The modern changing rooms of Body & Mind Spa are equipped with showers, toilets and lockers where a fresh robe, slippers and towels can be found. At times, guests find it slightly difficult to locate the Changing Rooms as these rooms are somewhat hidden from the other facilities. It seems that this facility has been accommodated in an area that is away from the treatment rooms and points of relaxation. The clients are always offered enjoying a cup of tea in the Relaxation Room before or after treatment. This room is equipped with reclining loungers, a tea bar, filled with the scent of aroma and dimmed light. This space provides a quiet peaceful area where the guest can relax with a cup of tea and get into the spa mood while awaiting for the therapist to receive them for treatment or to prolong the relaxation of the already received treatments.

The ‘SPA’ is where it is referred to houses the Indoor Swimming Pool, the Sauna, the Steam Room, Jacuzzi and the Relaxation Lounge. These features enhanced the spa experience and created an ideal environment in which to escape. The area with Jacuzzi and Indoor Swimming Pool is visible to the guests relaxing outside by the swimming pool area which often provokes curiosity and serves as incentive to enter the spa, get information about the treatments and try some of them.

The materials in the room must withstand the activities and services being performed within. For example, the sauna and swimming pool area and the corridor leading to it are almost all tiles. It is made in such a way so that water can get anywhere and maintenance is easy. In Body & Mind Spa there was a problem with the materials used in the wet area. The floor around the indoor swimming pool and near Jacuzzi was often found slippery and created some dangers and risk of injuries. This problem was communicated to the hotel manager who did not act to change the situation. Massage rooms were designed with materials that help with sound and ambiance. Since some clients are their backs for some treatments, ceiling materials must also be considered in the design.

In treatment rooms, lighting is critical for setting the tone. They do not have any windows bearing in mind that the experience of the treatment is best without any distractions. During treatments, soft, glowing light that does not shine in the client’s eyes makes for a more relaxing and soothing experience. Indirect lighting in ceiling soffits and behind special materials helps create a unique space. A second level of lighting includes task lighting for cleaning. Body & Mind Spa has an efficient system for regulating the light intensity in the whole spa area. It is easy to adjust the light according to the needs of a particular situation.

You can create a theme to your rooms to create experiences from across the globe. Be careful not to get too carried away with this concept, though, or the rooms will not be cohesive. Cohesion in design theme throughout the spa sets the tone and character. Themes are often based on the location of the spa and available resources and materials. Similar materials and colors should be carried throughout the spa to create an overall vision and feel. Themes are sometimes associated with nature. Bringing the outdoors into the spa or the spa into the outdoors is common practice across the world. Designing spaces that look outdoorsy – from the snow in Switzerland to the beach in Greece – can play an important role in tying the spa in with its environment. Body & Mind Spa didn’t have a particular theme in its room design though rooms had been recently renewed and beautifully decorated in pastel colors that created a relaxing atmosphere.

 Visiting a spa is an escape from reality. The experience that is created in a spa is aimed at taking users to another place. The circulation and flow must work well for the staff and clients. Arterial hallways form the main travel route and branches should lead to the more private spaces. In Body & Mind Spa manicure and pedicure room was placed at the front of the spa where it is more public and the most private treatments rooms were located toward the back.

Service quality has a lot to do with the professionalism of the staff. The spa manager demanded friendly and open attitude to the customers from her employees and conversational level of English. In case other languages were required such as Russian or Italian the author who acted as a receptionist was always there to assist the therapist and client in the communication process.

Service or organizational culture refers to the goals, beliefs, values and attitudes that define a company. All of these are the foundation of the work the employees do every day on behalf of the guests. During the trainee’s internship at the hotel she was not familiarized with the service culture that is why she would like to make suggestions of defining the service culture for the hotel. Companies with strong, clearly defined cultures tend to be more successful. In an increasingly global marketplace, having a well-defined service culture makes organizations more competitive and helps them achieve their long-term objectives.

Culture is less about policy and more about people, especially in the service-oriented hospitality business. To create the organizational culture you want, it's important to define your mission and values, but the crucial second step is finding people committed to those principles. 

To keep up the service quality the hotel must make sure that every group of customers is taken care of. For example, if the hotel gets pregnant women the spa should have a specifically designed treatments and pricelist for the women in this condition. If sometimes the clients are children there should be a specifically designed menu for little ones and undoubtedly the therapists must also be qualified for giving these treatments.

To ensure the service quality the spa manager supervised the work of employees on a daily basis and in addition to it the hotel manager and hotel owner from time to time made surprise visits. The hotel owner came to the spa regularly for facial treatments, oil application and massages while the hotel manager used the services of the spa occasionally.

Other ways to control the quality could be used in a spa such as mystery shopping and selection of an employee of the month who is rewarded with a visit to another spa of the area.