Luxury & Profits
Hydrotherapy Services Pamper Customers
by Danielle Maheux
Tanning is no longer just about giving skin a golden glow—it’s a full-blown professional skincare regime with clients who want to be pampered. Offering hydrotherapy as an ancillary service can set a salon apart because it appeals to today’s modern tanning clientele that desires fresh, innovative treatments to enhance relaxation and rejuvenation.
Hydrotherapy—the therapeutic use of water— is becoming a popular revenue stream for tanning salons. Success lies in the fact that the machines do most of the work while providing clients fast and affordable spa treatments and salons with a nice return on investment.
From hydrotherapy units to steam and skin-nourishing equipment, adding hydrotherapy lends a spa-like atmosphere to the salon, which intrigues the current customer base and attracts non-tanners who desire moisturizing, massaging and cleansing treatments.
“The shift we’re seeing from tanning-only salons to all-inclusive spas definitely appears to be the direction the tanning industry is heading,” says Paul Lunter, CEO of Clearwater, Fla.-based AquaMed/HydroMassage. “By becoming more ‘spa-like’, salon owners instantly open their doors to so many more potential customers and are able to generate more revenue from those clients.”
In addition, modern hydrotherapy equipment offers a practical option for inclusion in a salon because the space-saving machines require little training to use, no extra personnel and are an excellent source of profit maximization.
The Target Market
Hydrotherapy is able to bridge the age gap and draw proponents from across the board, while moving outside the usual tanning demographic to bring non-tanners into the salon.
“The tanning industry is expanding and diversifying at a rapid pace to meet and exceed the needs of an ever-evolving modern clientele,” says Nielle Arnold, product and sales manager of Minneapolis-based Sybaritic, Inc., manufacturer of the Hydration Station™. “The goal of the younger clientele is simple: To get as dark as possible.”
She says hydrotherapy technologies can push these clients past their tanning plateaus, which is a common frustration among customers. Baby boomers also are drawn to the concept of responsible tanning and these clients will tan more if they can be shown how they can actively improve tonality and texture of their skin while restoring moisture.
“Adding a skin-conditioning platform to a salon’s product offerings addresses negative publicity and image surrounding the tanning industry,” Arnold says. “Tanning should be seen as being all about healthy skin.”
Simultaneously, the salon is acknowledging the concerns of its current customer base on how to care for their skin while tanning, in regard to combating dryness and generating a deeper, darker color.
“Today we have a more educated clientele, and these services allow a client to feel like the salon is really looking out for his or her best interest,” says Todd Earnhart, owner of Glo Sun Spa in Houston. “The addition of our Hydration Station really expanded our client base.”
Customers will jump at the opportunity to spoil themselves because they are focused on overall relaxation, circulation and hydration, making it a perfect addition to the indoor tanning industry.
“Salons already have a customer base of health-minded individuals who want to be tan,” says Allen Licht, director of marketing and business development for Miami-based SpaCapsule. “Therefore, our slogan is ‘Now that you look good, you have to feel good’.”
Medical Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is one of the oldest medical methods used to soothe pains and treat diseases. More recently, hydrotherapy has gained a commercial popularity in the indoor tanning industry as an ancillary service that elevates a salon to spa status and offers patrons luxurious treatments to enhance their tanning experience.
“Indoor tanning is not always about achieving the deepest tan,” says Sharon Burke, co-owner of Lucien’s Tanning Salon in Syracuse, N.Y. “People come to the salon to relax. Offering hydrotherapy services like Aqua Massage go hand-in-hand with tanning because it’s a pampering service.”
Today’s compact, cutting-edge, easy-to-use machines have allowed salons to bring in hydrotherapy equipment at relatively little cost and effort. Many doctors already utilize that same hydrotherapy equipment in their own offices for physical therapy and overall health.
“Our patients really appreciate the hydrotherapy services and they add value as an overall quality treatment to all that I do,” says Michael Brantmeier, M.D. of the Morgan City Chiropractic and Laser Center in Morgan City, La. that has a Quatro Wave System from H2OMassage Systems. “It always sparks interest with everyone and has increased my referrals.”
G. Hudson Drakes, of the Community Physical Medicine & Pain Center, P.C. in Oxon Hill, Md., appreciates the compact and visually-appealing design of his Quatro Wave System. “This is indeed a marvelous device and is equally well-constructed,” he says. “It’s aesthetically pleasing, self-contained and easy to manipulate and can accommodate every kind of structural variation in an office setting.”
Medical proponents like these make it all the more clear how tanning salons can benefit from offering hydrotherapy to their clients.
“Everyone has some level of stress, pain or tension that will benefit from the clinically-proven effects,” says Dow Cote, domestic sales manager at Groton, Conn.-based Aqua Massage International, Inc.
The Treatments
Understanding the benefits that hydrotherapy provides makes it easy for salon owners and staff to promote use of the equipment, ensuring that clients recognize and utilize this opportunity to help them look and feel their best.
Hydromassage
Despite its name, hydromassage is a dry process during which the customer lies in a bed and has heated water contained in rubber and plastic liners applied to the body by therapeutic jets. Because it is dry, users can stay fully clothed, which makes many customers feel more comfortable. Also, there is no need for a massage therapist, so the client is in complete control of the massage as far as pressure, temperature and length of time is concerned.“Most people don’t have time to get a 30- to 60-minute traditional, hands-on massage,” Lunter says. “With this technology, they can get a great massage in 15 minutes or less without needing to get undressed, oily or touched by a stranger.”
As an added bonus for the customer who tans and utilizes these units, massage stimulates blood circulation that enhances the appearance of color during the tanning process.
Steam
Steam can provide many of the same benefits as hydromassage, such as increased circulation, and also leads to toxin cleansing and hydration of the skin. Treatments can be utilized prior to tanning to prepare the skin and stimulate circulation or can be used alone to cleanse, condition and moisturize.The hydrating benefits of steam are particularly important to combat signs of aging, where dehydration robs skin of that soft, supple glow. Steam re-oxygenates the skin and replenishes it with moisture to keep clients looking young and healthy.
Since hot tubs and saunas aren’t practical in tanning salons where square footage is at a premium, manufacturers have developed space-saving machines that produce similar end results. Some manufacturers offer machines that incorporate steam with a number of other therapeutic effects in one session, such as heat, oxygen and massage.
Topical Skincare
Since it is a given that clients who use hydrotherapy machines are interested in skincare and hydration, topical skincare products are a great way to introduce clients to retail merchandise.
Though these products generally are used with steam treatments (one of the best-selling points for hydrotherapy equipment is that nothing is needed aside from the customer and the bed), salon owners can incorporate retail sales into all of their hydrotherapy offerings.
Recommending professional salon skincare products to use after the massage or various other retail items that assist in the theme of tension release and relaxation only will add to the customer’s spa experience and overall satisfaction.
“If the customer is just coming in for the spa pieces and is not particularly interested in tanning, we encourage moisturizing the skin and using our relaxation CDs,” says Cindy Corbitt, co-owner of a Planet Beach salon in Tarpon Springs, Fla.
For steam equipment like the Hydration Station, clients need to be educated on the benefits of using professional accelerators, sunless primers and moisturizers in combination with their treatments, which will enhance the penetration of each product and its active ingredients, Arnold says.
“Our unit is the perfect retail conversation starter that asks your clients to consider all of the many unique retail products that your salon has to offer,” she says. “The Hydration Station truly is the purchasing accelerator for your accelerators.”
Ensuring that clients are aware of what type of product to use with treatments is a key part of making their encounter with hydrotherapy as pleasurable and effective as possible. It also personalizes the experience for the client, motivating them to return.
Selling Techniques
The addition of hydrotherapy as an ancillary service to a salon generates a feeling of luxury and designates the salon as a place that is more than tanning to the client.
“Essentially, Planet Beach combined UV equipment with day spa services and created a completely unique industry—a Contempo Spa™,” says Kurt Bass, owner of a Lafayette, La.-based Planet Beach. “We provide premier skincare and wellness services, in the privacy of your own room, without the need for an attendant.
In today’s busy society, we can provide day spa quality services in less time, at a lower cost and it’s all because we recognize our customers’ need to have the ‘get-away-from-it-all’ experience.”
Most suppliers of hydrotherapy equipment include marketing and promotional tools with each purchase in order to help salons learn how to best market the machine and maximize revenue.
“Each of our systems comes with a complete marketing and promotional CD,” says Jason Lemieux, president and owner of H2OMassage Systems in Canada. “Some of the salons using our units generate between $3,000 and $20,000 per month in revenues.”
Many salons have chosen to package their hydrotherapy offerings with tanning in addition to selling single treatments as a way to promote the beneficial effect of hydrotherapy on indoor tanning and market the treatments to new customers.
“Use of the Hydration Station has been added to our membership fees,” Earnhart says. “We offer half-price sessions for all members or they can choose to add unlimited uses to their EFT membership program for $24.95 a month. At least 15 percent of our EFT members have signed up.”
Similarly, salons are finding success by offering specials like free teaser sessions that leave clients wanting more and by putting promotional signs and brochures in their salon.
“Being the only spa in town with this service, I use it in all my marketing, in full color. It can be a little costly, but very effective,” adds Bass, whose large posters read “Book your next spa party!”
Dan Marcoux, owner of Shade Me Tan in Webster, Mass., says the placement of his salon’s hydrotherapy signage has created yet another avenue of revenue for him—gift certificate sales.
“The signage in the store windows really helps with gift certificate sales because people notice it from the street. Aqua Massage is a great gift item,” he says.
Similarly, Licht says SpaCapsule’s marketing package includes eight different posters that can hang in salons. One poster encourages customers to give a gift certificate for SpaCapsule to friends and family members.
“These are the same family members who might not want to tan, but want to have a massage,” he says. “Once they are brought in with a gift certificate, it gives the salon owner the opportunity to explain the benefits of tanning indoors as well.”
Of course, there also is the fact that these machines, with their contemporary design and hi-tech attributes, practically market themselves.
“The lights and colors make the unit look sexy and the aromatherapy aspect smells so good,” Earnhart says. “New customers who tour our facility are instantly interested in the machine.”
Money-Making Luxury
Everyone enjoys the treatments and anyone can benefit from them. Plus, just having this ancillary service brings about a new image of the tanning industry as a skin-savvy promoter of well-being.
“By offering hydrotherapy, you are showing your clients that you are an aggressive salon, keeping up-to-date on the latest to improve services to your clients,” Lemieux says.
That satisfaction is what keeps a client coming back for more, which is especially important during the summer months. When the sun is out in full force, indoor tanning salons can experience a downtrend in profits; hydrotherapy is something that tanners cannot get out by the pool or at the beach.
Cote agrees: “One of the major benefits to salon owners that offer hydrotherapy services is increased revenue and salon utilization from a non-seasonal, stand-alone profit center.”
The popularity and benefit of hydrotherapy is tremendous, which makes it easy to understand why many salons are turning toward offering this ancillary service to boost year-round profit margins and expand their clientele.
“Only a certain percentage of the population will go to a salon to get a tan, so the market will always be somewhat limited,”
Lunter says. “However, if your salon has the option for customers to get a tan, a quick massage and maybe one or two other unique services, then you’ve automatically increased your potential customer base and helped to reduce risk during periods of the year when tanning is typically slower.”
