Ancillary Service Trends

Ancillary Service Trends
Add-On Profit Centers Boost Business Year-Round

by Matt Morgan

Ancillary services can help salon owners buck the ups and downs of the tanning off-season. Such services remain popular year-round, and they allow salon owners to leverage their existing customer bases and use much of their same operating models. The top ancillary services tend to come from the spa industry, where relaxation and pampering blend with the golden skin provided by indoor tanning. LOOKING FIT® has highlighted a selection of ancillary services that are working in tanning salons across the country.

After about five years in the indoor tanning industry, sunless still is going strong. More and more salon owners are warming to the idea of sunless as a complement to their main business of UV tanning.

In fact, 40 percent of U.S. tanning salons offer at least one sunless booth, and 22 percent offer sunless airbrush or turbine tanning, according to research conducted recently by LOOKING FIT®. This represents a 10-percent and 6-percent jump, respectively, over the previous year.

Sunless services can be offered as a quick fix when clients are pressed for time, a tanning booster between traditional UV sessions, to touch up delicate or hard-totan areas such as faces, hands and feet, and to even out any pressure points, tan lines or uneven spots on the body.

Salons that have added sunless services report an increase in traditional UVtanning sessions by as much as 30 percent after they introduced sunless services.

“By bringing in spray booths into my salons, I brought in a new demographic, a new clientele,” says Charlie Dixon, president of Bronze Body Tanning Centers in Beaumont, Texas. “I’ve been able to convert a lot of them over to be UV tanners. You’ll be opening the door to a new batch of people.”

Stand-up spray booths continue to be the most widely used sunless equipment in salons. Today’s sunless booths feature sophisticated designs and advanced technologies that provide an even, all-over tan.

Airbrush tanning doesn’t have the same privacy factor as stand-up units, but customers don’t seem to mind. Many enjoy the personal attention from airbrush technicians. Plus, airbrushing allows customers to tan specific parts of the body such as their face or uneven tan lines.

The latest sunless trend is in high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP) turbine delivery. The machine is driven by a turbine motor rather than a compressor seen in most airbrush systems. The turbine motor delivers a high volume of low-pressure “soft” airflow instead of a concentrated high-pressure blast found in compressor-based airbrush systems.

The appeal of HVLP is quicker sessions— usually less than five minutes—which is what tanners want, as well as quicker returns on investment, which is what salon owners want. Plus, there is less overspray, so solution goes further, and there is virtually no dry time.

Sunless systems also open the door to a variety of skincare products. This season, several major sunless equipment manufacturers introduced their own specialty skincare products.

A great number of clients who visit the tanning salon go somewhere to have their nails done. By establishing a nail station at the tanning salon, smart business owners can keep those tanners around.

Setting up a nail station with furniture and products should be a fairly easy task, say nail industry professionals. Salon owners can ask their distributor representative or search the Yellow Pages or Internet to find local providers.

Stations can be located in a section of the lobby or in a dedicated room; however, tanning salons will experience greater profits when utilizing approximately 100 square feet of a salon with a nail technician and nail station, says Suzi Weiss- Fischmann, executive vice president and artistic director at OPI Products.

Salon owners should check state and/or local board rules that govern nail technicians to make sure technicians have the correct licensing.

Odor-free nail, hand and foot-care services are important in the tanning salon. Any odors from nail services—acrylic nails, for example—can be overwhelming when combined with the heat from tanning beds, and may make some clients uncomfortable, says Tony Cuccio, president and CEO of Star Nail International.

To market nail services, salon staff can suggest it to tanners when they call for appointments or stop by. The nail tech also can be introduced to clients waiting in the lobby.

Wraps are used to flush toxins from the body, which can lead to improved skin texture and tone as well as inch loss. These results often are noticeable after one session and may increase with subsequent treatments. This nearly instant image enhancement makes body wraps a great fit in the tanning salon.

The wrap itself is made of cotton or similar material and is soaked in solution of aloe vera, herbs, minerals or clay. The material is wrapped around a person’s body for about 45 minutes.

The special solution penetrates fat cells and sends toxins to the lymphatic system.

There, the toxins are flushed from the body through water the client drinks over the next few days.

Salons must dedicate a private room for body wraps. After the wrap, clients will relax on a recliner lounge chair, facial table or massage table.

In one inch-loss session, a person can expect to lose a total of four to 15 inches from measurements taken at different places on the body, says Jan Heinrich, managing director for Set-N-Me-Free Aloe Co.

Some body parts may need four or five sessions for results to show. Multiple treatments are recommended to maximize inch loss—a series of 12 treatments usually results in a loss of two clothes sizes, Heinrich says.

“Body-wrap packages can sell for $400 to $900 with continued success after each treatment,” she says. “Our research shows that 73 percent of clients having one body wrap will buy a series of seven to 12 treatments.”

Most of the techniques used for body wraps do not require a state license; however, salon owners still must enter this business with preparation and understanding of issues such as pre-existing medical conditions, first aid, infection control and prescription medications that could cause complications.

Body wrapping can be learned quickly and easily, so several salon staff members can be trained to become body-wrap technicians. A technician typically only needs six or seven practice wraps to achieve professional wrap techniques for clients, Heinrich says.

Customers enjoy the tanning experience because they can look better and feel better about themselves in a matter of minutes. They seek massage for much the same reason; therefore, the addition of massage to the tanning salon can bring about direct benefits for the business and its consumers.

“It takes the tanning salon from a seasonal business and turns it into year-round,” says Mimi Rosenberg, owner of Mimi’s Sun Spa in Port Townsend, Wash. “The reason for adding massage is the fact that you want to bring in a different client.”

Facility layout can play a key role in the service’s success. A 10-by-10-foot space will allow enough room for the massage table or chair and for the therapist to move around. Because massage is a tranquil, relaxing experience, the massage area should be placed away from heavy foot traffic and where lighting, temperature and noise can be controlled.

An initial investment of $4,000 can be used to purchase equipment and other administrative materials.

Massage tables are generally six feet long and can be adjusted to accommodate the needs of clients and therapists. They can be purchased from any number of wholesale companies.

Perhaps the most crucial component to the success of a massage service is the selection of the massage therapist.

Some states require licensed massage therapists, but even those that don’t may have local ordinances. Tanning salon owners should check with their cities or counties to find out what kinds of rules are in existence.

Two-part time therapists may be all a tanning salon needs to begin incorporating massage into the business. This way, neither has to dedicate a huge block of time. Ultimately, however, salon size and service demand will dictate the need for therapists. For example, Rosenberg began with one massage therapist but added more over time.

Therapists either can be hired as salon employees or kept as independent contractors. The decision must be right for the individual salon.

It is important for the ground rules to be laid out. Will the therapists be able to sell tanning retail items or other massage products in addition to providing their services? Can they bring in new or existing clientele on their own?

“In any business situation, the more defined the parameters, the better everybody’s going to be able to service their clientele, and the happier the place is going to be,” says Brenda L. Griffith, The American Massage Therapy Association’s immediate past president.

A good way to introduce a massage service in the salon is to set up a chair in the lobby and give away brief sessions to tanners waiting for their rooms. If customers enjoy the sample experience they’ll be more inclined to schedule a full session. Also, employees can ask people who call for tanning appointments if they would like a massage.

While other types of ancillary services are labor-intensive, hydrotherapy—the therapeutic use of water—is popular in tanning salons because machines do most of the work.

Massage stimulates blood circulation, which helps a person achieve a more even tan, says Andy Momberg, director of development for Soltron, Inc.

Rather than a massage therapist applying hand pressure to sore or tight muscles, water massage or hydromassage involves heated water applied by therapeutic jets.

Water is contained in rubber and plastic liners, so users can stay fully clothed. Since there is no disrobing, clients feel more comfortable; plus, salon owners don’t need to put the machine in a private room, thus freeing the room for a tanning unit or other profit center.

Hydrotherapy massage units are evolving into sleek, attractive additions to the salon. Manufacturers have improved the technology of user controls, allowing for a wider variety of massage programs and more personalized sessions.

“A hydrotherapy machine can be used as an eye-catching piece of equipment to attract customers,” Momberg says. “By continuing to upgrade salon quality, most tanning salons will gain market share.”

Steam is another method of hydrotherapy. Steam can provide much the same benefits of hydro-massage or body wraps: toxin cleansing, increased circulation and inch loss. It also can be used as a pretreatment to enhance other body services, says Melissa Keehn, sales representative for Lucas Products Corporation.

Since hot tubs and saunas aren’t practical in tanning salons where square feet are at a premium, manufacturers havedeveloped 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.

“The No. 1 cause of the development of the signs of aging is dehydration,” says Nielle Arnold, national sales director for Sybaritic, Inc. “By integrating steam, infrared and oxygen therapy into the tanning regimen, the client is re-nourishing the skin with what it needs most to stay soft, supple and glowing: moisture and oxygen.”

Light therapy has been used to treat sleep disorders and depression, but researchers are beginning to see other specific applications for well-being. There are two main methods of light therapy that can be incorporated into the tanning salon: photorejuvenation and photomodulation.

Photorejuvenation uses intense pulsed light (IPL) of red and infrared lengths to induce skin healing. This type of treatment penetrates to the dermis to help repair collagen there while erasing a number of skin conditions and signs of aging on the surface.

Photomodulation activates skin cells with pulses of low-level, non-thermal light energy from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This procedure has been shown to reduce wrinkles, redness and pore size around the eyes.

Basically, LED treatments give skin a “light bath” that targets specific cells that absorb a specific wavelength of light. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has OK’d LED therapy in cosmetic applications because it carries no risk of overexposure or eye injuries, says Ray Mead, CEO of Raymond Anthony International. There also is no recovery time, especially when compared to other types of skin rejuvenation, he adds.

“With LED light therapy, you’re working within the body’s own natural processes,” he says. “Your body converts light energy—the photon—into cellular energy. With red light, at 633 nanometers, you’re energizing those cells that are responsible for collagen and elastin manufacture.”

Specially designed topical skincare products are used in conjunction with LED therapy, giving skin the nutrients it needs to maximize the heightened state of cells. These products can lead to additional profit potential for salons. LED systems are alluring because they fit into a salon’s current operating model.

There is limited employee interaction, and some machines even integrate into the salon’s time system. Because there is little service involved, the cost stays low for the end consumer. This means the tanning salon can differentiate itself from other salons in the area—or even other skincare providers such as dermatologists and day spas.

“There is no licensed practitioner here,” Mead says. “There is no esthetician taking half of the ticket. It’s all about being highly efficient.”

Services such as sunless, nails, body wraps, massage, hydrotherapy and light therapy can be added to a tanning salon’s offerings—often with minimal space usage and start-up costs—and help expand the salon’s appeal in the local market. The result is a wider range of customers and a more consistent yearly revenue stream.