Owner of award-winning luxury spa in Melbourne, Victoria Fox of Miss Fox shares her take on the latest spa trends at the beauty expo.
1. Wellness
Every industry and business is beginning to adopt a preventative approach to wellness, treating our bodies before we are sick.
“People are recommending alternative therapies and spa therapies and being proactive about their health. You will see more and more spas integrating aspects of wellness into their services,” Victoria said. Skin analysis treatments, lifestyle advice, nutrition are just some of the things that therapists are beginning to offer their clients.
“Also, 1 in 5 people have some kind of disability so a lot of spas are recognising this market and accessing their spas to cater to their needs,” she added.
2. Healthy Hotels
“Hospitality is moving towards a wellness approach as well. Traditionally hotels and travelling focused on excess and happy hours, now you have hotels who are adopting wellness as the crux of their business.”
Existing examples include hotel rooms that are fitted to cater to the guest’s health: vitamin C-infused shower heads, light therapy for jet lag, healthy menus, work-out-in-a-bag room service, running concierge to help you find the best running tracks and ‘digital detox’. “Digital detoxing is getting rid of the screens and technology in your life, some hotels offer you a discount when you check your mobile phone in during your stay,” Victoria said.
3. Sustainability
More than just using natural organic products in your spa, this has extended to the structure of the business. “This is about building facilities that are not just eco-friendly but contribute to the environment. You will begin to see spas localise their ingredients and food-offering to minimise environmental impact,” said Victoria.
“There is a spa in England where guests have to run on their treadmill to power the TV and a hotel that plants a tree on behalf of each guest!”
4. Earthing
Earthing is tackling this generation’s nature deficiency and welcoming the earth back into our lives. “Earthing is reconnecting to nature, it includes things like walking barefoot, lying in the grass, being in the ocean,” she said.
“There are definite spiritual and physical benefits to this, spas are taking treatments outdoors, massages are being performed in private gardens, rooms are fitted with glass panels instead of dark walls, there are spas being built in tree houses and other exercise therapies.”
5. Hightech Skincare
Hightech skincare is about the performance and result of skincare treatments. “Customers want to see results because they are still trying to justify the cost of treatments so expect that people will be more comfortable with medispa procedures,” said Victoria.
High performance ingredients like peptides and stem cells are also saturating the market. Multipurpose products are very big because “everyone wants that easy 7-in-1 product,” she said.
6. Authentic Rituals
With the help of the internet, people are now becoming more informed about authentic ancient rituals. “The movement will be moving towards creating that full authentic experience that included trained therapists, nutrition/detox programs and meditation,” said Victoria.
7. Digital Data Solutions
“This is taking data from the customer and making it useful for them,” she said. Data helps to customise and tailor experiences. Customers want special deals and a personalised experience when they visit. Many businesses are also using different types of apps to connect and enrich customer experiences.
8. Talent Gap
Our industry is growing every year but we are lacking people who are qualified to grow it. “The area that is suffering the most is spa management so there is a focus now on educating and funding future spa managers,” Victoria said.
“We need more internships, scholarship and incentives for spa owners to make sure our industry succeeds.”
9. Flawsome Brands
Flawesome brands – brands with flaws that are loved by all. “Social media has changed the way brands relate to the customers. They are becoming more personable, brands are now people.”
“Brands need to have character. And as people don’t expect other people to be perfect, they also don’t expect brands to be perfect,” said Victoria. This is best illustrated in negative responses on social media – brands that reply to the negative comments see much better results than those who don’t.
10. Men, Men, Men
The focus is no longer on macho -spas. “It is now much more culturally acceptable for men to go into unisex spas. This is a big market because men spend serious money on looking good,” she said.
“It could be as simple as adding a men’s menu to your female spa, statistics show that men prefer unisex spas because it is more subtle than walking into a male spa.”
For more information on Miss Fox Melbourne visit www.missfox.com.au