June, 2003

For those of you who are new to the SpaFinder Insider—welcome. The SpaFinder Insider is for spa professionals only—to bring you inside scoops regarding our industry, a bit of gossip, perhaps, and, we hope, some laughs. In the last Insider, I mentioned Spa Barbie, who will be debuting next year. I received one email asking me if Spa Barbie would have cellulite. Now, I think we all know the answer to that. Of course not. She goes to spas!

Here are the topics this time around:

    1. A candle you can use in your spa, which flickers but no flame
    2. Tracking "clicks" on the web tells us what's important to consumers
    3. A new spa concept for teens launches in Texas

1. The Flameless Candle
Shhhh – we should keep this a SpaFinder Insider's secret. Its' a flickering candle that isn't really a candle. I came across this little gem at one of my favorite day spas in California. The owner challenged me to point out which candles in a group were "real" and which were not, and I couldn't tell the difference! Battery–powered Flickering Smart Lites look like candles and flicker like candles, so your guests will never know they aren't the real thing. But Smart Lites don't need to be replaced and they aren't a fire hazard, so in the long run, they're safer and cheaper. The company that sells them hasn't yet realized what a great market the spa industry would be for them. Here's the link: www.norexbuydirect.com/candle.htm for their website!

2. Learning What Customers Want
We launched our new online Spa guide on Spafinder.com about three weeks ago. The Spa Guide is a fun new way for people to narrow their search for vacation spas. With technology today, of course, we can find out what categories are really important to the consumer by tracking the number of clicks. You might be surprised as we were – that – we had over 667 people looking for "pet friendly" spas in our first three weeks! Other special interest categories include:


The top four categories were Affordable, Stress Management, Going Solo and Weight Loss. Interesting...If you are part of our SpaFinder Travel Marketing Program and want more details about the rankings, just let me know, and I'll share the full report for our first month. You can contact me by email.

3. New Teen Spa Concept
Check out this new spa concept: a spa that caters to pre-teens ages 9 to 11, teens 12+, and adults 21+. It's called Seventeen Studio–Spa–Salon and it just debuted in Texas. I like some of their special features:

  • Sushi-style bar for manicures
  • "Pedicure Pit"
  • Cyber CafĂ©
  • Interactive Kiosks

All of the hair stations are mobile, so they can clear the area for parties. I hear they will be expanding across the U.S. It's good for our industry to be educating a new generation of spa goers. Check them out at www.Seventeenspa.com.

Coming next issue: We'll chat about that unflattering Wall Street Journal article entitled "Forget Losing Weight: Spas Dish Out Burgers." Yikes!



Till the next Insider...



Susie