Pulse July 2021 | Page 60

SNAPSHOT SURVEY

BY JOSH CORMAN

58 PULSE ^■ JULY 2021

IN FITS AND STARTS , a welcome and much-needed shift has taken place over the past few months in the spa industry as pandemic-related restrictions have started to lift more broadly across the U . S . and in other parts of the world . The May ISPA Snapshot Survey was conducted almost immediately after the U . S . Centers for Disease Control & Prevention ( CDC ) issued new guidance asserting that those vaccinated against COVID-19 could resume most activities as normal without wearing face coverings or social distancing , and it seems clear that spa policies have been heavily impacted by this recent progress .

Fully 40 percent of all spa respondents said that they are now operating at 100 percent capacity , by far the highest number reported since spas began reopening in the spring and summer of 2020 . A total of 75 percent of all spas reported an occupancy allowance of greater than 70 percent , suggesting that as vaccination totals continue to rise , there is hope that such restrictions will continue to dissipate .

Other restrictions are also being peeled back at many spas . Though 86 percent of respondents said that their employees were still required to wear masks in all areas of the spa , just

GIVEN THE ADDED SANITATION practices that many spas put into place upon reopening last year — which often included additional time between appointments to sanitize treatment rooms — adjusting the standard length of treatments became a common way to accommodate new protocols . However , the move was not particularly common , with just under three in ten spas reporting a change in the duration of massage services during the pandemic , while 71 percent elected to maintain the length of their massage services . Of those respondents whose spas did change the length of their treatments , many

86 %

REQUIRE ALL EMPLOYEES TO WEAR MASKS

noted that they did so to accommodate the added sanitization protocols and will be reverting to their original treatment lengths when they return to full-scale operations .

The length of treatments wasn ’ t the only subject of debate regarding menus in the early days of the pandemic . The overall size of menus was also put under the microscope as spas attempted to streamline operations and focus on high-margin services . Given that focus , it isn ’ t surprising to see that a slight majority of spas ( 51 percent ) decreased the total quantity of treatment options on their menus during the pandemic ,

47 percent said that guests must abide by that same requirement . A quarter of all spas said that vaccinated guests were no longer required to wear masks , and 14 percent said that guests are no longer required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status or other qualifiers . Still , others noted that state or local guidelines and regulations had not yet been updated to reflect the CDC ’ s latest guidance , forcing them to keep restrictions in place for the time being as they await revised instructions .

TO MASK OR NOT TO MASK

47 %

REQUIRE ALL GUESTS TO WEAR MASKS

25 %

VACCINATED GUESTS NOT REQUIRED TO WEAR MASKS

14 %

NO GUESTS REQUIRED TO WEAR MASKS

compared to just 16 percent whose menu has grown in size in that time .

Another assumption tested by this survey was the idea that the days of the printed menu were numbered and that the pandemic was an opportunity to embrace a fully digital menu going forward . But even as heightened sanitization protocols remain in place at many spas , nearly two-thirds

( 63 percent ) of respondents said their spas were currently using printed menus to display their offerings . More than nine in ten ( 92 percent ) provide their menu to guests via a weblink or QR code .