“We’ve zoned our spa so that there is less travel
throughout the spa. We’re using different areas
for prep. Our concierge is split into different
zones to keep them separated as well.”
— CERISE BONNER, Hospitality & Retail Director,
The Woodhouse Day Spa Northern Kentucky
many spas, both the Lexington and Northern Kentucky
Woodhouse locations have closed their duet (couples’)
room, but the spas’ quiet rooms remain open—albeit only
to guests receiving multiple treatments. Guests who are
receiving a single treatment are escorted directly to their
treatment room by the service provider and change in the
room, rather than the changing room (also available only
to multiple-service guests). The decision to keep this area
open for some guests was motivated by a desire to preserve
some element of the normal guest experience for
the spas’ most engaged clients.
To avoid a single potential COVID-19 exposure from
forcing the entire spa staff to quarantine, both locations
have “zoned” their spaces and staffs. “We’ve zoned our
spa so that there is less travel throughout the spa,”
Bonner says. “We’re using different areas for prep. Our
concierge is split into different zones to keep them separated
as well.”
Bonner and her team have also mapped out their retail
area for six-foot social distancing to max out capacity
while remaining safe, and the spas’ small nail salons feature
dividers between stations. “We only have two nail
technicians performing services at a time, and we had to
separate their implements differently. They used to be
able to share them.” Temperature checks are required for
employees and guests, as are masks.
To prep her team for all of these changes, Bonner implemented
training via Zoom, initially, and developed
scripts with new verbiage to reflect both the spas’ protocol
changes and the reduced availability of amenities. “Our
prices did not change, so we needed to communicate that
script to guests,” Bonner adds. Eventually, the team was
brought in for extensive training and roleplaying to practice
new guidelines, particularly around mask-wearing. By
the time that the phase-two employees were brought
back, the first wave of employees was already comfortable
enough to help integrate the newly returning staff. Bonner
also eased in second-wave staff by allowing them the full
30-minute sanitation window between treatments, while
first-wave staff had managed to reduce their windows to
15 minutes.
SEPTEMBER 2020 ■ PULSE 33