Pulse September 2020 | Page 53

“The enormous amounts of effort that spa leaders and staff poured into developing new sanitation protocols, operating procedures and guest journeys was met with widespread approval.” end of June, while 16 percent reported having to permanently let some staff members go. Meanwhile, 28 percent said some staff members remained laid off and 21 percent said some staff members remained on furlough at the time they completed the survey. On a brighter note, the enormous amounts of effort that spa leaders and staff poured into developing new sanitation protocols, operating procedures and guest journeys during their closures was met with widespread approval from guests and returning employees alike. Asked to rate staff response to reopening, 83 percent of respondents said the reaction had been “favorable” or “highly favorable,” while the reaction to new spa policies and procedures was even more positive, with 89 percent saying staff response fell into one of those two categories. Guests appear to have been similarly pleased to see spa doors open once again, as 93 percent of respondents classified guest response to reopening as “favorable” or “highly favorable,” to go along with the 84 percent of guests who reacted positively to their spa’s new policies and procedures. The data also suggests significant demand for spa services upon reopening, as more than three quarters (76%) of respondents rated the volume of appointment bookings as “favorable” or “highly favorable,” compared to just 13 percent who rated booking volume as “unfavorable.” As has been the case for most of 2020, constantly evolving circumstances make it difficult to draw solid conclusions from data of any sort. Still, the spa industry will remain hopeful that some of the developments highlighted here—unexpectedly robust treatment menus, strong demand and enthusiastic guests and staff, to name a few—will hold steady for the foreseeable future. n SEPTEMBER 2020 ■ PULSE 41