The Middle East spa industry is starting to look at the teenage market as a way of increasing revenues and encouraging future custom. Ben Watts talks to experts in this field to find out how spas are accommodating a younger generation of clientele.
As spas across the Middle East continue to look to the latest technologies and therapies to encourage new custom, one historically-overlooked target market is beginning to flock to spa facilities.
With four million teenagers estimated to have attended spas globally at some point in their lives, industry experts agree that the adolescent segment is full of potential and could play a role in both boosting short-term profits and helping develop a solid customer-base for the future.
According to SpaFinder.com president Susie Ellis, marketing to the teenage market is a logical strategy.
“Spa owners realised the necessity to expand their customer base and appeal to a wider range of consumers,” she says.
“Some spas are even stepping beyond the teenage category and offering services to younger children.”
Ellis notes, however, that while the spa scene in the Middle East is “developing rapidly”, spa treatments for teenagers “hasn’t caught on as quickly as in the US”.
Ayman Alamat, spa manager at Evason Ma’in Hot Springs and Six Senses Spa, Jordan, comments: “Every spa is trying to attract teens as they are the spa-goers of the future and are the type of clientele that will be committed to you in the future.”
An element of bonding can also help attract younger clients to the spa, with teenagers accompanying their parents for treatments, he says.
“There are lots of clients who come on vacation with their children and use the spa with them, especially on Mothers’ Day or Fathers’ Day,” adds Alamat.
SpaFinder.com’s Ellis says encouraging teens to come to spas can help promote future custom, as “expanding a spa’s customer base is crucial for business growth”.
Spatality chief executive officer Ingo Schweder claims the US spa market is leading the rest of the world in terms of providing services and treatments to teenagers.
“The US market for teen services is currently the most developed, but we are also seeing teen-specific services emerging all over the world,” suggests Schweder.
“An increasing number of resorts have dedicated spaces just for kids and teens, from Scoops Kid Spas at the 10 Great Wolf Lodges across the US, to the Wild Hare Youth Spa at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort, Texas, where young clients can even create their own lip gloss.”
Schweder notes that a similar trend is emerging in Asian establishments with cosmetic clinics and medical spas offering packages designed specifically for pre-teens and young adults.
Middle Eastern spa services for teenagers are currently “limited” according to Schweder, who notes that “many spa facilities have a strict policy on how the treatments are performed”. But he does believe the market is moving in the right direction.
“Many Middle Eastern spas are introducing options for teens; as the Middle Eastern spa market grows, it will definitely have an opportunity to offer services that educate teens on how they can live healthier lifestyles,” he remarks.
“The region will also learn from other regions that have only focused on appearance and superficial spa treatments.”
As spas across the region look to teenagers to both supplement their incomes and create an ample future customer base, the services younger clientele are opting for include hair removal, facials and preventive treatments.
Murjan Coral Signature Spa, Dubai, spa manager Gail Whitehouse points out: “The latest trend for teens that we have noticed is waxing; young girls and also young men seem to be opting for hairless bodies.”
While the Murjan Coral Signature Spa is yet to offer any specific facilities or treatments for teenagers, Whitehouse recognises the importance of accommodating to this sector.
“We can put together a personal package for a teenager no problem — all our staff are more than happy to arrange a tailor-made package for any individual.”
Six Senses’ Alamat feels that spas can offer more than hygienic or aesthetic services to teenagers, advocating the massages and treatments as a preventive measure against problems like muscle aches or cardiovascular issues.
“These services can complement exercise, nutrition and diets — they complete the entire circle,” he says.
Spas and treatments centres are aware of the dangers associated with young bodies using saunas and steam rooms which, Alamat explains, could affect teenagers in the long term.
“Heat facilities are not very good for teens as they are still growing and there is a lot of pressure on their bodies. As a result we try to avoid that by introducing massages or facials, as well as using organic and natural products as much as we can,” he says.
“It helps if we get the best out of a product or use treatments with no side-effects.” Hilton Hotels vice president of global fitness and spa Keith Burnet remarks: “We don’t believe that a physician would object to massage treatments for teens.
“Facials and skincare treatments aren’t really all that necessary for teens; acne or problematic skin would really be the only reason for skincare treatments with the exception of those with a medical condition of some sort.”
In fact, spa treatments geared towards teenagers are tending to take a “more solution-oriented” direction, such as facials that target skin issues, rather than focusing on pampering, says SpaFinder.com’s Ellis.
“A spa environment can be less threatening than a doctor’s office and can offer effective solutions for breakouts and minor skin issues,” she says. “Some medical spas have capitalised on this trend by offering a doctor’s advice, or even prescription solutions in a spa-like setting.”
Many teenagers are also discovering that regular massages can relieve back and neck stress or pain from working on a PC or from sporting injuries.
“Learning there are natural, effective treatments that help avoid back issues at a young age is very positive,” says Ellis.
Visiting spas at a young age can benefit the client later in life argues Hilton’s Burnet.
“Spas educate guests on internal and external wellness — the earlier these lessons are shared, the better the chance that one will develop positive living habits for life,” he says.
Murjan Coral Signature Spa’s Whitehouse agrees with Burnet’s sentiment, suggesting that receiving spa treatments can help a teenager feel good about themselves at what is widely recognised to be a complicated and sometimes difficult time in a person’s life — adolescence.
“These young adults will get a taste of what treatments are like in a spa and I think, in this day and age where image is very important, that if giving these treatments to young adults will give them that little bit of extra confidence then it’s a good thing.”
Spatality’s Schweder believes encouraging teens to use spas is about more than improving a client’s confidence.
“A parent’s desire to share fun, feel-good experiences with their kids, as well as a willingness to devote plenty of cash to their skin- and hair-care cause is helping to fuel the trend,” she says. “Even in the current economic downturn, the spa industry is experiencing substantial growth.
“Today’s teenagers are a lucrative consumer group and comprise the next generation of spa goers; any spa would be making a big mistake not to consider it a key marketing opportunity.”
