NATIONAL REPORT–– Many of today’s vacationers are in quest of an oasis of calm and wellness. Findings from the 2006 National Leisure Travel Monitor reveal that 60% of leisure travelers surveyed felt a need to find new ways of reducing stress in their lives. Thirty-one percent considered going to a destination that offers complete spa and wellness programs. “Stress levels appear to be at an all-time high in America as a result of three converging forces: contemporary work habits, concerns about family finances and growing uncertainty about the direction of world events,” according to Peter Yesawich, chairman of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, the co-author of the National Leisure Travel Monitor along with Yankelovich, Inc. What does this mean for vacation ownership developers? For an increasing number, it has resulted in spa facilities being added to their amenity packages. “Wellness is not an emerging trend, but an escalating one,” said Ed Kinney, vp of corporate affairs and brand awareness for Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI). “It is a by-product of our guests’ leisure aspirations. Today’s travelers enjoy being pampered and are concerned with their lifestyle habits. This type of vacation is increasingly being pursued by affluent travelers.” “The Baby Boomer generation has expressed an extreme interest in wellness,” added Matt Wright, manager of resort spa and recreation services for Star Island Resort and Club in Orlando, FL. “The country has become much more health-conscious.” For MVCI, the introduction of spas as an amenity offering originated in the mixed-use concept. Often, the company’s properties featured a hotel adjacent to a vacation ownership resort. MVCI found that vacation owners used the services of their established hotel spas while charging the activities to their villas. As a result, the company began to add a spa component to a number of their stand-alone vacation ownership properties. “This amenity was an experience our customers were looking for and it made sense being on-site,” said Kinney. “Our owner and guest numbers tend to be larger, so the economics worked. The services became a natural component of our amenity package.” Westgate Resorts positions its spa services as a way to offer plentiful and modern amenities to owners and guests. The company has introduced Papillon the Spa at two locations: Westgate Lakes Resort & Spa in Orlando, FL, and Westgate Park City Resort & Spa in Park City, UT. “The typical guest of Papillon the Spa visits in search of relaxation and pampering,” said Wendy Slater, director of resort marketing communications for Westgate Resorts. “Visiting a spa while on vacation is an opportunity to escape from the stresses and fast pace of every day life. Our spa offering continues to draw interest from consumers across all demographic categories, especially women ages 35 to 60. The majority of them are first-time spa goers.” Experts said that other factors compelling timeshare developers to add spa services to their amenity mix include a need to differentiate their resorts from the competition and a desire to use the amenity as a way to encourage resort tours. “An on-site spa broadens the vacation ownership offering at point-of-sale and can be used as a cost-effective incentive that appeals to both potential timeshare buyers and general leisure travelers,” said David Gilbert, executive vp of resort sales and marketing at Interval International. Developers are capitalizing on this trend and actively marketing their spas. They target owners, renters and timeshare exchangers as well as leisure travel marketing channels that touch local residents. “We promote spa visits in a number of ways, including advertising in The Orlando Sentinel and in the local Kissimmee paper,” said Wright. “Guests are given a spa brochure along with our welcome package at check-in and we place discount coupons in the local in-room TV guide. We also offer discounted rates to guests of neighboring resorts.” “In both local markets where we have spas, we use a variety of marketing vehicles, including targeted newspaper ads, radio campaigns for holiday gift-giving ideas and partner discounts offered to others in the hospitality industry,” Slater added. “From an owner and guest standpoint, Papillon the Spa is marketed with in-unit collateral and television channels and with discount coupons distributed at check-in.” “We promote our services on site as much as we can because that’s our most immediate audience,” said Kinney. “We do some traditional advertising, but owner and guest word-of-mouth creates the greatest traffic flow.” So what’s on the spa menu? Today’s vacation ownership resorts are offering everything from individual services to complete spas with treatment rooms. Star Island’s Celebrity Day Spa is a full-service salon and spa offering massages, body treatments, facials and nail and hair care. MVCI’s spas feature such services as body scrubs and wraps, facial treatments, manicures, pedicures, massage and therapy baths, and Westgate’s Papillon the Spa offers a variety of massages, skin care treatments and spa body treatments. “We have an Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and Spa at our property in Absecon, NJ, a Spa Pacifica in Newport Beach, CA, and spa service on the beach in Maui,” Kinney said. “Services vary depending upon location. Regional trends and specialties create a unique experience in a particular destination area.” Westgate also takes regional culture into consideration when developing spa treatments. “The Papillon the Spa menu includes treatments and services that draw from the areas’ indigenous ingredients,” said Slater. “In Orlando, guests may enjoy body scrubs infused with mango and lemon or hydrating wraps with avocado and sweet orange. Park City offers treatments lush with the aromas of lavender and massages that incorporate mountain stones.” Overall, developers said that spa amenities have been well received. “Both our locations enjoy steady bookings when resort occupancy is high. Since Papillon the Spa is located on property, the majority of clients are resort owners and guests. Currently, campaigns are in place to increase business from local residents,” said Slater. “Spa offerings are also presently in development for our Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, TN.” Kinney added that more spas are likely in the future for MVCI as well. “We’ll continue to integrate spas into our properties as long as they meet the needs of our customers and the amenity offers an appropriate value and return,” he said. “We use a very consistent formula: does an amenity meet consumer expectations, does it offer a high perceived value, can it be done from a business standpoint and does it enhance our brand?” “We have nearly 100 resorts in our network that have spas or are in the process of adding one,” Gilbert concluded. “In light of the research identifying this amenity as one that consumers increasingly seek, we expect to see more clients move to enhance the vacation ownership value proposition with this option.”