The spa industry is appealing alone, but add the luxury of a golf club, its even more profitable.
Canebrake Country Club in Hattiesburg, Miss., hit the ground running when it recently added a spa, thanks to a novel solution devised by the club’s General Manager, Chris Ortega. It certainly didn’t hurt that Ortega had special insight into what it takes to succeed in today’s spa business—he and his wife, Jennifer, already owned a salon in town.
When Canebrake was built in 1998, 8,000 sq. ft. in an upstairs section of its clubhouse was designated for a sauna and hot tub area. Those plans were scrapped, however, when budget cuts had to be made—and while half of the space later became a fitness center, the remaining 4,000-sq. ft. wing sat unused for years.
The club’s GM since 2003, Ortego suggested to the current owner, Dr. Bennett York, that the space could be used—and a new revenue stream could be created—by relocating Elements, the salon he and his wife operated a mile away, into the clubhouse.
Renamed Shoots Salon and Spa, the shop has retained all seven of its stylists and added two masseuses and a manicurist. Even better, it has retained just about every client from its previous location. And while some Canebrake members initially had reservations, Shoots soon proved to be an asset for the club, too—and not only because it is on pace to gross $75,000 in its first full year of operation.
Ortego tells of one member who was considering dropping her membership because she wasn’t using the club very often, but instead renewed because she was also an existing salon client and knew she’d increase her visits to Canebrake after it contained Shoots, too. Having the spa on site is also making the brides who plan their weddings at the club much happier.
“In the past, the brides and their attendants would literally take over the ladies’ locker room to get ready,” he says. “Now, they have the space to get ready, and full spa services, too.”
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