The Scope and Scale of the Impact of the Demand for Services on the Management of Resorts and Spas - Coursework Example

The Scope and Scale of the Impact of the Demand for Health and Wellness Products/Services on the Management of Resorts and Spas Title Name of Professor Date of Submission Introduction Health and wellness tourism has been recognized as a fast growing industry. The continuously increasing demand for health and wellness products and/or services across the globe has largely influenced the management of resorts and spas. Responding to this rapidly increasing demand, a number of spa and resort managers expanded and improved the scope of their businesses. For instance, The Oaks at California added expansive desert ranges as portion of its health and wellness agendas. The Oaks was also known for revolutionizing their food selections with ‘spa comfort food’ (Cohen & Bodeker 2008, 30). Spiritual, physical, and mental wellness became this spa’s trademarks. Other resorts and spas all over the world developed programs where visitors or tourists can enjoy a much healthier vacation, without excess, exhaustion, and weight changes. Hence, resorts and spas became associated with health and wellness. This essay discusses the impact of the demand for health and wellness products and/or services on the management of resorts and spas. The history of health and wellness resorts and spas can be traced back to the development of thermal and natural mineral baths for healing purposes during the ancient period. It has been observed that descriptions of health and wellness tourism are countless, medical, health, wellness, spa at times being mentioned synonymously. Notions of health and wellness have various definitions in different societies, and definitions are also influenced by the globalization of health and wellness products and/or services (Erfurt-Cooper & Cooper 2009). Health tourism was defined as “the attempt on the part of a tourist facility (e.g. hotel) or destination (e.g. Baden in Switzerland) to attract tourists by deliberately promoting its healthcare services and facilities, in addition to its regular tourist amenities” (Connell 2010, 6). Medical spas have become a trademark of health and wellness tourism. Although several countries in Asia, such as India and Thailand, have taken over this market, many countries, such as China and Canada, have tried to penetrate this industry (Connell 2010, 6). For several countries, health tourism is viewed as a means toward economic progress and expansion of health and wellness products and/or services. For instance, as mentioned by Smith (2007), Cuba has a sophisticated and stable health and wellness product/services and now others are trying to penetrate the larger health and wellness industry, with a distinctive niche. Managing Resorts and Spas in the Context of Health and Wellness While health and wellness product/services can involve a therapeutic or medical aspect, health tourism is widely seen to have a more comprehensive emphasis—spiritual, emotional, and physical wellness of the person. Health tourism comprises the expanding industry of spa tourism. Health spa facilities, previously restricted to resorts situated near the sources of natural minerals, are nowadays a recognized component of new resort and spa management (Bates 2008). Basically, major concerns in the management of resorts and spas associated with demand for health and wellness products/services are destination branding, product/service creations, and market segmentation. Each component of health tourism has its own specific management concerns. For instance, particular concerns associated with the field of health tourism involve the rapid globalization of healthcare services, unequal access to medical services, and the privatization of healthcare (Edlin & Golanty 2009). With regard to resorts and spas, management concerns involve competitiveness, health and wellness products/services, and marketing. Sketchy findings from key researchers and scholars in the resort and spa industry reveal that Baby Boomers have been and is presently the main consumer group pushing the demand for health and wellness products/services. Since the 1960s, the Baby Boomers were the earliest age group to become more receptive to non-Western health alternatives (SRI International 2010, 28). The creation of the contemporary health and wellness movement can also be traced back to this period. Throughout the development of the health and wellness industry, the Baby Boomer generation has remained among the largest consumers of health and wellness products/services, and this pattern is predicted to keep on increasing. As Baby Boomers become older and desire to lessen the signs of aging, they are consequently pushing the growth of the beauty industry. Baby boomers will continue to embody one of the largest markets for the resort and spa industry (SRI International 2010, 28-29). Nevertheless, the younger generation is also becoming significantly interested in health and wellness products/services. Stanford Research Institute (SRI) reports that there are roughly 76 million consumers of health and wellness products/services in the United States. These consumers comprise individuals who have a fairly intense or intense impulse to buy health and wellness products/services (SRI International 2010, 30). The SRI also approximates that there are roughly 289 million consumers of health and wellness products/services in the thirty richest countries in the world (SRI International 2010, 30). The continues growth in the demand for health and wellness products/services suggests that highly improved management will be the key for resort and spa businesses to compete successfully in the tourism industry. This is due to the fact that the major distinction between facilities gifted with the same resources of natural mineral or hot springs, satisfying accommodations, and advanced technology depends on the quality or value of the services offered, customer perception of value for money, and the skill, knowledge, and attitude of the service staff (Mill 2008). All of these aspects depend on competent management. Another area of contemporary health and wellness resort and spa operations that necessitate competent management is associated with risk. Three general risk domains for health and wellness resort and spa businesses were identified (Cohen & Bodeker 2008, 322): (1) the characteristics of locations with extreme environments; (2) the safety or quality of the waters; and (3) risks related to the additional services offered at many health and wellness resorts and spas. The third risk comprises financial difficulties related to some types of treatment, deceptive advertising about the services provided and the safety and benefits of the natural resource, insufficient therapeutic services, and transmission of disease (Cohen & Bodeker 2008, 322). These risks became a major concern due to the rapidly growing demand for health and wellness products/services. Numbers of spa users in Australia, according to recent studies, are already manifesting a tremendous growth in the past decade. Recent studies reported that a large number of consumers go to resort and spa facilities for health and wellness purposes, and the industry keeps on growing at remarkable rates (Connell 2010). Due to consumers’ interest in health and wellness, management of resorts and spas are now confronted with major challenges (Cohen & Bodeker 2008, 322-323): (1) to stay informed of the latest technological developments in the delivery of resort and spa services to potential customers; (2) to offer a wider range of programs, events, services, and therapeutic activities; (3) to always be informed of the changes in the preferences and demographic characteristics of resort and spa customers; and (4) to satisfy the needs of customers, from pleasure to health and wellness. Management scholars recommended strategies that address customers’ needs, within the framework of the four Ps: price, promotion, place and product. They suggested that resort and spa managers should be flexible, versatile, cope with the changes in the preferences and demands of resort and spa customers, and keep on enhancing dissemination of information about the quality of resort and spa services and its benefits (Mill 2008). Corresponding to these issues, several researchers presented findings about the marketing patterns of resorts in the United States. A particular pattern of product development they emphasized was related to health awareness, or, more specifically, awareness about personal wellbeing which pushed the demand for health-motivated vacations. As a result, the resorts are improving their services and facilities to meet the health and wellness needs and wants of guests and tourists (SRI International 2010). Health spas and wellness facilities have been included to improve physical wellbeing, enhance nutrition, and remove fatigue and stress. This growth is predicted to continue as an increasing number of customers go to resorts and spas for health and wellness purposes. Demand for health and wellness products/services encourages resort and spa to remodel their concepts. Many resort and spa managers begin to view this demand as an opportunity for the industry to restructure its image, to recuperate after the worldwide depression, and to distance from the image of resorts and spas as simply a sanctuary for the rich and famous who are seeking beauty treatments and lush pampering. Situating resort and spa within the perspective of health and wellness can improve understanding about the therapeutic benefits of spa treatments and services (SRI International 2010). The management of resorts and spas is now faced with the challenge of raising the awareness of consumers about how resort and spa services can improve an individual’s wellbeing or how it can successfully cure or lessen symptoms and illnesses. Through this, consumers will start to realize that purchasing resort and spa services are an important part of their health maintenance (Connell 2010). The simplest way for resorts and spas to reach consumers of health and wellness products/services is to modify the packaging and marketing strategy they employ to advertise their services, concentrating on how these services can enhance their customers’ emotional, mental, and physical health (Smith 2007). According to SRI International (2010), resorts and spas are becoming more and more interested in using culturally-oriented, traditional health and wellness practices to create new products/services, and particularly to create distinctive products/services that represent the culture wherein they operate. Global, national, and local competition is continuously growing in the health and wellness industry. Ironically, this increasing demand and popularity makes it more and more difficult for resort and spa managers to present a convincing explanation for current or prospective customers to purchase certain local products, and thus the likelihood of business success within this industry with the absence of dynamic and comprehensive marketing strategy is expected to weaken over time (Erfurt-Cooper & Cooper 2009, 207). The resort and spa industry has already seen this connection and has created its own unique selling propositions (USPs) to identify the central concept of the business in order to successfully advertise its benefits to the most lucrative customer base presently existing. However, what is observable about the resort and spa industry is its identification of its objective with much wider societal sense (advertising health and wellness) while simultaneously advertising its products/services. One of the most frequently applied social promotions and USPs is that of the useful or therapeutic benefits of hot water in spas (Erfurt-Cooper & Cooper 2009, 207-208). Marketing in the resort and spa industry presently includes attracting the interests of Baby Boomers and young individuals as regards their mental and physical health. A combination of communication types and messages is applied from word of mouth to the Internet and printed pictures of attractive spa facilities and their health benefits (SRI International 2010). Advertisement materials telling the reader about the health benefits of spa services are now a widely popular marketing strategy. Using health and wellness as a marketing idea and business model, resort and spa managers can now use various measures, such as providing mind and body therapies. They may progress toward the creation of a comprehensive health and wellness facility that merges beauty products/services, healthy aging, nutrition consultation, spa services, and other related health and wellness services (Mill 2008). They may also progress toward the formation of more and more spa facilities that offer comprehensive services catering to the demands and preferences of particular consumer groups. These forms of holistic and focused measures may be adopted by resort and spa managers and may cater to both local customers and health and wellness vacationers. Conclusions The scope and scale of the impact of the demand for health and wellness products and services on the management of resorts and spas is wide-ranging. Its impact is not only observed at the local or national level, but also at the global stage. The Baby Boomer generation drives the demand for health and wellness products/services, as well as the increasing affordability of spa services, especially those providing therapeutic benefits. This continuously increasing demand encourages the management of resorts and spas to reevaluate and remodel their accommodations, facilities, and technology. Moreover, resort and spa managers are now interested in mitigating risks related to the health and wellness industry. They are also starting to align their packaging and marketing strategies with the health and wellness preferences and demands of the most profitable customer groups. References Bates, Mike. Health Fitness Management: A Comprehensive Resource for Managing and Operating Programs and Facilities. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2008. Cohen, Marc & Gerard Bodeker. Understanding the Global Spa Industry: Spa Management. UK: Routledge, 2008. Connell, John. Medical Tourism. UK: CABI, 2010. Edlin, Gordon & Eric Golanty. Health and Wellness. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009. Erfurt-Cooper, Patricia & Malcolm Cooper. Health and Wellness Tourism: Spas and Hot Springs. New York: Channel View Publications, 2009. Mill, Robert Christie. Resorts: Management and Operation. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Smith, Shannon Burson. Spa Secrets of Success: Unlocking the Secret Behind Successful Spas. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2007. SRI International. “Spas and the Global Wellness Market.” Global Spa Summit (2010): 1-84. Accessed January 4, 2013. http://www.sri.com/sites/default/files/publications/gss_sri_spasandwellnessreport_rev_82010.pdf Read More