The wellness industry in Dubai and Abu Dhabi may have experienced some challenges in 2017 in terms of revenue and number of treatments sold but, the region is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world of spa operations, said Colliers International’s ‘Abu Dhabi and Dubai Spa Benchmark full year 2017 Review’.
The Abu Dhabi hotel spa market experienced a 2 per cent increase in average treatment rate in 2017, and it had a 22 per cent fall in the average number of treatments sold. Retail revenue contribution showed a good improvement in 2017 following the upward trend since 2015. Treatment room and therapist utilisation indicators have, however, been on a downward trend over the last three years, following similar trends observed in revenue indicators.
Dubai Beach Resort spas demonstrated declining performance in 2017, with a 3 per cent decrease in average treatment rate and a 4 per cent drop in average number of treatments sold. In contrast, the average treatment rate, number of treatments sold, guest capture ratio and share of in-house guests in city hotel spas in Dubai have shown improvement over the analysed period, however, the revenue per treatment room has dropped yearon-year.
Resort spas continue to outperform city hotel spas, achieving a 4.5 per cent premium in average treatment rate and higher treatment room and utilisation indicators. Additionally, resort spas tend to have a higher retail revenue contribution. Data indicates that city hotel spas receive a higher share of price sensitive guests and are more likely to offer discounts to attract guests, than spas in resorts.
Newly opened spas seem to attract a higher number of spa visitors, as indicated by the higher number of treatments sold per day. This can be attributed also to the lower treatment rates offered by them compared to the established ones. However, established spas have been more successful in converting the in-house and walk-in guests in 2017 indicating that they have probably increased marketing efforts to attract new costumers while retaining repeat customers through special offers and pricing.