Yes! Send me the FREE digital editions of Spa Business and Spa Business insider magazines and the FREE weekly Spa Business and Spa Business insider ezines and breaking news alerts!
Research just out gives some indication of COVID-19’s impact on the spa industry in the US. But there’s a lack of data to show what’s happening within our sector globally
By Katie Barnes | Published in Spa Business 2021 issue 2
ISPA’s 2021 study looks at spa revenue, visits, workforce and locations / wavebreakmedia/shutterstock
The International Spa Association recently released a sneak peek of its ‘Big Five’ statistics ahead of the publication of its full 2021 US Spa Industry Study findings next month (see p38).
Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the preliminary findings give the clearest picture yet of how COVID-19 has affected businesses in the US spa sector.
Some of the statistics confirm what many expected. There was a 36.4 per cent decrease in overall spa revenues, from US$19.1bn at the end of 2019 to US$12.1bn at the end of 2020. At the same time, the number of spa visits dropped by 35.1 per cent from 192 million in 2019 to 124 million at the end of last year.
There were some surprises too. The number of spa locations only fell by 3.9 per cent, meaning by the end of 2020, there were still 21,560 spas in the US, including those temporarily closed due to the pandemic. “Many people thought these numbers would fall of the cliff,” says PwC’s global research lead, Colin McIlheney, adding that it’s “very encouraging” to see that so many businesses are still out there.
Another key finding was the marked difference between types of facilities, with day spas weathering the storm far better than resort and hotel spas. Average revenue fell by 46 per cent for resort/hotel spas compared to only 31 per cent for day spas. One in two resort/hotel spas reported a greater than 25 per cent decrease in staff, compared to one in five day spas.
These figures are valuable as they give operators a chance to take stock of how they measure up and an idea of how to adapt their businesses in the future.
However, the publication of the report highlights the lack of available industry numbers on a global scale. How do these figures compare in terms of the impact COVID-19 has had on spa businesses in Asia, for example, where anecdotal evidence suggests businesses are bouncing back quicker than in other world regions? Where’s the spa benchmarking data from industry associations and organisations in other international markets?
We want industry bodies worldwide to step up and gather and publish their numbers, so decision-makers can fully understand the impact of the pandemic on the global sector and plot successful ways forward.
Katie Barnes, editor @SpaBusinessKB
Katie Barnes is the editor of Spa Business magazine
| [email protected]
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa people: Adrian Zecha
Adrian Zecha talks about his latest brands and why he's not planning retirement anytime soon
Spa people: Michala Chatel
Ultima Collection's managing partner explains why and how it's adding wellness options to exclusively rented villas and properties
Spa people: Stephanie Stahl
The Ace of Air co-founder tackles sustainability head on with a 'buy the product rent the packaging' scheme
Menu engineering: At your service
Art and sauna bathing collide in a Japanese exhibition; Banyan Tree rolls out its Wellbeing Sanctuary concept globally
Top team: Capella
Neena Dhillon talks to the owning company and senior executives from this burgeoning Asian hospitality brand with a passion for wellness
Ask an Expert: Treating Long COVID
One in 20 people who've had coronavirus are still battling its side effects for three months or more. How can spas help?
Promotion: Art of Cryo: Cool night's sleep
High-performance cryo chamber specialist Art of Cryo joins forces with leading bed manufacturer Samina to launch cryo centres for sleep health
Interview: Stelian Iacob
Therme Group's COO tells Katie Barnes how it's making the traditional thermal facility model more relevant to today's consumers
First person: Yasuragi
Spas in Sweden stayed open in the pandemic, but does the nation still have an appetite for wellness? Andrew Gibson investigates at this Japanese concept spa hotel near Stockholm
Interview: Tammy Pahel
The VP of spa at Carillon Miami candidly shares some of the challenges of the past year with Lisa Starr and explains why she's investing in touchless innovations
Spa survey: Wellness time
A new consumer survey shows how people's attitudes towards wellness and spas have changed. Mindbody's Katherine Wernet
Focus on: IV nutrition therapy
Is IV nutrition therapy as credible as some spas claim? Lisa Starr investigates this increasingly popular treatment
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
Research just out gives some indication of COVID-19’s impact on the spa industry in the US. But there’s a lack of data to show what’s happening within our sector globally
By Katie Barnes | Published in Spa Business 2021 issue 2
ISPA’s 2021 study looks at spa revenue, visits, workforce and locations / wavebreakmedia/shutterstock
The International Spa Association recently released a sneak peek of its ‘Big Five’ statistics ahead of the publication of its full 2021 US Spa Industry Study findings next month (see p38).
Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the preliminary findings give the clearest picture yet of how COVID-19 has affected businesses in the US spa sector.
Some of the statistics confirm what many expected. There was a 36.4 per cent decrease in overall spa revenues, from US$19.1bn at the end of 2019 to US$12.1bn at the end of 2020. At the same time, the number of spa visits dropped by 35.1 per cent from 192 million in 2019 to 124 million at the end of last year.
There were some surprises too. The number of spa locations only fell by 3.9 per cent, meaning by the end of 2020, there were still 21,560 spas in the US, including those temporarily closed due to the pandemic. “Many people thought these numbers would fall of the cliff,” says PwC’s global research lead, Colin McIlheney, adding that it’s “very encouraging” to see that so many businesses are still out there.
Another key finding was the marked difference between types of facilities, with day spas weathering the storm far better than resort and hotel spas. Average revenue fell by 46 per cent for resort/hotel spas compared to only 31 per cent for day spas. One in two resort/hotel spas reported a greater than 25 per cent decrease in staff, compared to one in five day spas.
These figures are valuable as they give operators a chance to take stock of how they measure up and an idea of how to adapt their businesses in the future.
However, the publication of the report highlights the lack of available industry numbers on a global scale. How do these figures compare in terms of the impact COVID-19 has had on spa businesses in Asia, for example, where anecdotal evidence suggests businesses are bouncing back quicker than in other world regions? Where’s the spa benchmarking data from industry associations and organisations in other international markets?
We want industry bodies worldwide to step up and gather and publish their numbers, so decision-makers can fully understand the impact of the pandemic on the global sector and plot successful ways forward.
Katie Barnes, editor @SpaBusinessKB
Katie Barnes is the editor of Spa Business magazine
| [email protected]
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa people: Adrian Zecha
Adrian Zecha talks about his latest brands and why he's not planning retirement anytime soon
Spa people: Michala Chatel
Ultima Collection's managing partner explains why and how it's adding wellness options to exclusively rented villas and properties
Spa people: Stephanie Stahl
The Ace of Air co-founder tackles sustainability head on with a 'buy the product rent the packaging' scheme
Menu engineering: At your service
Art and sauna bathing collide in a Japanese exhibition; Banyan Tree rolls out its Wellbeing Sanctuary concept globally
Top team: Capella
Neena Dhillon talks to the owning company and senior executives from this burgeoning Asian hospitality brand with a passion for wellness
Ask an Expert: Treating Long COVID
One in 20 people who've had coronavirus are still battling its side effects for three months or more. How can spas help?
Promotion: Art of Cryo: Cool night's sleep
High-performance cryo chamber specialist Art of Cryo joins forces with leading bed manufacturer Samina to launch cryo centres for sleep health
Interview: Stelian Iacob
Therme Group's COO tells Katie Barnes how it's making the traditional thermal facility model more relevant to today's consumers
First person: Yasuragi
Spas in Sweden stayed open in the pandemic, but does the nation still have an appetite for wellness? Andrew Gibson investigates at this Japanese concept spa hotel near Stockholm
Interview: Tammy Pahel
The VP of spa at Carillon Miami candidly shares some of the challenges of the past year with Lisa Starr and explains why she's investing in touchless innovations
Spa survey: Wellness time
A new consumer survey shows how people's attitudes towards wellness and spas have changed. Mindbody's Katherine Wernet
Focus on: IV nutrition therapy
Is IV nutrition therapy as credible as some spas claim? Lisa Starr investigates this increasingly popular treatment
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
