It’s important to offer a contactless journey, which is as seamless as before, while enabling social distancing. Core by Premier Software’s functionality helps take the stress out of new COVID-19 processes, from booking, cleaning schedules and staff rotas to departure. Core will automatically send a COVID-ready online medical questionnaire for clients to fill in prior to arrival, for example. When coupled with a virtual consultation, staff can limit face-to-face communication. On the day, operators can use Premier SMS to notify clients when they’re ready for them – avoiding crowding in the waiting area.

Core’s hero reporting feature is invaluable when reopening the spa. It puts the information operators need to maximise profits at their fingertips. Whether they want to offer priority booking to those with cancelled appointments, purchased gift vouchers, or are top spenders, Core sends this information direct to their inbox. Using Group Activity booking, clients can see how busy the spa is through a traffic light system. This affords them the flexibility to choose a quieter period.

Should the client need to cancel their appointment due to COVID-19, staff can also assign a cancellation reason code. This enables operators to accurately report on revenue lost later. Similarly, if a staff member starts to display symptoms, operators can use Core’s COVID Client Warning system to alert clients. As all staff and client details are stored securely within Core, complying with government Test and Trace services is simple.

The future of hospitality was always mobile, but COVID-19 will dramatically accelerate that shift. The major change is that guests will prefer to use their own device, that they can keep clean, to manage their entire experience and ResortSuite Mobile can deliver this – from mobile check-in and digital room keys to mobile intake, menus, booking, itinerary, mobile ID and mobile payments.

The unique opportunity ResortSuite brings to spa operators is the ability to streamline the entire guest journey with a single app, while eliminating the need for touching surfaces. Our mobile-enabled solution allows guests to manage their own wellness itinerary and with real-time booking capabilities, it gives them full access to book everything that a property has to offer – from room reservations, spa treatments, classes, dining, golf and more.

The two other greatest reopening needs ResortSuite can help with is limiting calls through online booking and revenue management. Yield management through dynamic availability will be key to control the mix of services available, based on demand, to maximise profit. Longer services will reduce the number of times a room needs to be sanitised, for example, and offering only signature treatments during peak demand times will ensure profitability.

We’ve developed several aspects to help create a new, safe customer flow around the spa. We regulate check-in, for instance, by allowing a maximum number of arrivals which is important as many of our customers are destination spas with large visitor numbers. These people can check in at one of our Check-In Terminals, where they get an RFID wristband which can be used for cashless payment throughout the property – to activate a massage chair for example or pay for food.

If a treatment is desired, guests can check real-time availability via Digital Signage and book themselves in using Touchscreen Self Service Book. The treatment is directly scheduled and billed. At the end of their visit, guests can then pay for services at a contactless terminal and check themselves out.

Naturally, our staff has helped create specific reopening manuals and tutorials for spas with useful information about booking and time slots, or how to adjust contracts, memberships and gift cards etc. The wealth of data within the solution helps to create the best possible marketing campaigns as well.

Reopening in an era of uncertainty requires a strategy that combines data-driven decision-making, creative marketing, and automation. Zenoti’s COVID-19 Recovery Dashboards provide businesses with insights into week-over-week trends, giving them ways to target the best customers and leverage the strongest staff to create a strategic reopening.

An elegant, automated online booking system fills appointment books, optimising provider time and rooms better than the most experienced receptionist.

Zenoti’s powerful technology, enables spas to provide seamless, contactless journeys that empower social distancing.

There’s the ability to deliver virtual consultations or fitness sessions. Onsite, Zenoti enables contactless check-in using branded mobile apps with geofencing technology – guests check-in just by walking through the door. The app alerts the service providers of the arrival and two-way texting lets the guest know when the treatment room is ready. They can breeze through check-out, using the app to pay, tip, rate, and rebook through their mobile phones.

Importantly, spas can use smart marketing technology, and incentives to download the app, to raise awareness of their contactless journey and encourage clients to adopt the touchless experience to create further loyalty and drive revenue.

Proper scheduling is key as spas reopen and Concept’s priority to build software that facilitates optimised scheduling. It can manage the scheduling for therapists – and show daily therapist utilisation percentages – rooms and equipment, ensuring proper times for therapist breaks, and now, the extra time that it will take to deep clean rooms.

Concept Spa’s iPad app is a great tool to minimise contact – spas can check guests in or out quickly ensuring a continuous flow through the facility and reducing the need to congregate. It can also be used to fill out forms, removing the need for commonly touched items like pens and clipboards, for contactless payment or even facilitate prepayments (including tip).

In addition, therapists can use the app in the treatment room to upsell treatment enhancements or schedule future appointments which, again, keeps customers out of communal areas.

With Booker software and Bowtie, Mindbody’s AI receptionist, spas can keep the personal ‘touch’ clients love – without contact.

Booking: spas can schedule clients to arrive and depart at staggered times and ensure there’s ample time for cleaning. No matter how clients book online, their payment details and tip preference are stored, meaning no germ-y credit card exchange is needed later.

Pre-visit: spas rely on forms to confirm clients are without symptoms and these can be sent prior to arrival. The AI receptionist can even field frequently asked questions about new protocols over SMS, assuaging client worry.

Check-in: clients can check-in virtually and wait safely outside until their service provider is ready, eliminating waiting rooms.

Check-out: using the business app, service providers can check clients out so there’s no need for them to visit the front desk.

Post visit: businesses can automate email marketing to boost retention. With the AI receptionist, spas can send a text 30 minutes after the service to prompt rebooking.

Spas need to protect their teams, too. We’ve made it possible for staff members to clock in and check clients out using personal devices. We also created a waitlist, helping spas understand demand and ramp up quickly as they reopen.

In addition, we have an entire team dedicated to creating free educational resources for spas to leverage as they navigate this new normal.

We’re helping spas navigate the contactless experience even before guests check-in. Guests can book their appointment online and instantly and securely receive any waiver or compliant forms. We’ve reduced time at the front-desk with contactless check-in and check-out which guests can perform on their phone. Lastly, when it’s time to accept payments, guests can process transactions from their phones without staff handling any cash or cards.

Another way our cloud-based software is supporting spas is granting decision makers access to over 200 reports and comprehensive dashboards – from end of day sales to revenue forecasting – no matter where they are or how many spas they have.

In April, we announced a free tele-consultation service for our Orchid Spa Software customers so they can engage with clients virtually and remotely. This enables them to maintain client relationships, continue selling products and services and develop new revenues if they charge for appointments.

This service is also supporting spas as they reopen. Rather than having to book in-spa appointments, employees can conduct consultations remotely. For in-store customers, Orchid cloud users can add visitors to our new waitlist feature so they can pick their preferred time and services.

Another way Orchid can alleviate stress is through its booking and scheduling capability. Spa owners don’t need to worry about overbooking/social distancing, mapping out employee schedules or extending appointment times to accommodate extra cleaning as this process is automated.

Finally, with local customers becoming increasingly important, Orchid allows spas to sell memberships, which is a great way to recognise customer loyalty with a small discount. Members can purchase products and services (in a touchless transaction) and be billed at the end of the month rather than paying up-front.

We have prepared a back to work document outlining the ways iSalon can help to manage booking, stock control and advance payments.

With iBookings, for example, clients can book and pay online before their visit which frees up the front of house team to deal with other matters. Or our SMS Text Messaging service generates automated appointment reminders in advance which takes the workload off owners in this very busy period and also reduces no-shows.

Remotely, spa managers can manage their business through our Command Centre. Or, onsite, iSalon Software is designed to make the customer journey as simple as possible. Contactless payment is possible with PaymentSense, for instance, and clients can opt in to receive an email receipt to reduce the paper trail.

Maestro’s PMS system with integrated Spa Module allows guests to make reservations for spa or other onsite activities via any department, be it front desk or central reservations, limiting their number of touchpoints. It can also integrate with payment processors to offer contactless payment and has the added ability of posting the charge to guestrooms, foregoing the need for any form of physical payment.

Using our Spa Management Module, providers can access their schedules on their personal mobile devices with real-time updates and acceptance of their appointments Guest waiver and intake forms are also digitised to enable safer, paper-free environments.

SpaSoft offers online booking and contactless payment and the system can be used to encourage social distancing. Treatment rooms can be scheduled independently, for example, to stagger bookings and allow for extended sanitation, and the locker room management module can be used to ensure guests remain safely distanced. Spa occupancy can be tracked and class bookings limited at specific times if necessary.

SpaSoft Wellness’ electronic intake forms allow for an efficient ‘no-touch’ check-in. These can be customised with questions like ‘do you have a fever or other symptoms’ and updated with liability verbiage, a spa’s commitment to health and safety and new sanitation practices and policies. SpaSoft tracks the date forms were completed and sets an expiry date to ensure details are up-to-date. Forms will be stored on each guest profile for ease of reference by therapists.

We have many other tools to help spas reopen, such as pop up notifications for staff, yield management and availability tools, physical inventory tracking and configurable guest facing collateral.