The US spa sector experienced a significant bump in revenue last year reaching US$20.1bn (€18.3bn, £15.9bn) and surpassing a significant industry milestone. This outpaces the previous high of US$19.1bn (€17.4bn, £15.1bn) in revenues, which was realised in 2019.
This figure is one of the Big Five – key spa financial indicators that the International Spa Association (ISPA) reveals ahead of its full Spa Industry Study.
The study is conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Big Five includes total revenue, total spa visits, number of spa locations, revenue per visit and the total number of US spa industry employees (see Table on p108).
Crossing the threshold
“The US spa industry has rebounded very strongly,” says Colin McIlheney, global research leader at PwC, “and the iconic US$20bn revenue threshold has been reached and indeed exceeded.”
McIlheney first predicted in 2018 that US spas had the potential to reach US$20bn by 2020. One pandemic later, he was still optimistic in 2021 and highlighted that there was a large pent-up demand to get out to facilities.
Now in 2023, McIlheney believes the industry is witnessing a watershed moment.
“It’s been a tremendously challenging couple of years for everyone. But it’s very clear that the spa industry in the US has shown great resilience,” he says. “This is the milestone – the dawn of what I believe will herald the new decade of growth.”
Locations, visits and spend
Continuing the report’s good news, the total number of US spas increased by 280 locations – from 21,510 in 2021, to 21,790 in 2022 – indicating a 1.3 per cent jump. This new figure is more than five times the number of locations recorded when the inaugural ISPA industry study was published in 2000. In addition, the number of spa visits grew from 173 million in 2021 to 181 million in 2022 (4.1 per cent).
“Visits aren’t yet back at 2019 levels (190 million), which highlights the ongoing recovery of the industry,” added McIlheney.
Meanwhile, revenue per spa visit rose by US$7 (€6, £6) for the second time in year-over-year numbers, settling at US$111.5 (€102, £88), another all-time high.
Workforce growth
The number of industry employees also continued on an upward trajectory in 2022, increasing to 360,700 – marking a 4.6 per cent increase over 345,000 in 2021. The study shows the workforce was made up of 171,500 full-time employees (+5.3 per cent), 174,200 part-time employees (+4.2 per cent) and 15,000 contract staff (-0.7 per cent).
ISPA president Lynne McNees concludes: “The spa industry is making up for lost time and revenue growth of 11.1 per cent is the spotlight statistic. But the increase in staffing – especially full-time employees, up more than 5 per cent – is an even more unmistakable indicator of vitality.”
ISPA revealed a first look at the 2023 US Spa Industry Study during its 2023 Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The full report will be released later this year.
