Making a spa consultancy work is a complex process requiring a robust pipeline of projects, according to president of Steiner Spa Consulting – Jeff Matthews – in an exclusive Thought Leader column for Spa Opportunities.

Thought Leader: Jeff Matthews, president of Steiner Spa Consulting

The complexity of spa consulting

There’s a notion that the barrier to entry to becoming a spa consultant nowadays is next to nil. There’s some truth to that, given how many consultants there are today compared to a decade ago. But the reality is, spa consulting is a lot more complicated and demanding and in many cases, unsustainable as a business. Why? Because to survive today as a spa consultant requires a manageable or robust pipeline of projects, a comprehensive scope of services and an infinite amount of patience.

For a start, landing a project takes a lot longer than it did before because developers and hoteliers put spa consultants through a laborious vetting process, which in some cases can take up to a year. Then, once a project is awarded, it can take another few years before you actually see the spa open.

There are at least six phases of work that take us from a feasibility study with financial projections, the design, construction and building stage, to recruitment and training, the sourcing of all furniture, fitting and equipment, as well as operating supplies and the creation of all standard operating procedures.

Then there are instances when hotels will want you to manage the spa full time or will want your support only for 6-12 months as the operation gets up to speed, which will require another set of contracts and negotiations.

Now imagine if you have several projects in the pipeline at different stages of completion, or in some cases, delay. Unless you have the breadth of human resources and required capabilities to service them all, managing multiple projects can be next to impossible.

In other news, Matthews recently revealed a number of spa projects at properties including Kudarah Island Resort in the south Alifu Atoll of the Maldives and the Al Murooj Golf Club in Saudi Arabia.