Intelligent Spas Releases Free Guide to Fast Track Global Spa Benchmarking

Since 2001, Intelligent Spas has helped set the industry standard for providing high quality spa benchmarks and now shares its knowledge in a free educational guide aimed to fast track global spa benchmarking. With over 35 country surveys currently underway, Intelligent Spas is expanding its 100% independent research model to other key spa markets across the globe. The free guide entitled "Using Spa Industry Benchmarks For Success" outlines the benefits of industry benchmarking not only for spas, but also for other businesses competing in the spa industry who aim to address the product and service needs of spas.

"Spa benchmarking is the process spas use to maximise their business potential by measuring aspects of their spa and comparing these against the industry average" explained Julie Garrow, Managing Director of Intelligent Spas. "Benchmarking allows business owners and managers to make informed decisions."

There are two main types of benchmarking - internal benchmarking monitors the performance of a business over time, for example, comparing this year's revenue to last year's revenue. In comparison, external or industry benchmarking enables businesses to compare their performance against a collection of other businesses (industry averages) to identify their level of competitiveness in a marketplace.

Intelligent Spas categorises spa benchmarks in two key ways - profile versus performance benchmarks:

Spa Profile Benchmarks enable the qualities and characteristics of the spa business to be measured. They are generally not considered confidential or competitively sensitive, rather publicly released and promoted by the spa, such as the spa type, size, number of treatment rooms and spa treatments provided. Spa Profile Benchmarks provide an overview of the spa market which is fundamental to all other analysis.

Spa Performance Benchmarks or key performance indicators (KPI's) enable a spa to measure and monitor its business and financial performance.

Performance benchmarks are typically considered confidential and competitively sensitive such as average spa revenue, revenue by treatment type, proportion of spa visitors by female/male and salary package by spa manager versus spa therapists.

Common Errors in Spa Industry Research

The guide summarises current research practices and highlights some of the common errors in spa industry research, for example, publishing results based on poor and unreliable response rates, estimating rather than confirming spa market populations, applying standard hotel industry benchmarks instead of customising benchmarks specifically for the spa industry and using anonymous survey methodology.

The free guide covers confidentiality issues, the best model for calculating reliable spa industry benchmarks, how to calculate response rates to best interpret industry research, who uses spa benchmarks and why, plus the four key steps in the benchmarking process.

Intelligent Spas' research is currently available in eight key markets across the Asia pacific region and is underway in over 35 countries including Thailand, China, Vietnam, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, South Africa and beyond.

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