When Do You Know You Have Bad Floor Plans?

Part of owning a spa does not make you a designer, engineer, architect or spa consultant  unless you were one in a past-spa lifetime.  Okay, sorry to bust your bubble, and you may be a spa visionary, but your expertise is in either business, or spa, but not design.  So, how in the hay, hay, are you suppose to know if your floor plans are bad?  Gut?  No. 

A.S.B., yes “A Spa Brain”.    What is a spa brain?  Someone who has already made all of the mistakes you are getting ready to make, but they learned from the mistakes, so they can help you not make the same mistakes.

Take your ideas: 1. hire an architect that knows spas or 2. take your plans to a spa consultant that has built many spas.  Just because you think you can build a hotel, a restaurant, or any other fabulous structure because you’ve done them so many times before…doesn’t mean you can build a functional, perfectly operational spa. 

Don’t worry, A.S.B. will know if you have bad floor plans.  They know how much space it takes for a hair stylist to move around  the chair.  They know the pedicure thrones with the smallest footprints.  They know the size of the pipes to plumb the rain showers.  So when you are building your spa of your dreams, it’s okay to hire your local architect, but you need “a spa brain” (A.S.B) to review the plans. 

You see with without A.S.B., your clients could be bathing like this!

Spa Newbie Architect Speaking

Excuse me, but the first draft actual drawings had bedrooms for treatment rooms (8 x 10), no prep rooms, plus if we had built the locker room—hmmm….disaster.  The initial plans were just that-inital drawings, but I learned some really key elements in spa design. 

You start off with what is called conceptual drawings (you never go to cad drawings).  The conceptual drawings are to scale, but give a rough, but visual design.  The key is that the concept designs are to scale measurements.  When it is in this concept phase, you can make many changes without it becoming a major cost.

When working with an spa architect, they have a proposal that is similar to the following:

·        Drawings coordination* with client, architect, interior design and other project team consultants (i.e. MEP, lighting, etc) to ensure spa facility is functional for operator and delivers distinctive design elements

 

·        Full facility detail planning, coordination, recommendations and review*:

• interior elevations – layout, features, elements review
• materials & finishes (coordination with owner and interior designer)
• mechanical / electrical / plumbing (CCS will provide a red-lined mark-up plan for operational spa and salon requirements)
• lighting plan review
• loose items or built-ins (concept sketches / specifications) i.e. millwork;
• millwork package review & comments
• spa operating software system  OS/POS  (part of FF&E)
• back-of-house areas

 

*  (Coordination defined – briefs, sketches, images, sources, samples)

 

This examples details some of the work of a spa consulting and architectural firm.  Please check out Collier & Collier or Blu Spas.  The details of their work continue throughout the proposal, but the key is finding a newbie architect that is willing to work with an experienced spa architect– or spa consultant that will work with your newbie architect–or you can always hire the best.  The success  of the spa is critical to the design—or rather the design is critical to the success of the spa.

Location, Location, Location

What’s in a location?  It can be everything or it can be nothing.  Sometimes a really great restaurant will overcome the location factor by having either really great food or a really great atmosphere.  You have to balance the spa location factor with costs, traffic, and marketing expenses.

Each location must be examined by financial analysis.  You must weigh location by walk by traffic, by marketing and advertising expenses to bring traffic to your location.  In the spa silly growth world of the last few years, we have seen mammoth spas built in off the beaten paths.  This is fine if you spend the money to bring the clients to your door and keep them there–think Osmosis Spa in California, or the now in the re-make Coolfont in West Virginia.  Both were spas that were off the beaten path, but had these gorgeous locations that kept clients talking about the beauty of the location or the incredible treatments.

If you are looking for a day spa location, I would have you think about a couple of things:

1. When you are not busy, how will your parking lot look?
2. Do you have enough parking?
3. Who are your neighbors?  (we have a gorgeous spa in town next to halfway house)
4. Are you close to major retailers that are similar in nature and target markets to your business?
5. When clients walk out with disheveled hair, will it be into a busy mall environment filled with shoppers coiffed to the nines?

Just a couple of thoughts about locations.  Cost per square foot.  Please do the math.