When attorney Rosa Calabrese and sister Rachele Nicoletti, a former Citibank marketing executive, opened Rachele Rose Day Spa in Hartsdale this December, they were forced to innovate to survive the recession.
“We started a ”˜refer three, get one free”™ program, which I think will help business in the long run,” Nicoletti said. “We started offering a discount couples”™ massage because clients were sharing a room and we began targeted packages like a golfer”™s special to attract more business.”
The sisters also signed up for national Spa Week, which Calabrese said, “is a great way to get to know people and for people to get to know you.”
This fall, from Oct. 12 to Oct. 18, the East Coast segment will kick off and six Westchester establishments are slated to participate; the Spa Week event is run by Spa Week Media Group Ltd. in Manhattan.
There is a catch: spa owners must offer select signature services at $50 for a minimum of 45 minutes in length.
So far, the summer season at Rachele Rose has been “quiet,” Calabrese said, but “it was a nice boost when we did that (Spa Week) in April.”
At The Haven Spa and Wellness Center in Briarcliff Manor, owner Jodi Mercedes, who has been in business since 1997, said this is the first fall Spa Week she has signed up for.
Her company, like Rachele Rose, only participated in the April event in past years.
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“I do feel as though it”™s a business booster, especially now with the economy,” she said.
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“People are looking for deals. I”™ve noticed my business evolve with the population”™s needs. Things are so different now. People are looking for stress relievers.”
Though Mercedes admitted that Spa Week “is an expense,” as discount pricing is mandatory, “people really like it.”
Nationally recognized names in hospitality are also jumping on the bandwagon.
At the 10,000-square-foot Ritz-Carlton, Westchester Spa in White Plains, spa Director Christian Davies deemed the event “a great opportunity that is really widespread.”
“Are we purely a luxury?” he said. “No. I think it”™s a way of life for a lot of people these days. We have people that come in who need to relax from work. Now, spas are more of an everyday occurrence instead of just a luxury on a vacation.”
Of percentage increases in revenue during the special promotion, Davies said while Spa Week is “incredibly popular,” their levels stay “really consistent.”
“We”™re still a new business and we”™re still growing,” he said.
The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester, opened in 2007.
