Introduction
The purpose of this assessment is to examine and critically review the floor plan that has been presented for assessment by an architect for the purposes of facilitating guest satisfaction and profitability when the spa is finally built
As it is, there are several partitions in the current design which are a mechanical room, an aerobic room, a sports room, a reception area, a storage room, a gym room, a deco pool, a men’s changing room, a stream room, and various water closets besides. There are two entrances and exits from the Spa.
Background; facilities essential in a spa
It is important to understand the ten critical areas that should be included in any spa floor plan for maximum efficiency and returns. These however are not set in stone and the spa may choose to exclude some of them or to include others that are not on this list (Miller 1996).
The assessment of the facilities that should customarily be found in spas will enable one to evaluate if there are any that should be included in this particular floor plan or if there are some that have been included in this floor plan that are unnecessary (Johnson & Redman 2008).
The spa should have a facility that provides food and nutrition. This may be provided by the spa owners themselves or they may sublet space to another provider within their facilities.
These would therefore bring additional revenue in terms of food sold or in form of rent from the operator that has agreed to sublet. This would be important as it can serve both the spa users and others that are not using the spa (Lovelock, Wirtz & Chew 2009).
The spa has become associated with leisure and beauty. It should therefore consider providing facilities for beauty and skin care (Miller 1996). This would be important for their female clientele and to some extent, their male clients as well. It is important for individuals to be able to groom themselves before getting out of the spa (Tezak & Folawn 2011).
Spas are also associated with health and wholeness and should therefore ensure they include this package for the clients who are seeking external beauty besides internal (Wisnom & Capozio 2011). Again, this may be provided by the spa itself or it may sublet to another provider and charge rent (Johnson & Redman 2008).
Another leisure activity that is normally associated with spas is the massage. This is normally done for relaxation purposes and is a good source of income for spas. Services that are normally offered in such facilities are massages in all forms s (Wisnom & Capozio 2011).
Other facilities that are normally offered by the spa are “the waters”. This may be in form of Jacuzzis, saunas or others. This is a critical aspect of the spa; since time immemorial, spas have been fitted with places where people are able to relax in water for several benefits to the body.
Consequently, these facilities are critical in the operation of a spa (Miller 1996). The other aspect of a spa that is necessary is the exercise and fitness facility.
These may offer several activities such as aerobics, and weight lifting among others. These activities are usually only beneficial when done in the long run and therefore, may be a source of continuous source of income for the spa in spite of any changes in weather or economy (Wisnom & Capozio 2011).
Assessment Method for the Spa
Identification of the problem areas as far as floor plans are concerns is a process that involves several steps (Bodeker & Cohen 2008). The first step is acquisition and study of the floor plan blueprint which has been presented in this case in the form of a word document. In the absence of such, it would be mandatory to visit the site itself and generate a floor plan.
In spite of this, visiting the actual site is important for the purpose of surveying the facility (Johnson & Redman 2008). However, in this case it is impossible as the actual floor plan has not been executed in the building and therefore the blueprint will have to suffice.
The next step is identification of areas that may be problematic or those that may be unusual. Finally, a report is generated which will include recommendations for rectifying the anomalies in the floor plan (Lovelock, Wirtz & Chew 2009).
Assessment of the Floor Plan of the Spa
According to this floor plan, some of these facilities are missing whereas others are present. As far as food and nutrition is concerned, there seems to be no facility that has been identified for provision of food and nutrition.
Additionally, there are no facilities that have been earmarked for subletting to such providers (Bodeker & Cohen 2008). It would be imprudent to ask guests to bring their own food as it would interfere with their leisure activities.
There is no facility that has been reserved for aesthetic and beauty purposes which may be a source of additional income whether provided by the management of the facility or by another operator (Johnson & Redman 2008). In general, this floor plan does not accommodate providers of other goods and services within this facility which may reduce their revenues.
Besides food and beauty care, these additional providers may offer a variety of other services and goods at no cost to the spa management; in fact, the management would be able to secure more clients which would bring it more income as a result of the availability of numerous services within its premises.
Additionally, the rent that would be payable to the management by these services providers will be a significant source of their income (Wisnom & Capozio 2011). However, care must be taken to provide goods and services that are complementary to the activities of the spa to avoid making the facility another mall (Tezak & Folawn 2011).
As far as the waters are concerned, the facility has done well in providing a sauna, a Jacuzzi and a steam bath for the users of their facilities.
However, these are located adjacent to the men’s changing rooms and the absence of a women’s changing room may give the impression that this is a men’s only facility (Miller 1996). Access to these facilities requires passage through the entrance of men’s changing rooms which is not socially the norm and which may make both women and men uncomfortable (D’Angelo 2010).
The women’s changing room, which is conspicuously missing is another problem with the floor plan of this spa. The spa may be intended for the purpose of men’s leisure only but women are known to be the most frequent and regular spa users and locking them out may be limiting the ability of the facility to operate profitably (Wisnom & Capozio 2011).
Lack of this facility may discourage women from visiting the spa due to the inconvenience arising out of the lack of changing rooms. Therefore, it would be prudent to provide women’s changing rooms and to change the location of men’s changing rooms in order to encourage more clients to the venue (Johnson & Redman 2008).
Additionally, the management, marketing and operations department is absent from the floor plan. The only facility that is close to this is the reception which is rather small and from the design, likely to concentrate on the incoming guests. In addition to this, some rooms that do not generate revenue directly have been allocated vast space such as the mechanical room.
It is important to have proper offices for the staff working there such as accountants, technicians and managers in case problems arise within the facility (Tezak & Folawn 2011). Ideally, the storage room, mechanical room, the reception, and the offices should be close to one another as these are mostly used by the staff of the spa.
This will help economize space and help use it wisely as well as ease the access of these rooms by the staff. Moreover, it will leave the rest of the space free for other activities (D’Angelo 2010).
There are only two exits that service the whole of it and not much space in the reception (Miller 1996). The reception is an important part of any facility that offers hospitality services and as such, it should be impressionable to the customers as it is the first place they see when they enter the facility (Wisnom and Capozio 2011).
The reception as it is prone to crowding and it is easily accessible from the sports room which make it prone to interruptions as well. Ideally, this should be fitted with chairs for the clients to relax as they wait to be served and should be well lit and airy, preferably with natural lighting during the day.
The entrances or exits are also very small and this may pose danger in case the spa needs to be vacated immediately. There may be no way to mitigate this as the rest of the building is permanently build but the door leading to the upper floor of the building may be made wider (Bodeker & Cohen 2008).
Conclusion
There are various critical features. These include a place for the clients to eat, a place for them to change, a room for administrative purposes, and a place for water among others (Lovelock, Wirtz & Chew 2009).
It needs to pleasant to the clients who are there in order to offer them maximum enjoyment and relaxation. In this particular spa’s floor plan, there are several facilities that are wrongly placed and there are others still that are missing and this could affect the profitability of the institution.
Therefore, to mitigate this, there are facilities that need to be relocated, others that need to be added, and others yet that need to be re-planned in order to provide a place for relaxation to the clients, and maximize the profits that the management makes (Johnson & Redman 2008).
References
Bodeker, G. & Cohen, M. 2008. Understanding the Global Spa Industry: Spa Management. Boston: Taylor & Francis.
D’Angelo J., 2010. Spa Business Strategies. New York: Milady.
Johnson E., & Redman B., 2008. Spa A Comprehensive Introduction. London: International Spa Association Foundation.
Lovelock C., Wirtz J., & Chew P., 2009. Essentials of Service Marketing. New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Miller, E. 1996. Salon Ovations’ Day Spa Operations. London: Milady.
Tezak, E. & Folawn, T. 2011. Successful Salon and Spa Management. London: Milady.
Wisnom M., & Capozio L., 2011. Spa Management. Wales: Pearson Education.