Meeting News - January 5, 2009 - (Page 42)

Florida Incentives Orlando Massages Winners Into Its Spas Spas use exotic rituals and unique angles to woo customers—and more men In Orlando, “trophy spas” at luxury hotels are vying for incentive winners. The growing battle is a product of the city’s transformation from a traditionally family destination to one that caters higher-level business travel with an expanding roster of luxury resorts. Those competing spas include the Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Gaylord Palms Resort, the Mandara spas at both the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort and Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando, and the Eleuthera Spa & Salon at Bahama Bay Resort. When the Waldorf=Astoria Orlando opens in October, it will boast the Waldorf=Astoria Spa by Guerlain—the second such spa in the U.S. Although incentive winners are likely to have had a spa experience, destination spas are taking no chances and are stepping their marketing to encompass all possible niches. (Despite momentous growth and visibility of the U.S. spa industry, still only one in four Americans has been to a spa, according to the International Spa Association.) At both Canyon Ranch SpaClub and Mandara, trends include exotic rituals, such as fourhanded massages and ayurvedic treatments. Guerlain will provide its Guerlain Methode European-style spa experiences like its “all-over contour design redefining body treatment.” Spas are also seeking the elusive male client— men still hover at 30 percent of all users—by offering services with distinctly masculine monikers. Canyon Ranch SpaClub, for example, offers the Muscle Melt for Road Warriors, based on “an ancient and exotic Thai practice to relaxation without treading into ‘girlie’ territory,” according to Gaylord Palms spokesperson Keith Salwoski. The Ritz-Carlton Spa at Grande Lakes Orlando offers the Gentlemen’s Hot Towel Facial and the “Man”icure, while at the Spa at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort, men can reenergize with the Gentleman’s Getaway. Still, lest incentive winners’ families feel left out, Orlando spas have treatments in which the whole family can indulge. The Kids’ Spa at the Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn has services ranging from hair wraps and facials for girls to temporary tattoos and rock-star ’dos for boys. At the Mandara spas, the YSPA Teen Program offers the Fake Bake self-tanning treatment and facials that relieve the adolescent agony of acne. And, with the Spa at Buena Vista Palace and its Mother & Daughter Day package, Orlando remains tops in the family fun business. —Terri Hardin Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate (l.) features a destination spa, while Canyon Ranch SpaClub at Gaylord Palms (r.) is marketing more to men, who are still relatively rare clients. Panhandle Groups Will Find Airports with a Fresh Feel The Florida Panhandle, still the second-largest drive market in the state after Orlando, continues to mature, both in terms of development and demographics. The big news is the $330 million relocation of Panama City-Bay County International Airport, which is leaving a hemmed-in facility in Panama City proper for a site across the West Bay with ample room for future expansion. Construction is about one-third complete and three months ahead of the airport’s scheduled June 2010 opening. Longer and more rugged runways will be able to accommodate larger international jets bringing more visitors from abroad, which the Panhandle’s convention and visitors bureaus are actively courting. The move also permanently preserves a 40,000-acre tract of wetlands and shoreline around the current airport, one of the largest conservation measures in the state, developed in conjunction with the Florida Wildlife Federation and other environmental groups. The stretch of coast from Pensacola to Panama City and beyond has grown rapidly since 2004, when Hurricane Ivan hit the Panhandle hard, wiping out many mom-and-pop operators and opening up the market to resort companies looking to expand their footholds. The region now has more than 60,000 hotel rooms and should add another 6,000 to 8,000 by 2010. Pensacola Beach, for example, will get a 206room Holiday Inn with 10,000 sf of meeting space, a 162-room Hotel Indigo with 3,000 sf of meeting space, and the Palace, a 56-suite boutique hotel, by spring 2010. Adding almost 500 rooms in 2008, the Pensacola area now has 37 percent more accommodation units than it did in 2004. The Pensacola Regional Airport is also upgrading to yield a larger ticketing area, improved rental car facilities, and streamlined baggage screening. The changes will begin rolling out this spring. H —Brad Crawford 42 MeetingNews January 5, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - January 5, 2009

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