So many luxury hotels and hotel spas are missing a massive opportunity to drive revenue by charging for a day pass. It seems most properties believe that a spa day pass coupled with unlimited champagne is a primary revenue driver… but I beg to differ.
I was recently in Aspen… sigh. I love the mountains. I feel alive when I’m there. What I don’t love is how my body feels after a long flight followed by taking the long, scenic road to get there.
Upon checking into a legacy luxury hotel, I was offered a glass of champagne, which I declined.
I hadn't yet acclimated to the elevation and was feeling dehydrated. I happened to notice a table off to the side with plastic cups and water infused with chlorophyll. I couldn’t help but wonder why they weren't offering that infused water in a beautiful glass upon arrival. It is so much more appropriate, location-specific, and thoughtful.
Anyway, I asked the gentleman checking us in if there was a sauna and/or a hydrotherapy circuit I could use for a little while to recover and "arrive" from our travels. He replied that they have a beautiful spa and offer a day pass for $200, which includes unlimited champagne.
Ugh. No thank you. It’s not what I asked for.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received this exact reply—clearly, it’s the luxury hotel standard. But times are changing, and I challenge this practice as a true revenue driver.
Here’s why:
First of all, please stop offering free champagne at every turn as if it’s the ultimate sign of luxury.
That ship has sailed, especially for your high-net-worth (HNW) travelers. People arrive at your hotel travel-weary and dehydrated. Choose something nourishing, interesting, and specific to your region—something they can only enjoy there.
Second, a major opportunity was missed to book actual services. Here’s how I would design an experience that actually leads to revenue for your spa:
Most luxury hotels send a pre-arrival communication asking guests if they have any special requests. It would be wonderful to share that the spa offers a limited number of complimentary 1-hour "spa amenity passes" per day, noting that if they would like to schedule an arrival recovery session, they should do so in advance. List all the wonderful amenities and assure the guest that if their travels run late, the team will do their best to accommodate them.
How often are spa amenities left completely empty, or with only one or two guests enjoying them?
Here’s the thing: when I’m in a spa enjoying the amenities and sipping a beverage featuring local infusions to help with hydration, you can bet I’m going to book a couple of services.
Instead, the offer was a forced charge for something I didn’t want. Ultimately, I never crossed the threshold into the spa, and therefore, never booked a service. Not only is this a shame, it's a massive missed opportunity for the hotel.
They have a hydrotherapy pool and a sauna. Most people don’t spend more than 20 minutes in a sauna, and perhaps three minutes in a cold plunge. A wellness-forward guest might do their own contrast therapy circuit lasting 40 minutes MAX—and I can promise you, they don’t want champagne. What they will want, once they smell the essential oils and feel the tranquility of the space, is a massage, some reflexology, and a hydrating facial.
Can you see where I’m going with this?
I understand that a spa guest pass costs the property nothing to provide, and that a massage therapist is paid out of the cost of a treatment. But only looking at these immediate numbers is narrow-minded. If you have an exceptional spa team, they are masters at the art of upselling.
When your guest feels sold to at every single touchpoint (like a $200 day pass at a $1,200-a-night hotel), it looks cheap and creates resistance. Even people with money don’t like to be nickel-and-dimed.
If you start their spa journey with a valuable, thoughtful gift such as a 1hour amenities pass, they are going to be infinitely more inclined to book a service, say yes to add-ons and walk away with a shopping bag full of retail products.
But let's take this a step further. What if the spa amenities were open to hotel guests for a midday "Spa Social Hour"? Imagine complimentary use of the amenities from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM (limited space, reservations required, adults only). What if you had one of your therapists leading a ritual in the sauna, explaining the benefits of each jet in the hydrotherapy tub, or guiding a contrast therapy experience? Suddenly, you are driving guests into your spa and creating a trending “Social Wellness” experience.
Furthermore, looking back at the front desk, the exact moment I asked for recovery amenities was a clear signal to the staff that I am a wellness-minded guest. It would have been the perfect time to tell me about mountaintop morning yoga, offer an escort to the fitness center, or highlight the sleep-supportive, adaptogenic bedtime teas on the room service menu.
The point is, there were so many opportunities for that property to capture my spend simply by paying attention to my wellness cues. Instead, I got my sauna, stretched my body, and had a delicious massage… entirely off-property.
Designing a wellness layer that touches every point of your guest's journey—from the moment they book until checkout—does not require expensive structural additions. You can absolutely work with what you already have.
A well-thought-out wellness layer does not create a new department; it drives immediate revenue straight to the ones that already exist.
Are you leaving ancillary wellness revenue on the table at your property?
The biggest expense is simply the initial integration, operational implementation, and staff training. But the biggest expense of all? Not having a proprietary wellness layer, causing your guests to spend their money somewhere else.
It begins with an audit.
When I work with properties, we don't look at the spa in a vacuum. My wellness architecture is designed to make your guests feel deeply anticipated and cared for at every touchpoint, while intentionally lifting financial performance across all your existing departments—from the front desk to food & beverage and room service.
There is no commitment required to find that elusive starting point. Let’s connect for an introductory conversation to explore how this architecture can fit your property's unique footprint.
