NEW YORK — Spa Week continues to build its following. This year, twice as many spas will join the festivities, compared with last fall’s roster.
In just two years, Spa Week, which started with 25 New York-area spas in an effort to build customer traffic, now attracts 233 participants in 10 markets, including New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles. The biannual, weeklong promotional event, which runs April 17-23, includes three new markets: Dallas, Atlanta and San Francisco. Spa Week introduces six new markets a year. New York alone has 90 participating spas — an almost 40 percent increase from last October’s event.
“Our goal is to have Spa Week in every city of the country where there’s a high proliferation of day spas,” said Cheryl Reid, co-founder of Spa Week and co-principal of C&R Media, a marketing and public relations firm that specializes in the spa, wellness and beauty fields. “Today, it’s all about healthy America — everyone understanding the wellness aspect.”
Along with partner Christina Castro, Reid is helping spas attract new customers in an ultracompetitive market. Since many spa businesses are small, they have limited marketing budgets. Spa Week gives them exposure. And consumers are offered full-service spa treatments at discounted prices.
“It was successful for Restaurant Week to bring in new customers, so I thought, why not bring the spa industry to the masses by offering discounted treatments to consumers at a more affordable cost?” said Reid, referring to the New York event that offers gourmet meals at discounted prices. “Businesses tell us that the increase is as high as 45 percent in terms of new customers that come through doors. It gives spas a forum to bring back customers.”
“Spa Week allows people the opportunity to check a place out, have a consultation and learn about treatments they’ve wanted to do for a long time, for an affordable price,” said Jessica Plotnick, owner of Science + Beauty Medical Spa.
Spa Week advertises in all participating cities in print and online. Here, ads runs in New York Magazine and Time Out New York, and at DailyCandy.com and Citysearch.com. This year’s sponsors include Allure magazine, Jane Iredale Mineral Cosmetics, Conair Corp., The Carneros Inn, Essence of Vali and Xela Aromasticks.