Sonal Uberoi, director of Spa Business Consulting, outlines the top 10 spa business trends for 2015 to stay ahead of the curve, exclusively in Spa Opportunities:

1. Tighter relations between investors, spa operators and hotel operators.
Hotel owners and investors will look at how much spas add to the hotel’s bottom line beyond what happens within the spa’s treatment rooms.

2. More specialisation
In 2015, spas will further leverage their USPs, whether that means specialising in the medical market or promoting their hot springs.

3. A lean spa business approach
Spas will take inspiration from the lean business approach, which is about learning what your customers want, testing your vision continuously and adjusting.

4. More specialist spa managers
As the industry has become more mature, there is a growing trend for spa managers to become more specialised.

5. Spa managers will self-educate
Spa managers on tight budgets will look to free resources on the internet to continue their education. Companies still seem reluctant to invest in training.

6. KPI focus
We predict that 2015 will see an increased focus on the essential KPIs that spas need to follow for their type of spa.

7. Growing interest in user experience
In increasingly competitive markets, spas will be much more engaged with the experience of their customers and it will be tracked in more sophisticated ways.

8. Spa software is no longer a luxury
For 2015, the question will not be: “Should we use spa software?” but “Which spa software should we use?”

9. Increased importance of scientific proof
Customers are getting tougher in terms of wanting proof that a new treatment will work. We’ll see spa evidence playing a greater role in spas’ daily operations, as consumers demand this evidence.

10. Increase in guest therapists
Just as the hotel industry works hard to attract guest chefs, we’ll also see specialist spa therapists and visiting practitioners taking the lead.