By Trent Munday, published February, 2017

So you’ve just done your latest competitor analysis and you’ve found that your two closest competitors have spas that offer both Reflexology and an Aromatherapy Massage. Just like you do.

Quick! Call the spa manager! We have to change our menu. We can’t offer the same as them. We need some new treatments. Something to differentiate us.

Well, here’s the thing. Your competitors probably have a Cheeseburger on their Room Service menu. Are you going to remove that too? Of course, not.

If you can create the best cheeseburger in town, then you could actually turn this into a competitive advantage. If you can’t, it’s unlikely that any guest is going to discriminate against you just for having the same offering.

Same goes for your spa menu. In fact, I’d argue that the duplication is even less significant when it comes to your spa because many of today’s hotel guests don’t really know the difference between an Aromatherapy Massage or a Balinese Massage.

There’s a good reason for having a cheeseburger on your menu. Your guests expect to see it. It’s their fallback position. If they’re not sure about the rest of your menu or can’t find anything else they like, a cheeseburger will do.

Same goes for spa. That familiarity factor is probably more important in the spa because we spa people have a tendency to try to make the treatments on our spa menus sounds like some magical spell from the world of Harry Potter.

By all means, you can have one or two “signature” treatments that give you an added PR boost and look good in a Honeymoon Package. But don’t think that having a menu full of unique treatments will make your spa any more popular with your guests. You may even find the opposite is true. Choices create indecision. The more choices you give your guests, the more reasons they have not to make any decision at all.

Of course you need your signature dishes, but you need your staples too. In our experience, anywhere from 60%-75% of your spa revenue will come from those staples.

Variety may well be the spice of life but it’s still hard to beat a great cheeseburger! Chew on that!