While there is encouraging news of new vaccine treatments for COVID-19, the fact is that the virus still will be with us for some time. After all, without testing everyone and understanding that many people with the virus are asymptomatic, we don’t know the extent of the Corona virus in the US. The best advice is to assume that transmissions of the virus will continue for the foreseeable future and to take precautions. As it relates to your spa or massage practice, this means that it won’t be business as usual and that “the new normal” will transform, if it hasn’t already, the way you book and manage appointments.
The good news is that the benefits of massage are recognized among a growing number of consumers. Many already are loyal clients of yours. Others may be thinking about massage for pain relief as doctors’ appointments for other than critical issues can be more challenging to secure. And stress levels are due to COVID and other issues of the day, so that massage therapy offers a safe and nurturing place to heal and relax.
Everything starts with safety
Health and safety of employees and clients is always important, but now it’s paramount under new government mandates for spas and massage practices. Staff need to have right personal protection equipment (PPE) and clients will need to wear masks for their appointments and maintain social distancing. In addition, there you’ll need to find out about required new protocols for:
- Cleaning and disinfecting treatment rooms and equipment
- Changing linen
- Ensuring proper hand hygiene
Written guidelines as well as staff meetings will make it clear what your expectations from staff are to provide a safe environment. Visual cues placed throughout your establishment will remind clients and staff to adhere to safe practice policies.
Changing your menu
You may be making changes to your treatment menu because of restrictions on the number of clients allowed into your spa or salon. Your goal for the initial phase of re-opening will be to offer the most sought-after treatments that are the most profitable and safest to provide.
Since your menu may be changing, you’ll need to review inventory to ensure you have the right products to support fewer treatments in greater numbers. BIOTONE now is re-opened full time and our customer service representatives are available to answer your questions about products.
Booking online
If you don’t already book massage appointments online, it’s a good time to start. Many consumers are already booking medical appointments online (and even having video or phone appointments), so they are already accustomed to online bookings. Furthermore, since you have to limit the number of clients in your spa or massage practice, you can establish a booking schedule allowing time in between for getting prepared for each visit.
There are a wide range of offerings for online booking software, many of them that are cloud-based – that is, you don’t need to acquire any software to run on your computers. You access the booking software from a browser and pay a subscription fee, which varies between providers. Some of the offerings start out as a free trial so you can decide if you are satisfied with the service before you buy.