If you’re in business to sell cars, condos or cashmere sweaters in this economy, good luck. But in an ironic twist, peddlers of massages, facials and beauty treatments are still attracting customers despite the recession.

While a Swedish body massage isn’t in the same category as bread, milk and rent, devotees of such spa treatments say they are necessities nonetheless.

Spa operators report that stressful times are a good time to serve up stress-busting treatments.

Barbara Rosa, owner of Blissful Spa in Nyack, said that while business is off about 10 percent, her phone was “ringing off the hook” recently.

“I don’t think most people will cut out doing their hair, nails and getting massages and facials. It’s not that big an expense,” she said.

Like other spa owners, Rosa said the main effect of the dour economy is people are spacing out their treatments, from twice a month to once a month for example.

While many spas are offering deals and discounts to keep their treatment rooms full, Rosa said she hasn’t had to lower prices at Blissful, which charges $125 for a 90-minute massage and $90 for a 70-minute facial.

“We’re here eight and a half years. We have been slower during the weekdays, but people are still coming in,” she said.

Wendy Lee MacDowell, a Sparkill resident, visits Blissful every week or two for a 90-minute massage that she considers a “necessity” given her line of work.

“I do physical labor. I’m a locksmith. I am always bending over and pulling. Massages keep me functionally well. It’s not like having my nails done. Now, that’s a luxury,” she said.

MacDowell – who started her “Lady Locksmith” business in 1991 after she was laid off in a previous recession – said she’s recently done some economizing by giving up her landline phone in favor of her cell, but hasn’t considered giving up her massages. “It’s an essential part of my health care,” she said.

That’s a sentiment Michael Zeldes would second. Zeldes, an Irvington resident and senior vice president at Hub International Northeast Insurance Brokers in New York, gets a weekly massage at Oasis Day Spa in Dobbs Ferry.

Zeldes said his wife, Leslie, a pilates instructor, also gets massages and other treatments at the spa even as the couple cuts back in other ways to cope with the economy.

“We both understand you’ve got to work really hard right now,” he said. “But you also have to find time for your own health. At my last massage there, I felt almost like I was at a physical therapist’s office where they were really able to de-stress my body. I call it a necessary luxury.”

Zeldes has put a planned kitchen renovation on hold as well as plans to replace his 2000 Ford Explorer.

“It doesn’t seem like the right time to upgrade on something like that at the moment. But then again, when it comes to your well-being, you exercise and eat well, and part of that is finding ways to de-stress and have an outlet to make sure you get away from the everyday. You can’t just cut these things so quickly,” he said.

Angela DeAngellis, owner of Angelface Day Spa in Yorktown Heights, said customers tell her they are giving up other luxuries instead of their spa treatments.

“People are making sure to stay calm and relaxed and take care of themselves if they have the means. In this area, people still have a chunk of money they are willing to put aside for themselves,” she said.

DeAngellis, who has 22 employees and nine treatment rooms at her spa, said her revenue for 2008 was higher than 2007, despite the economy.

“I will be in business 14 years come October. I was very happy to see at the end of ‘08; we maintained a substantial client base. Just this month, it’s starting to subside a bit,” she said.
Discounts keep appeal

Eve Carnevalla, owner of Eve Day Spa in Cold Spring, said business has doubled on Tuesdays, when she offers 20 percent off.

“An $80 facial is now $64, and that’s now my busiest day by far. Everybody eats that up,” she said.

While her regulars have kept her in business, Carnevalla said she’s seeing some worrisome signs for the future among those who only come on special occasions or if they get a gift.

“I haven’t yet sold one gift certificate for Valentine’s Day. Last year was a lot better,” she said recently.

Catherine Holland, owner of Elements Spa in Piermont, said business has been slower even taking into account the cold weather keeping tourists away from the river town.

“We are still booking appointments, but I see people are all using gift certificates. People used to be more lax in cashing in certificates,” she said. “In times like these, people really need a massage, but they don’t want to spend the money for it, so they are really excited to get their gift certificates.”

The most reliable customers are those who view the spa as an extension of their health care, she said.

“We do have a number of clients who come regularly for therapeutic reasons, and they come weekly or twice a week. Those people are still coming,” she said. “People who see it as maintenance, not a spa treat or luxury, are still coming.”

But even among the regulars, Holland said some are opting for a 45-minute versus 90-minute massage.

“We’re not terrified. I look through the book and I wish it were busier, but I am pretty confident we’re going to get through this,” she said.

Fiona Velasco-Mills, manager of Adriana Spa in Eastchester, said a drop-off in holiday gift certificate sales had inspired sales for Valentine’s Day.

“We’ve reduced packages by 10 percent and we’ve tried to add extras on to make it seem like people are getting more for their money,” she said.

Eva Greenbaum, the manager of the new Nordic Lights Spa at the Doubletree Hotel in Tarrytown, said that while she expects the spa to have a steady client base from guests in the hotel, she’s also rolling out discounts.

“Everybody now has to have sales. What we will be having is a ‘pay for one facial and get a second at half price.’ With massages, we have ‘pay for three massages and get the fourth one free,’ ” she said.

Melinda Taschetta-Millane, editor of Skin Inc. magazine, which covers the spa industry, said it’s a good time for consumers as spas roll out promotions and discounts.

“Spas are trying to work with the economy they are given. While there are some clients cutting back, the majority of them see this as a lifestyle and way of wellness,” she said.
Do-your-own not the same

The International SPA Association reports there are more than 14,600 spas in the United States, most independently owned, Taschetta-Millane noted.

“The spa industry is definitely going to weather the storm,” she said. “It’s a strong industry. People see this as their well-being and important to their health.”

Treatments that are more about looks than relaxation might be easier for consumers to forgo.

Mary Shannon of Ossining said she used to get regular manicures but worries over the worsening economy got her spooked about spending extra cash.

Although she has a full-time job as a registered nurse at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow, Shannon started to see the effects of the recession in how busy she was at work.

“I work in the operating room, and from September on, there were a lot less elective surgeries. Usually rooms would be busy from 7 a.m. to 5 at night, sometimes until 10 p.m.,” she said. “Now, day after day, even in daytime hours, we are sitting around. People aren’t having elective surgery. They are having surgery if they have to, but they are cutting back.”

Working less overtime, Shannon said a trip to a salon or spa isn’t an option anymore, though she misses the perk.

“I try to do home pedicures and manicures, but it’s not the same. You have to have the skill, and you need two hands to get a really good manicure,” she said.

She made one trip to a nail salon in the last few months for New Year’s Eve.

“Chances are I won’t go again until my birthday, which is in March. I don’t see myself going on a regular basis at this point in time. Right now, it’s a luxury I can’t afford.”

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“This is for body maintenance,” says Ressurrection Graves, owner of H.E.A.L. Massage and Bodywork in Largo.

Tightening household budgets often means cutting back on nonessentials such as luxury trips to spas and salons, but some Prince George’s entrepreneurs look to offset that trend with their proximity to the relatively more job-secure federal government worker looking for a little TLC.

That’s not to say they’re not also scrambling for customers as many merchants are. From half-off sales, midweek specials, referral discounts and extra products following treatments, spa and salon owners have been doing whatever it takes to keep clients coming back.

“People think you do it for fun, and it’s not a real job,” Lynetta Larson, owner of Egotism Hair Salon in Laurel, said of her profession. “So they start deciding not to come or start asking more about pricing.”

Larson, who opened Egotism in late 2005 with three employees, said she has definitely seen a slowdown over the last several months.

She said she chose Prince George’s over Montgomery County because salon businesses are more spread out in the area, leasing is cheaper and she is closer to the women federal workers in Prince George’s who commute to Washington.

“We’re right next to the federal jobs, so we’ll always have clientele,” Larson said. “People still come — just not as often.”

Larson said most salon owners are trying to balance creativity in marketing while still making enough money to stay in business.

Arelis Natera took on the risk when she opened her newest Arelis Beauty Salon in Beltsville last month, her second location; the first is in Silver Spring.

Specializing in new Dominican-styled hair treatments for black and Hispanic women, Natera saw Prince George’s demographics as a promising opportunity, said spokeswoman Aixa Fraser.

“That’s our forte,” Fraser said. The salon, which uses natural and organic products, teaches clients how to treat their hair so it grows as they like.

Word-of-mouth and women’s enjoyment of being pampered will help the five-employee salon prosper, she said. The Silver Spring location averages 50 clients per day.

Ressurrection Graves of H.E.A.L. Massage and Bodywork in Largo said she hopes her spa’s innovative concept will give her business some edge amid the difficult luxury market. The spa focuses on therapeutic healing more than relaxation, which is the common goal of most spas.

“This is for body maintenance,” Graves said, saying the closest place clients can receive similar services is in Vienna, Va. “It’s a need they recognize.”

H.E.A.L. opened in September, with five employees, and serves about 100 clients each week, specializing in those who are depressed and suffer from fibromyalgia or pain in the muscle and connective tissue.

Graves, who is also a professional poet, combines her spiritually based massage techniques with music and poetry.

“I believe this business is not just a business. People continue to come and continue to refer others. We are creating a community here,” she said.

Not everyone is so sanguine.

Ancill McDonald Gilmore of Ashland Body & Spa in Fort Washington said the only thing saving her industry is the specials that businesses run.

“Especially in Fort Washington, we have government workers visiting us, but even they are cutting back. We’re holding onto what we have,” she said. “The need is somewhat going away. There’s not much room for luxury. If I was thinking about opening this business today, there’s no way I would.”

Ashland opened in 2006 and has about six employees and 3,000 clients. The company recently had to lay off three employees due to shrinking revenues. Ashland is the only spa in the county that performs threading, an East Indian practice of using sewing thread to remove hair, Gilmore said.

“We know that stress is the number one reason people go to spas, and right now more Americans than ever before are stressed out about their finances, their jobs and their families,” said Megan Newquist, spokeswoman for the International Spa Association. “So what we’re hearing, and what our spa members are seeing, is that more people than ever before are going to spas — they’re just spending less than they used to.”

More than 138 million people visited spas nationwide in 2007, the most recent data available, with about $10.9 billion in sales, according to the association.

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The spa industry has been stressed by the recession—which is great news for your aching wallet.

It took ten straight days of shoveling snow and the resulting back spasms for Hyde Park resident Elizabeth Lockwood to finally decide enough was enough: She got online and found a spa she could visit for a massage while seeing relatives over the holidays. For Old Town resident Kate Bongiovanni, it took a brutally active autumn of competing in endurance events—an Ironman and two marathons—to admit her battered body needed a sports massage, recession or no recession. “I’m not going for relaxation but for working out the kinks in my shoulders, hips and legs from athletic overuse,” she says. “It was really all about my body breaking down and having to limp from one place to another that prompted me to go.”

What these women—and many other Chicagoans—have in common is that in these difficult economic times they need a compelling reason to spend money at a spa. “Instead of deciding to treat themselves, it’s more of a ‘I can’t move my neck because I can’t sleep because I’m so stressed out’–necessity,” says Stacy Levy, spa director at exhale in the Gold Coast.

At exhale, sales are about 20 percent below projections, and the hardest-hit services are the ones clients consider indulgences, such as body scrubs and facials. But maintenance treatments—like waxing, manicures and pedicures—are down, too. “Our regulars are waiting longer between appointments,” says Stephanie Gerard, publicity coordinator for Bliss Spa. “Somebody who used to come for a monthly facial now comes every two months. For nail care, if they used to come every two weeks, now they do it once a month.” Lynne McNees, president of the International Spa Association (ISPA), which certifies spas and tracks industry trends, says, “People are still going to spas—but instead of a 90-minute service, they get one that’s 60 or 30 minutes.” (The org will release industry sales numbers for late 2008 and early 2009 later this month.) “It’s similar to right after 9/11, when we all held our breath and wondered what would happen,” McNees says.

To extend the time between treatments, clients are channeling their inner aesthetician and attempting to perform their own treatments at home. “I’ve forgone my usual brow wax in favor of plucking myself, though I’m less happy about those results,” says Stacey Finkelstein, a University of Chicago graduate student. If there’s a bright side to former clients DIYing spa services, Gerard says, it’s that people often buy the products used in their favorite treatments at venues like Bliss for at-home use. So customers may be spending less on services, but they’re dropping more on products.

Some clients are forgoing other splurges—new shoes, eating out—so they can continue spa-ing, according to Kelly Mack, a facialist at Lakeview’s Absolute Precision Skin Care. “I’m surviving,” she says. “I still have some clients cancel because they need to make ends meet. But I have a wait list, so if someone does cancel, I can usually fill it.”

Others are holding off on booking spa treatments until they can get a discount. “I’ve been hoping that treatments go on sale,” says Alexia Koelling, who works in the Loop. “I really want a facial, but I don’t want to pay $100!” Koelling shouldn’t have much trouble finding a good deal right now, says ISPA’s McNees. To stay afloat and keep clients walking through their doors during this challenging fiscal time, spas are rolling out scores of discounts and promotions on a weekly, daily, even hourly basis. For example, at the Four Seasons, Swedish massages are $30 off Monday through Thursday; at exhale, facials and massages are 50 percent off at 8am, seven days a week; and at Bliss, the “Farewell to Bush” special offers 20 percent off Brazilian waxing through February 12. So if you’re smart about when and where you go, there’s no need to wait until a back spasm to book a massage.

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Spa says relax, pay what you can.   Spend any time at Sensorielle Spa and you’ll quickly learn it is the definition of tranquility. From the gentle sound of trickling water features to soft lighting, clients are eased into a healing environment.

“We treat the body, mind and spirit,” said Jewl Petteway, director of the spa.

The spa offers an array of massage and skin treatments.

“Our spa is really meant to uplift people and give them a feeling of wholeness, happiness and stress relief,” said Petteway. “I want them to feel extremely blissful.”

That stress relief has taken on increased importance to customers given the downturn in the economy.

“As everyone knows, the economy has been very challenging,” said Petteway.

To answer that challenge, Sensorielle will begin offering a pay-what-you-can program on Feb. 1. Clients will be given a suggested price list for services, but will be asked to pay only what their budget will allow.

“Regardless of what their situation is today, they can come in and set the price that feels good to them and be able to experience any of our treatments,” said Petteway.

The pay-what-you-can plan has been embraced by the staff at Sensorielle. For them, there is a risk to the concept. Massage therapists could end up receiving less compensation for their time, but they hope the flexible pricing will result in more appointments and an increased customer base.

While pay-what-you-can is new to the spa business, it is an approach that has been used by restaurants and yoga studios to build their customer base. The hope is that once the economy improves, those customers will retain loyalty to the business.

This unique business approach has also created unique and surprising results. Take for instance when one client asked if she could start the pay-what-you-can plan prior to Feb. 1.

“The therapist said that’s fine, go ahead and do it,” said Petteway. “She then paid $130 for a $100 service.”

Not all will be able to be so generous, but Petteway wants all of her clients, no matter their financial situation, to utilize the stress-relieving services of her spa.

“I want people to come in here and completely forget they have financial stress and work stress. Just forget about that and be in our tropical oasis and just let it go,” she said.

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Franchisors seek ways to weather the economy

Co-signing loan papers, buying out operating contracts and modifying licensing fees are among the aggressive steps some franchisors are taking to help their franchisees weather the chilly economy.

Just like small, independent business owners, many franchisees have struggled amid a lingering credit crunch and weak consumer spending.

Their survival is important.

Nationally, franchises accounted for 11 million jobs, or 8.1 percent of the private workforce, and produced $880.9 billion in goods and services in 2005, according to the most recent data available from the Washington, D.C.-based International Franchise Association.

In 2005 in Arizona, franchised businesses employed 262,812 people and produced $21.4 million worth of goods and services.

Franchisors, who license the right to operate businesses in their names, have a vested interest in continuing to attract new franchise buyers and help their existing store operators survive.

Fewer franchises mean less licensing- and royalty-fee revenue, which franchisors depend on to survive.

A rash of store closures also can mar a franchise’s brand.

“I think we’re going to see a fallout in our industry just like we’re going to see a fallout in other industries,” said Jeff Johnson, founder and chief executive officer of the Franchise Research Institute.

The institute, based in Lincoln, Neb., performs surveys for franchisors that gauge their franchisees’ satisfaction.

The strategies that franchisors are employing now are not unheard of even when the economy is good, Johnson said.

But some of the more aggressive steps, such as buying back stores from franchisees who want out of their contracts and temporarily foregoing certain fees, are rare.

Restaurant and other food-service franchisees have been among the hardest hit by the economic downturn.

Health-care and certain technology-related franchises are still seeing strong demand, though.

Local and national franchisors say they’re still seeing demand from prospective buyers who want to open new franchises. The biggest problem is securing credit.

After an 18-year career at Honeywell, Tracie Correll decided she wanted to be an entrepreneur.

Correll started contemplating her next move in 2007. Ultimately, she decided franchising was the route she would take to become a business owner.

In March, Correll quit her information-technology management job at the high-tech manufacturer, leaving behind an $80,000 annual salary.

Correll expects to open her first Hand and Stone Massage Spa franchise in Goodyear this month.

Her opening was delayed twice, most recently because of financing. Correll had put off her opening the first time, early last fall, because she had decided to switch locations.

Then, when a contractor’s bid for tenant improvements came in higher than she anticipated, Correll had to find additional capital.

She had already obtained a loan for about $260,000 through a U.S. Small Business Administration guaranteed-loan program. She needed an additional $100,000 from her lender.

“Basically, I had to start all over again in September,” said Correll, 46.

She estimates the cost to open her 2,400-square-foot studio, including construction, franchise fees, equipment costs and other expenses, will be about $425,000.

“It’s a big, risky step out on my own,” Correll said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have second thoughts.”

Help with financing

Delays due to a lack of financing have become more common, franchise executives said.

“We’re seeing people that qualify under our terms for a franchise . . . but they can’t get funded,” said Ron Lynch, president of the Tempe-based Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery franchise.

The franchise has 14 locations nationally, four of which are in the Phoenix area.

To qualify under Tilted Kilt’s requirements, prospective franchisees need to have $400,000 in liquid cash and $1 million in net worth outside of their home.

Financing issues have delayed some store openings by two or three months in some cases, Lynch said.

Some franchisors have stepped in to help applicants obtain financing by being a co-guarantor for loans and lines of credit.

“We have literally done a handful of those, but it is not a big number at all,” said Lee Knowlton, chief operating officer for Scottsdale-based franchising company Kahala Corp. “We have over 3,500 stores across 12 brands. It’s not a company policy right now.”

Kahala’s chains include Cold Stone Creamery, Blimpie, Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill, TacoTime and other quick-service restaurants.

Knowlton said none of Kahala’s individual brands have experienced a major sales drop. But he expected new franchise openings across the company would be down for 2008.

“We’re hearing from franchisees that traffic is down or that customers are looking to trade down,” Knowlton said. “In general, in our categories we’ve done OK. I’m not going to say we’re tremendously up in sales, but we’re not tremendously down either.”

Real-estate woes

One of the biggest challenges for Kahala and other restaurant franchises has been real estate.

In some instances, franchisees who moved into shopping malls and neighborhood strip centers are struggling because major tenants around them closed.

Kahala has had some success with negotiating for cheaper rent on behalf of certain franchisees, Knowlton said.

Some franchisors have started buying back distressed stores from their franchisees.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a Destin, Fla.-based franchise that sells sandwiches, wraps, salads and fruit drinks, reopened two East Valley franchises in the last year.

The operator of a location at 4015 S. Arizona Ave. in Chandler struggled to bring in traffic because of vacancies in the retail center in which the store operated, said Scott Palmateer, a regional franchise consultant for Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

The other location, 1130 W. Grove Road in Mesa, had similar issues, he said.

Palmateer said the company believed the locations were still viable, so it bought out the franchisees and reopened them.

“It’s the very first time that we’ve done anything like that,” Palmateer said. “Our intention is to not own and operate these. We want to . . . find a franchisee that’s interested in buying those and put them in a good situation.”

Bucking the trend

Non-retail franchises and those not as dependent on real estate were still strong.

Home-based business, senior care and technology franchises continue to be in demand, Johnson said..

Two locally headquartered franchises riding that wave are Speedpro Imaging and Synergy HomeCare.

Speedpro, founded in 2004, sells imaging shops that produce vehicle wraps, exhibit-booth signs and other marketing materials.

The Scottsdale-based company’s 31st franchise recently opened. About eight more franchises are under development, said Chief Executive Officer Blair Gran.

While some companies have reduced the franchise fee they charge buyers, Speedpro has increased its fee.

As of Jan. 1, the total turnkey price to open a Speedpro franchise is $179,000, Gran said. The price previously was $159,000.

The company decided to raise the price based on research showing the brand was undervalued, Gran said.

The company has had success attracting franchisees who have left corporate jobs.

“The model has been designed to be driven by an executive-level person,” Gran said. “They’re done with corporate America and they want to build something. They like the scaleability to our model. They like the ability to have no glass ceiling to that growth.”

The chain’s same-store sales increased 12 percent from January through November 2008 over the same time during the prior year, he said.

Peter Tourian, CEO of Gilbert-based Synergy HomeCare, said his company has experienced similar growth. Slashing fees or offering buy-one-get-one-free deals to prospective franchisees is not a strategy the company has considered, he said.

“The system is so strong and our franchisees are doing so well,” said Tourian, who started franchising in 2005. The company’s current franchise fee is $35,000.

The company has 56 franchises in 26 states. The chain provides in-home services for the elderly, including companionship, medication reminders and meal preparation.

“Those kind of things have very long legs,” Johnson said.

“They’re not trendy and they have the potential for good middle management . . . folks that communicate well and know how to solve business problems.”

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Block Island rethinks its Advertising message:  focus on “value”

Winter has barely begun, but Block Islanders are already anxiously looking ahead to next summer, hopeful that the popular tourist spot can avoid becoming a casualty of the deepening financial crisis.

Although most businesses reported only modest declines in revenues for 2008, state officials caution that the $6.8 billion Rhode Island nets in tourism related income will likely decline by 2 to 3 percent over the coming year. In an effort to attract customers during tough times, the Block Island Tourism Council is preparing a series of advertisements that it will begin rolling out at the end of January that emphasize the island’s affordability and value as a vacation destination.

“Our message last year was ‘Block Island Beckons,’” said John Cullen, president of the Block Island Tourism Council and the owner of several island stores. “Well, this year, our message is that Block Island still beckons, but it beckons because it’s easy to get here and there’s great value once you arrive.”

In addition to new advertising slogans, the Tourism Council is encouraging local businesses and the ferry company, Interstate Navigation, to think creatively and to team up to offer vacation packages to potential visitors. It is also stressing the need to book group tours and weddings. Tourism Council officials speculate that each wedding brings about $40,000 to island restaurants, hotels, and local vendors, making them a vital infusion of cash during challenging times.

To this end, the Block Island Chamber of Commerce offered a course on packaging with Michael Sabitoni, chair of Johnson and Wales’ Center for Travel and Tourism Studies, where participants discussed putting together themed packages such as romantic getaways or spa days. Twenty island businesses attended.

On March 16, the Rhode Island Tourism Council will offer business owners throughout the state a day-long seminar to help them strategize about ways to attract customers. It will include courses on updating websites and integrating e-commerce.

The Tourism Council is worried about business overall, but its primary concern is the effect that the downturn will have on retailers, according to Jessica Willi, director of the council.

“People still feel like taking a vacation is a right, but they are going to be more likely to cut out additional expenses,” Willi said. “They won’t be eating at the most expensive restaurants or spending as much on gifts. Everybody knows it won’t be business as usual.”

Consequently, the Tourism Council is encouraging retailers to look for cost saving opportunities and to aggressively promote sales. This can be challenging as store owners continue to be burdened with the high overhead costs associated with the island’s sizeable utility fees. There’s only so much they can cut while still bringing in enough cash to keep them in the black.

Officials and business owners both say that the relative strength of the 2008 season is not a good benchmark for the coming year. They note that while the economy was sputtering, the bottom didn’t fall out until Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, at which point the summer season was drawing to a close. Even before the crisis hit, most business owners said that they had noticed that the tourism market had softened.

“Everybody was affected,” said Deborah Howarth, co-owner of Finn’s restaurant. “The weather was OK for most of the summer, but whenever the forecast was off, less people came over. It just seemed like people were already more worried about getting the most bang for their buck.”

“You had to be business savvy,” said Kimberly Ward, owner of the Beachead. “It was a slow summer. But some of that had to do with the weather. August was better, but then in September the weather was funny and business suffered.”

Yet state officials and council members emphasize that they believe Block Island is well positioned to weather the downturn. They cite its proximity to major cities such as Boston and New York. Most important, some 50 million people live within 500 miles of the island, according to Mark Brodeur, Rhode Island’s director of tourism.

The council still has not made a decision about what media markets it will focus the bulk of its advertising dollars on, but will continue to advertise in newspapers such as The Providence Journal and The New York Times, as well as on the sides of Rhode Island buses. Most advertisement will marry the standard beach and nature shots with copy that stresses “value.”

It’s a message that’s hardly unique to Block Island. Tourist councils and chambers of commerce throughout New England are embracing the budget theme. Vacation destinations such as Martha’s Vineyard, South County, and Nantucket are also tweaking their advertising message from previous years.

“We’re letting people know that you can do Nantucket and not be a millionaire,” said Tracy Bakalar, executive director of the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce. “We’re letting people know that there is a variety of pricing, specials, and sales here — from restaurant weeks to Christmas strolls.”

While it is committed to helping the island retain and attract business, the Block Island Tourism Council is itself feeling the pinch from the faltering economy. Its operating budget is dependent on hotel taxes, but the island began to feel the effects of the constricting markets in the waning days of summer, resulting in fewer guests and less income for the council. Last summer and fall, the council netted $180,000, a 9 percent drop from 2007. To compensate it is trimming the fat in other areas, putting its $10,000 grant program on ice and reducing the number of conferences that staff members can attend. One area it won’t trim is advertising. The Tourism Council is committing $100,000, roughly the same amount of money it spent last year, to its advertising and promotion budget, believing it to be the best way to attract new visitors and keep regulars coming back.

Rita Draper, owner and president of Block Island Resorts, hopes the Tourism Council continues to advertise aggressively. Planning for the summer season is still a few months off, but Draper, who numbers the 1661 Inn, the Hotel Manisses and the Oar among her properties, is already thinking about new ways to attract customers. Though the Oar saw a slight dip in customers last summer, Draper thinks its relative affordability will keep customers coming back. She’s more worried about the restaurant at the Manisses, a place synonymous with fine dining. She hasn’t made any decisions yet, but she believes that she will need to re-jigger her traditional advertisements and menu to appeal to budget conscious visitors.

Deborah Howarth is also toying with ways to trim costs while keeping Finn’s customers satisfied. She may eliminate shifts during the shoulder season and maintain a tighter grip on payroll. But she’s also trying to think of creative methods for enticing diners. For the first time, she’s going to get involved in packaging opportunities through Interstate Navigation and she’s planning to participate in the coupon program offered through the Block Island Chamber of Commerce.

One thing she won’t do is focus on specials.

“We just find that when our customers come in, they come in for Finn’s food,” said Howarth. “They aren’t here for the specials.”

Like Draper and Howarth, most island business owners are embracing the Tourism Council’s ideas, but a few expressed concern about the time and manpower it would take to develop and oversee programs such as packaging.

“I think everyone is susceptible to talking about packaging, the key is coordination,” said Brad Martins, who co-owns of Eli’s restaurant and the Atlantic Inn with his wife Anne. “Everyone has been great about being open to all avenues and ideas. The question is who is going to take care of it.”

Beyond packaging, business owners such as Draper are optimistic that the Tourism Council will do more to promote business practices. In particular, she hopes that they will host hospitality workshops.

“We get them here, but too often we don’t take care of them when they arrive,” said Draper. “More than ever, it’s important that we give them a really memorable experience, so they keep coming back.”

Ann Law, the owner of the Blue Dory and Avonlea inns, agrees that the tourism council has done some positive outreach, but she feels that more needs to be done. Business at both of the inns that Law runs has remained steady. Still, she’s wary of the days ahead. She’s attended the sessions that the tourism council has offered on packaging and found them helpful, but she doesn’t feel that the message is strong enough.

“We need to do a better job of advertising Block Island as the budget island,” said Law. “Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard are further away, more expensive, and what we offer here is even more beautiful.”

Law also thinks that too much emphasis is given to the shoulder season, the spring and fall, and not enough effort is directed at the summer months. She maintains that local hotels and inns should be striving to achieve 100 percent occupancy in the peak season when they can ask top dollar instead of focusing on slower months when they need to offer reduced rates.

“They think the summer will just happen,” said Law. “Well, it won’t. We need to get the message out.”

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Rhode Island Day Spas

Affordable Spa, Rhode Island Day Spas, Rhode Island Spas, Spa

 

The NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, recently released the report The Makeup In-depth Consumer Report that found as a woman ages, there is a critical shift in her makeup useage and buying habits. The key age group where the shift starts is 35-44 years old, when women begin to use color more on their face and lips, and less color on their eyes. By the time a woman is 35 years old, she has flipped her preferences from lip gloss to lipstick and from foundation to blush.

Concerns about aging play a key tole because as women approach 40, there is more attention placed on anti-aging. In the eye category, women start using less eye shadow and eye liner when they hit 45 . This may be attributable to concerns about eye wrinkling. Mascara useage remains high no matter the age; nearly nine in 10 women 18-54 use mascara.

“Consumers are increasingly independent in their product and brand choices. Less than one out of five makeup users say that they usually buy all from the same brand. But, if they believe a brand or product works for them, almost 60% say they will stick with that brand or product. That tells us that the consumer is not as fickle as we sometimes think. They will buy and even come back, but we have to earn the right to their dollar,” says Karen Grant, vice president and global beauty industry analyst.

By 35, women have a more involved daily regimen, and younger women wear fewer makeup products daily. “Additionally there is an opportunity to convert a significant number of women into heavier makeup useage. This speaks to the need to educate, excite and engage consumers into this category. During tough economic times, consumers want affordable items, but they still want and need things that make them feel good. On both fronts, makeup works. As the most economically priced beauty category, makeup is the arena women can come to play and invest in themselves for little more than the price of a good lunch,” says Grant.

Affordable Spa, Cosmecueticals, Cosmetology

CFCC’s student spa offers low-price pampering

Want to go? Cape Fear Community College student spa
Where: Cosmetology Building, 901 N. Third St.
When: Open Dec. 1-4, closed for the Christmas holidays, then re-opening Jan. 12 through the end of April.
Hours: Monday and Wednesday, appointments available at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, appointments available at 5, 6 and 7 p.m.
More info: To schedule an appointment, call Susan Vinters at 471-8508.

The Wilmington resident has been a devoted client of the CFCC student spa for two years. The services are comparable and the prices much lower than they would be in a professional spa, Jones said, and she welcomes the chance to help students get ready for the real world.

“It’s nice to think that you’re helping someone prepare for a career,” Jones said. “That’s why I enjoy it so much – hopefully me providing myself to work on will help them in the long run.”

The student spa offers steeply discounted services, from basic facials and leg-waxing to microdermabrasion, that help train aesthetics students in the techniques they need to graduate. CFCC and Miller-Motte Technical College are two area schools that offer lower prices to those who help provide students with real life spa experience.

With 600 class hours required for licensure, students start off by working on themselves and each other, then graduate to outside clientele near October, according to instructor Susan Vinters.

“I’m in the spa as the students are with the clients, so they know that I’m there if they need me,” Vinters said.

To complete the program, students must perform 40 makeup applications, 50 hair removals and 60 facials, Vinters said. The two-semester program starts with more traditionally structured classes on things like skin structure and physiology. Students slowly start to apply what they learn in class on each other. Then they work at the spa after 60 hours of classtime.

Despite that 60-plus hours of training, student Sunni Feil said she got the jitters before working on her first outside client.

“At first it was nerve-racking, but every client’s a little different,” Feil said.

Feil now confidently administers facials and other services a few times each week. She sees the low prices as a chance for community members to pamper themselves despite a rough economy.

“I don’t think a lot of people know that we’re here, and when you compare the price at the school and then going to the spa, it’s tremendously different,” Feil said. “Especially with the economy how it is right now … I think people will be pleasantly surprised.”

Vinters said the student spa sees steady traffic throughout the semester.

As one of the spa’s steadiest clients, Jones said that she has seen a “huge” improvement in her skin since she began, and looks forward to her weekly appointments.

“They’re very relaxed, and so it gives you a very relaxed feeling,” Jones said. “I always tell people, when you go into a professional setting, you have fewer people around to help you with a problem, so you might spend lots of money at a professional place and still not get what you want.”

Services & Skin care

• Microcurrent Facial: $50
• Microdermabrasion: $50
• Spa 108 Signature Relaxation Facial: $20
• Paraffin Facial: $20
• Back Facial: $20
• Chemical Peels: $10
• Hair removal
• Brows: $6
• Face: $6
• Back: $20
• Half legs: $10
• Whole legs: $20
• Cosmetics
• Lash and brow tint: $8 each area
• Makeup consultation and application: $6

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