How to choose a day spa during the Covid era

Recently I have been asked by several friends about what they should look for if they want to go to a spa on Vacation this year. Let’s face it – we are travel STARVED – myself included. And you bet your bottom dollar, I’m not only going on a vacay somewhere where things open up,  but I’m also booking myself in for a whole lot of self care loving at a day spa.

Disclaimer – I am not a Covid expert. And you may think that the government gave us exact instructions on how to operate back in May 2020 when we all reopened, but trust me, it was a loose guideline, with very solid sanitization advice, but honestly – any good spa was doing most of this anyways!  We were told it was safe to return to work, but we were also told to stay 6 feet apart from people.  You can imagine, this left the wellness industry stumped.

So you know what we did? We joined forces with other colleagues across the globe, hairdressers, massage therapists, we called every nurse or doctor we knew to pick their brains on what they are doing in the hospital, and we simply made up our absolute best set of protocols we knew how to keep us all safe.

So here is the advice I gave to my friends when they asked me how to choose a spa during Covid:

1. Does the website have a page dedicated to the procedures they are following so you can read about their protocols and feel a little at ease?

2. When you call to book your appt, are you either verbally, or in an online intake assessment, screened about your current health, your travel / and or activities that may be considered high risk such as travelling, air travel, hospitalization visits?

3. Do they also tell you on their Covid FAQ page that their employees also adhere to the same screening protocols they ask from you for your safety?

4. Do they tell you that you need to wear a mask into your appointment? And that unless you are doing a facial, you will need to wear your mask the whole treatment? ????

5. Do they get you to fill out a signed form declaring that you understand what Covid is, how it spreads, and that you confirm you feel healthy, and you have not been in contact with anyone who has Covid?

6. Do they have policies / limits on how many people they let into reception at one time – i.e., are they following the max capacity rules?

7. Will your facialist be wearing a mask and shield during your facial service? (yes you can 100% ask this!)

And most of all, do they make you feel welcome to ask as many questions as you need in order to feel safe to book your appointment? Because while we are all “over it” right now, you have every right to be made to feel justified to ask as much as you need to feel safe choosing a personal service right now.

What are the things you can do to help this business:

Please be patient with the intake forms on Covid – yes we need them.

Arrive 15 mins early to do all your paperwork – when you are late for your spa appt, or don’t show up 15 min early to do paperwork, use the toilet etc – this only takes time from your treatment. We need to stay on time – so if you arrive early, this ensures you get every minute you pay for. ????

If you feel you had a great service, and felt safe – please leave them a google or trip advisor review telling others how it was.  This goes for any business really – particularly in the tourist industry. Please share the experience with the service, but also how good the safety measures were – this is what tourists are looking for when trying to decide where to spend their tourist dollars this summer.

Thank you !