Hotel spa pre-opening

To open a hotel spa, I step in once construction is under way and stay through the first days of operation.

Opening a hotel spa means building a complete operation behind spaces that are still under construction. You need an offer, a team, procedures, software, suppliers and a schedule that holds when the building works slip.

I lead this preparation alongside the person in charge of the project. I always start with a site visit, then review the plans and available documents. I set the priorities and the schedule with you, then move each workstream forward up to the test days. I stay on site through opening and the first days, and I set up a dashboard to track the activity afterwards.

What spa pre-opening covers

Pre-opening covers everything that has to be decided, written, recruited and tested before the first guest arrives. I bring the spa concept, treatment menu, operating model, procedures and recruitment into a single schedule.

Each decision depends on another. The menu depends on the treatment rooms and the team’s skills. Schedules depend on demand scenarios. Purchasing depends on the menu, the partner brands and those same scenarios. I keep these links in view so that no choice is made in isolation.

An opening schedule that allows for construction

After the visit, I build the opening schedule backwards from the planned opening date. It brings together the decisions to make, the recruitment, the orders, the software set-up, the procedures to write and the training provided by the brands.

This schedule is the basis for follow-up meetings with management. When construction or the schedule falls behind, I remain available and revisit the priorities so the preparation keeps moving. At the Villars Palace, four months remained before opening when I arrived. At Jeanne & Jules, construction delayed the spa opening by one month and I kept the preparation moving until it was ready to operate.

Test days and opening

Before welcoming the public, the team rehearses the real guest journey during test days. Booking, welcome, treatment, payment, passing information to the hotel front desk. These rehearsals bring out the gaps and unclear points while there is still time to fix them.

I am on site for these tests, for the opening and for the first days of operation. I watch how things run, adjust procedures with the team and settle open questions with the other hotel departments.

After opening, tracking the activity

After launch, I set up a dashboard to monitor performance, understand gaps against forecasts and decide which adjustments are needed.

The rest of the work can continue on site or remotely as needed. I give the team the knowledge and structure to understand the project, become autonomous and keep developing it after I leave.

Frequently asked questions

When should a hotel bring in a consultant to open its spa?

I step in once construction is under way. The spaces are defined by then, and the offer, the team and the procedures still have to be built. If the schedule is already tight, I focus energy on what needs to work at opening.

Do you write the spa business plan?

I review the business plan when one exists, together with the plans and other available documents, without producing it. The demand scenarios I build provide the operating assumptions for financial forecasts, frame the opening budget and organise purchasing.

Are you on site during the opening?

Yes. I visit the property at the start of the project, then return for the test days, the opening and the first days of operation. Documentation and follow-up meetings can progress remotely between these stages.

What happens if construction falls behind?

I remain available and revisit the priorities so the preparation keeps moving. At Antarès Méribel, the permanent spa was not ready when the hotel opened. A temporary spa was set up to maintain treatments. I built its guest journey and prepared the three treatment rooms while the permanent operation was being prepared.