IMAGINE stepping into bright monochromatic rooms that invite you in, embracing you with vibrant hues. Walls, ceilings, floors and furniture finished with single shades of fuchsia, orange, yellow, blue and purple. The colors seemingly lull yet energize you while bringing an overall feeling of well-being… That’s the vibe emanating from Midtown New York’s YeloSpa. With its in your face yet soothing minimalistic and modern décor, YeloSpa welcomes its guests into a world of happy, vivacious yet appeasing colors, living up to its simple motto: Alive. Beautiful.
The brainchild of entrepreneur Nicolas Ronco, YeloSpa—which has franchises in Brazil and Puerto Rico—opened its doors in 2007 with a distinct concept: simplifying spa goers’ lives.
It started with getting rid of the typical “complex” spa menu and offering instead clear-cut categories, massage, skin care (facials), naps, signature body treatments and waxing. So when a massage seeking client gets ahold of the menu, they don’t get a full list of different types to pick from—instead they get to book just that, a massage.
Among his ideas, Ronco says, was to go after those people who are “spa-prejudiced,” people who find spas too pricey, who doubt the efficacy of treatments or believe they are just a woman’s thing. If the décor addresses the gender issue—Ronco says he came up with it in a dream where he envisioned a space that embodied the freedom and peace of childhood—the straightforward price per minute implemented for massages ($2.40 per minute), facials ($2.50 per minute) and naps ($1 per minute) answers the remaining matters.
It also brought a rather interesting feature for a day spa: napping. Ronco, an expert “napper,” grew up in Tunisia in the 70s, where the practice of a midday snooze was not only condoned and encouraged, but a near necessity. “We didn’t have air conditioning and because it was impossible to focus during the hottest part of the day, people would take a nap during lunch and we would do the same coming back from school,” says Ronco. “It was something that was integrated in our lifestyles.” Ronco, who spent more than 10 years as an executive in the music industry, brought the habit with him. And as he began to conceptualize YeloSpa, he wanted to offer his clients a chance to have a power nap in the middle of a workday in a safe environment.
His naps and other treatments are available in increments of 10 minutes, starting at 20 minutes for massages and 30 minutes for customized facials—topping out at 90 minutes for both. Naps start off at 20 minutes and go up in increments of 5 minutes, with a 40-minute max. “Spas can be quite inflexible—people might book a Balinese ritual a week in advance but when it gets to the day they realize they actually need a deep tissue massage because they have been running and have muscle ache, but it’s too late to change,” says Ronco.
“At YeloSpa all massage therapists are trained in all disciplines.” As such, Ronco explains, when a client gets in for their scheduled massage, they get a chance to discuss the issues they wish to address with the therapist, who will then recommend the best massage (top choices are Swedish, reflexology, deep tissue, sports and prenatal).
Once their choice of treatment(s) and time is set, clients can pick from a selection of add-ons to enrich their experience. Skin care add-ons include hand, neck, scalp or shoulder massage (15 minutes, $37.50); additional extractions (10 minutes, $25); or LED Light Therapy (20 minutes, $40), among others. Massage add-ons feature the Garshana Dry Body Brushing to exfoliate the outer layers of skin (15 minutes, $36); the Limoncello Foot Scrub, an uplifting scrub with a happy lemon scent (15 minutes, $36); the Marshmallow Hot Chocolate Foot Scrub, a soothing antioxidant treat (15 minutes, $36); or the Tech Buster Hand & Forearm Massage to release the tension accumulated in overworked fingers (15 minutes, $36).
Clients looking for body treatments can choose from a variety of scrubs, such as the Body Scrub that incorporates exfoliating bamboo, fruit enzymes, multi-fruit acids and body buffing techniques to refine texture and brighten skin (60/80 minutes, $150/$200); and wraps to detoxify, revitalize and nourish the body (each wrap treatment is scheduled for 90 minutes at $200).
In addition to his clear-cut menu, Ronco opted to implement memberships. Launched in April, the three membership options (nap, facial/massage or wax) offer clients a monthly service as well as discounts on retail and massages. Members sign up month to month with no minimum contract and can leave whenever they please. “We decided to install a system a bit different,” says Ronco, “[…] you can leave for any reason, whenever you like. You can rollover whatever you want, and for example if you go on vacation for a month you can lend your treatments to a friend or family members.” In order to prevent clients from abusing the easy-going membership policy, once a cancellation is made, clients can only renew after six months. So far the spa counts more than 100 members each month, and Ronco estimates there will be about 500 by year’s end.
Training and evaluations are taken care of by the leads of each of the three categories of employees, hosts, massage therapists and estheticians. Staff is assessed monthly based on client retention, retail sales and clients’ feedback. With the monthly evaluation, Ronco bypasses the trouble of doing year-end employee performance reviews. When Ronco goes into hiring mode, he doesn’t just stop at interviews, he’ll get “down and dirty.” In order to get just the right massage therapists, he’ll have them demonstrate their skills. “I’ll have a half hour massage,” he says. “If I can relax in my own spa, then it’s a good sign.”
His marketing technique rests on several elements. In order to get current clients interested in the memberships, Ronco blasts emails, relies on in-store signage and is signed up with Travelzoo—a website that publishes deals on travel, entertainment, local businesses, restaurants and spas. The most powerful marketing tool, he says, is “recommendations from therapists themselves.” New clients also find their way to YeloSpa thanks to media spotlights. Then Ronco will host special events—which he dubs “mini-seminars” on power naps, sleep and health foods—for his loyal clients, where he’ll address ways for them to have a better lifestyle outside of YeloSpa.
It’s all about slowing down and enjoying some customized pampering at this Big Apple spot that keeps clients Alive and Beautiful.
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