Keep stress under control

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, Contributor, Jakarta

Five or six fatigued-looking men and women are lying stretched out on reclining care chairs equipped with specially designed oxygen appliances, letting skilled masseurs massage their feet in a tranquil and calm atmosphere.

After being massaged for one-and-a-half hours or so, they leave the room with clear heads and newly toned physiques. This is an everyday sight in one of the top spas in town.

The public's growing need to rejuvenate their bodies and souls, as well as to release their stress, mainly due to the hectic environment and fast pace of life in the capital city of Jakarta, provides opportunities for the spa business to flourish.

As in Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei and other frenetic cities in Asian, Jakarta offers more than a fair share of options for those wishing to reinvigorate their bodies and clear their minds through message-based treatments. Many of the city's five star hotels provide establishments with retreat-style atmospheres.

"More and more people from overseas check whether the hotel has spa facilities and treatments before making their reservations. And with the stressful and very competitive lifestyle in Jakarta, a lot of professionals need a place to escape and relax without the need to go out of town," said Le Spa Le Meridien's club manager Nuning Ariyani.

Offering physical and mental rejuvenation, spas have won the hearts of Indonesians and foreigners alike, and started booming in early 1997 with Bali in the vanguard. Unlike resort spas with treatment rooms and bathrooms outside a building or close to nature, commonly found in Bali, day spas or urban spas with treatment rooms inside a building need not be overly spacious.

Day spa services on offer in high star hotels are usually part of the hotel package, with customers mostly being hotel occupants and office people, while spa outlets outside hotels have a more varied clientele. Spa services vary, depending on what care and treatment customers wish to take, but mostly the services available range from the simplest care like hand and nail care known as manicure, and the care of the feet and toenails, or pedicure, to the most complicated and time-consuming treatments, like contouring, skin fastening or full body treatment.

Most often, people arrive with frazzled minds and nerve-tensed bodies. Invariably they look better and more relaxed after savoring the spa experience.

Klub Borobudur, Zen Living, Lifespa and Fitness Center, Quantum Athletic Club, LeSpa Le Meridien and Javana Spa, to name a few, are spa service providers that have gained ground in the city thanks to their ability to exploit market potential.

Each has its own care and treatment concept, characteristics and style, but they all boast perfect service and high quality products. The development of spas, an alternative to maintaining health and beauty by using water, continues with operators of the thriving business making relentless innovations to cater to the needs of customers.

"We want to create a getaway in the city to help people get in touch with their bodies and souls in a practical way," Zen Living's founder and CEO Indira Bratanata said.

Klub Borobudur, besides offering good service, is also known for its expertise in building up strong relationships with its members.

"Besides getting good service and good facilities, members will always find a friendly face waiting to assist them," Klub Borobudur manager Kerensa Langitan said.

One of the oldest such establishments in town, LifeSpa and Fitness Center at the Garden Tower of the Jakarta Hilton International has 3,175 members and an average of between 45 and 65 customers per day.

"They (customers) need to get more relaxed, body and skin treatment, as well as treatments for stress release and muscle tension," said Handayani, LifeSpa marketing manager.

Before the crisis, expatriates accounted for over 60 percent of regular customers but since the crisis the local customers have increased to 65 percent thanks to a change in the people's perceptions about spending money. "Unlike in the past when people spent money mainly for prestige reasons, now they spend money because they want to get something of benefit in return for the money they have spent," Handayani explained.

The mushrooming number of spas in the city has created tough competition in the spa business. "To anticipate the tough competition, we try our best to provide and keep up the quality of our services and to improve the design and layout of treatment rooms, as well as keeping rooms and facilities clean and hygienic," she said.

Indira of Zen Living, however, does not see the increasing number of spas in the capital as creating tight competition, saying that customers have their own tastes and options. "Customers will be back to our spa because they know that what we offer is different from other spas," she said.

Another establishment with sporty facilities is Quantum Athletic Club, located on the seventh floor of the Menara Imperium building in South Jakarta. The club offers a range of gyms with modern Nautilus equipment, a beautiful indoor pool, squash courts, aerobics sessions, massage and beauty treatments, a spa, a weight room, and sauna and steam rooms.

With a membership of around 850, the Quantum Athletic Club started providing spa services last year due to the growing demand for such services from its members.

"Massages, and facial and body scrubs, are favorites for our customers," said Brigitta Lisa, marketing and communications manager, adding that frequent visitors included Quantum members and guests, tenants of the Menara Imperium and nearby buildings, and were mostly women aged between 20 and 40 from the middle to upper income brackets.

To lure new customers as well as to maintain the loyalty of established customers, Quantum Athletic Club offers a range of special discounts and packages.

Brigitta added that efforts were underway to focus on the club's direction and concept, provide the best service and competitive prices, and keep up-to-date with outside developments so as to be able to survive the tight competition.

"Within two or three years, I am confident that between 200 and 300 new members will join the Quantum Athletic Club," she said.

Rates charged by spa providers range from Rp 75,000 to Rp 300,000 for an hour's treatment, depending on the sort of treatment the customer chooses.