The neighborhood SPA

It was a gamble for the partners behind Lifestyle Spa for Men and Women when they opened for business two years ago. "We knew very little about the spa business, except that we liked trying out the best ones in town for a little pampering," said Sara Jane Paez-Santiago of her partners, sister Gina de Villa and Cherry Asuncion, who put up P1.5 million for the business.

From the start, the partners positioned their business at mid-market.

Lifestyle Spa is located in a converted three-storey building in the middle-class neighborhood in Diliman, Quezon City, accessible even by tricycle. Although customers are met with a whiff of peppermint at the doorstep, prices range from P250 to P1,000 for services that range from the hair care and facials found in all beauty salons to Turkish bath and sauna.

"We expected to be a hit but we were surprised that we would be accepted so fast. The magic of mass appeal worked," said Paez-Santiago. The spa has been self-sustaining since its second month of operation.

Pampering

Lifestyle Spa has been able to keep its costs down, in large part because one of the partners is a flight attendant in an international airline. During her layovers from her flights abroad, she is able to buy most of spa’s supplies and equipment.

Aside from the lower prices, customers are lured by the spa’s homey ambiance.

Customers don’t feel they need to dress up.

"Our staff is friendly without being intrusive," said Paez-Santiago.

The staff, which has grown from five to 16, are all trained physical therapists, with the more senior ones coming other established spas and slimming salons.

"We’d like to think that we are able to bring in customers not because we’re cheap but because we’re good."

In the last few months, the partners have received feelers from would-be franchisees as far off as Paranaque.

"We’re not yet prepared to go into franchising. That’s something we are looking at eventually but we’re studying first to make sure we don’t go into it blindly. For now, we’re just accepting consultancies for those who want to start a similar business," she said.

The partners are, however, assessing serious offers to put up similar facilities in Congressional Ave. in Quezon City, San Juan and Mandaluyong.