One of the most important questions plaguing the health spa industry today is the debate over whether the recession will affect business. The recession has infiltrated nearly every industry and while the economy has slowly received its footing and is continuing an uphill battle, the question remains as to whether people will be more cautious with their extravagant spending habits, including spa purchases. As was indicated only days after the bailout, many executives at AIG still believed that an expensive spa trip was in order even while their business was floundering, indicating that many who are used to this lifestyle will continue to be avid customers of such industries.

Many health spas have seen declining customer numbers solely do to the fact that it has become a major faux pas to spend such amounts of money on a luxury purchase when the economy is teetering over the edge. While many people around the country still have extra money to spend, they recognize the state the economy is in and have chose to become more conservative in their spending. While this seemed like a good idea at the time, it is important to remember that putting more money into the economy is what will revitalize it. However, according to many studies, Americans are suffering from “luxury shame” and therefore have become much more conscious about their spending, even becoming thrifty in their luxury purchases.

The spa industry, as a result, has begun to stress the “holistic” attributes of spa treatments, hoping to reach out to this new era of eco-friendly clients who look for alternate medicinal routes. By demonstrating these qualities of spa treatment, many spas will generate a larger client base who are into this type of “Shamanic journey” that promotes a deeper wellness. By stressing the importance of these types of excursions, the spa industry has continued to attract a very specific client base without suffering too badly. However, while the industry itself is slowly losing clients do to this luxury shame, they still offer an experience that is incomparable in terms of glamour.

The guilt that many clients now feel in spending exorbitant amounts of money to simply relax is one aspect that has caused a dip in spa revenue, but with the economy slowly edging back, many spa owners are optimistic of what the future could bring to their business. Hopefully this guilt will subside and clients will once again feel a sense of tranquility when entering many health spas, but at the moment, this sense of harmony with nature has not resulted in relaxed customers, but rather has caused a higher amount of stress due to this high cost of relaxation in a downward economy.

This post was contributed by Caitlin Smith, who writes about the online nursing schools.