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By Heather Mikesell
Located in the heart of downtown San Diego, Spa Tiki
provides a taste of the islands with its tropical-themed
treatments and decor. The brainchild of co-owner Katherine
Stuart, the spa features a blend of authentic healing
therapies and rituals of ancient island cultures. Situated
in the Harbor Club, a high-end condominium complex
with approximately 400 residents, the spa is ideally
located across from the city's convention center. With
no prior spa experience, Stuart, owner of an event-planning
company, decided to open Spa Tiki after being approached
repeatedly by various meeting planners asking why there
wasn't a spa in the area. "I finally decided that if
no one else was going to do it, I'd build one," says
Stuart.
 Working with her partner and business
consultant Jerry Dressel, Stuart began doing the research. "I
was smart enough to know that I didn't know enough," she
says. "I've always had a strong business sense. [Jerry's]
strength is in finance, and mine is in marketing." For
everything else, they relied on Collier & Collier Spas,
a spa consulting, planning, design, and development
firm based in Whitefish, MT. Spa Tiki is the company's
first full-fledged day spa project. Collier & Collier
Spas is best known for its work on resort spa projects.
Taking care of the menu and staffing, the firm gave
Stuart and Dressel the guidance they needed to find
and hire a spa director and assistant spa director,
who then pooled their resources and began recruiting
additional staff. The spa now employs 24 full-time
staff members and several independent contractors on
an as-needed basis.
Because of its close proximity
to the convention center, the spa draws a great deal
of group business. According to Stuart, January through
March is high season for conventions. In the summer
when groups taper off, the spa increases its local
business. Even in the midst of convention season, Spa
Tiki is able to balance its out-of-town visitors and
local clientele. "The beauty of convention business
is that clients check in on Sunday and check out on
Wednesday," says Stuart. "The traditional pattern of
business takes place Monday through Wednesday, leaving
us wide open on weekends." This provides local residents
access to the spa when they most want it. The spa also
offers locals a membership program called Club Tiki.
The $300 annual membership includes 20 percent off
all services Monday through Wednesday, 15 percent off
all retail purchases, a complimentary one-hour service
on the member's birthday, free use of the Hula Hut
meeting room twice a year, sneak previews of new products,
unlimited access to the steam room, exclusive invitations
to quarterly special events, and complimentary consultations
with lead staff members about makeup, esthetics, massage
therapy, hair design, and medically directed skincare.
 To appeal to local residents, the spa
features the Spa Tiki Skin Care Clinic, which offers
medically directed skincare treatments and products
under the supervision of M.K. Batra, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Botox, collagen, and laser services are just some of
the medical-oriented services available. The spa also
offers a host of island-inspired treatments, such as
the Mai Tai Body Facial ($85, 45 minutes), including
a Pineapple Papaya Scrub; the Tahitian Monoi Bath Ritual
($45, 25 minutes), utilizing a scented oil used by
Polynesian women to protect their skin and condition
their hair; and the Tiki-Lada Hydrating Coconut Wrap
($55, 25 minutes; $105, 50 minutes), which features
a coconut oil scalp and foot massage.
 With product
sales playing a key role in the success of the spa,
75 percent of the first floor is devoted to retail
space. "We have a wide variety of retail items," says
Stuart. "Our market is really different in that it
appeals to the very young or young at heart." Looking
to maximize marketing opportunities, Stuart plans to
expand the spa's retail area out into the adjacent
courtyard when PETCO Park, a baseball stadium, is opened
down the street-Spa Tiki is on a major thoroughfare
to the stadium. According to Stuart, keeping up with
the growth of the spa is one of her greatest challenges,
along with fine-tuning operational issues and integrating
event-planning activities. In the end, the spa delivers
on the promise made by its motto: "Where everyday ends
and vacation begins."
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