Help! What should we expect for the busy season? - tanTALK

VOILA TANS · 01-15-2004, 05:32 PM

We are a brand new salon that opened in Dec. Although we are getting great response from the people coming in, we are not consistent. One day it's 20 tanners, other days it's 2! We have room for 11 beds but only have 4. (We are also in a brand new shopping center & new houses are being built all around us.) We have great beds with our longest tan time of 15 min so we can get people in and out quick. What should we really expect for the busy season? How long is it okay for customers to wait to tan? Should we invest in another bed now or wait? How many people do we need to staff the salon?

sunlounge · 01-15-2004, 05:46 PM

It's really hard to say since we don't know any demographics of your area (population, how many tanning salons within a 5/10 mile radius, etc.). Generally, our traffic increases by about 65% in busy season compared to off season traffic. Our seven bed salon generates about 135-150 visitors a day, in season. Have you done any advertising yet, if not, when do you expect to advertise?

sunlounge · 01-15-2004, 05:56 PM

I meant to answer some of the other questions, but I got click happy first. If your location has the population to support more beds, BUY THEM NOW! Waiting to tan during the season is just going to be part of it, unless you have a mega salon who can handle the traffic, however, buying more beds now will obviously help you with the wait time. With a 4 bed salon, I'm guessing you will only need 1, maybe 2 employees during season.

Rich · 01-15-2004, 06:09 PM

Here is the absolute answer to you question. Your salon will gross $37,423 for the year. That is my answer and I am sticking to it.

acapulco · 01-15-2004, 06:17 PM

I think that may be a pretty good guess Rich.

sunlounge · 01-15-2004, 06:30 PM

I thought the expected revenue per bed for a year was around the $15k mark...your math is basing it on $9355 per bed. Am I in left field with my $15k per bed?

Rich · 01-15-2004, 06:32 PM

So much of that depends on the types of beds, the area of the country, the type of salon, how much lotion business there is. I bet i am not off by much on my guess.

VOILA TANS · 01-15-2004, 07:14 PM

We have ads hitting next week to over 30,000 homes in our immediate area. They are aggressive offering a free tan and 25% off their first packages. We have 100,000 people in our area with 4 salons including us. Probably only 2 are real competitors. We are a high end salon in one of fastest growing counties in the country with average income of 75,000 per household. Our base grade unlimited bed is $69 per mos. and we don't have any problems with pricing.

Rich · 01-16-2004, 02:29 PM

I still say $37,423.

suntanztanning · 01-16-2004, 04:39 PM

Rich, Please explain how you arrive at that figure?

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01-15-2004, 05:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
VOILA TANS Join Date: Jan 15 2004 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	We are a brand new salon that opened in Dec. Although we are getting great response from the people coming in, we are not consistent. One day it's 20 tanners, other days it's 2! We have room for 11 beds but only have 4. (We are also in a brand new shopping center & new houses are being built all around us.) We have great beds with our longest tan time of 15 min so we can get people in and out quick. What should we really expect for the busy season? How long is it okay for customers to wait to tan? Should we invest in another bed now or wait? How many people do we need to staff the salon?

01-15-2004, 05:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
sunlounge Join Date: Apr 28 2003 Posts: 144 Rep Power: 21	It's really hard to say since we don't know any demographics of your area (population, how many tanning salons within a 5/10 mile radius, etc.). Generally, our traffic increases by about 65% in busy season compared to off season traffic. Our seven bed salon generates about 135-150 visitors a day, in season. Have you done any advertising yet, if not, when do you expect to advertise?

01-15-2004, 05:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
sunlounge Join Date: Apr 28 2003 Posts: 144 Rep Power: 21	I meant to answer some of the other questions, but I got click happy first. If your location has the population to support more beds, BUY THEM NOW! Waiting to tan during the season is just going to be part of it, unless you have a mega salon who can handle the traffic, however, buying more beds now will obviously help you with the wait time. With a 4 bed salon, I'm guessing you will only need 1, maybe 2 employees during season.

01-15-2004, 06:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
Rich Join Date: Jan 27 2000 Location: Topeka Kansas Age: 68 Posts: 564 Rep Power: 25	Here is the absolute answer to you question. Your salon will gross $37,423 for the year. That is my answer and I am sticking to it.

01-15-2004, 06:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
acapulco Waiting Confirmation Join Date: Jul 4 2003 Posts: 39 Rep Power: 0	I think that may be a pretty good guess Rich.

01-15-2004, 06:30 PM	#6 (permalink)
sunlounge Join Date: Apr 28 2003 Posts: 144 Rep Power: 21	I thought the expected revenue per bed for a year was around the $15k mark...your math is basing it on $9355 per bed. Am I in left field with my $15k per bed?

01-15-2004, 06:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
Rich Join Date: Jan 27 2000 Location: Topeka Kansas Age: 68 Posts: 564 Rep Power: 25	So much of that depends on the types of beds, the area of the country, the type of salon, how much lotion business there is. I bet i am not off by much on my guess.

01-15-2004, 07:14 PM	#8 (permalink)
VOILA TANS Join Date: Jan 15 2004 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	We have ads hitting next week to over 30,000 homes in our immediate area. They are aggressive offering a free tan and 25% off their first packages. We have 100,000 people in our area with 4 salons including us. Probably only 2 are real competitors. We are a high end salon in one of fastest growing counties in the country with average income of 75,000 per household. Our base grade unlimited bed is $69 per mos. and we don't have any problems with pricing.

01-16-2004, 02:29 PM	#9 (permalink)
Rich Join Date: Jan 27 2000 Location: Topeka Kansas Age: 68 Posts: 564 Rep Power: 25	I still say $37,423.

01-16-2004, 04:39 PM	#10 (permalink)
suntanztanning Join Date: Jun 8 2003 Posts: 180 Rep Power: 21	Rich, Please explain how you arrive at that figure?

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