A hotel without a spa has four realistic options: treatments in guest rooms, one converted treatment room, a partnership with a nearby spa, or a full spa with wet areas. In-room treatments need no construction and can start within weeks; a full spa is a multi-year capital project that only pays back when occupancy, rate and guest profile can fill it. For most city hotels the sensible order is to prove demand with in-room treatments, then let the numbers decide whether a room or a spa is justified.
Why does a hotel without a spa still need an answer?
Because guests ask, and the revenue is measurable. In CBRE's sample of 297 US hotels with a spa, spa revenue averaged 3.4% of total revenue and $6,061 per available room in 2024, with massages roughly 60–75% of treatment numbers and revenue (CBRE, August 2025). RLA Global's mid-year 2025 report, using HotStats data from more than 11,000 hotels, found UK hotel spa revenue up 4.8% in the first half of 2025 year on year (Spa Business, November 2025).
What are the four options, and what does each need?
1. In-room treatments
A therapist brings a portable table, linen and products to the guest's room. The hotel needs a lockable store, a booking channel, a safety procedure and room charging; no construction, no plant, and therapists rostered only when booked. COCON runs this model for hotels in Amsterdam and London: see in-room spa treatments for hotels.
2. A single treatment room
One bedroom or back-of-house room is converted. In a 2012 Spa Business round-table, consultant Simon Shepherdson put an adequate city-hotel treatment room at 14–16 m² and city-hotel capture at 5–8% of guests, and Mandarin Oriental's Andrew Gibson offered one treatment room per 15–20 guestrooms as "a very loose rule of thumb" (Spa Business, 2012, via Attractions Management). The figures are old; treat them as a starting point. The room needs a basin, ventilation, sound insulation and storage, and must carry its fixed overheads alone.
3. Partnering with a nearby spa
The hotel sells a nearby spa's treatments for a commission. Nothing to build, but the experience happens off-site under someone else's brand: an answer for the concierge, not a wellness proposition.
4. A full spa with wet areas
Pools, saunas, steam, changing rooms, relaxation space and several treatment rooms. Published UK projects show the range: Ffolkes in Norfolk spent just under £4 million on a four-room spa for a 22-key hotel (Spa Business, September 2025); Ardencote Hotel refurbished a 500 m², eight-room spa for £1.5 million (Spa Business, September 2022); South Lodge announced a 4,087 m², fourteen-room spa built for £14 million (Health Club Management, May 2018). Treat these as examples, not a rate. The same 2012 article noted that overbuilt spas had "struggled to break even on operating costs".
How do the four options compare?
| In-room treatments | Single treatment room | Partner spa | Full spa build | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Space | Storage cupboard | 14–16 m² room | None | Hundreds of m² plus plant |
| Capital | Tables, linen, products | One-room fit-out | None | £ millions (examples above) |
| Time to launch | Weeks | Months | Weeks | Years |
| Staffing | Flexible, booked to demand | Part- to full-time | None | Full team, seven days |
| London licensing | Ask the borough (see below) | Special treatment licence | Partner's licence | Special treatment licence incl. wet areas |
| Guest experience | Private, convenient, no facilities | Dedicated calm space | Off-site | Full wellness proposition |
| Revenue | Treatments | Treatments and retail | Commission | Treatments, day spa, memberships, retail |
| Main risk | Standards out of sight | Low utilisation of a fixed room | Weak brand link | Capex demand cannot repay |
What licences and standards apply in London and Amsterdam?
General information as at November 2026, not legal or tax advice: check with the borough or municipality and your own advisers.
London. Under Part II of the London Local Authorities Act 1991, as adopted by London boroughs, premises used for massage, sauna, steam or similar treatments are an "establishment for special treatment" and need a borough licence unless an exemption applies, such as treatment by or under a GMC-registered doctor, or by a member of an approved practitioners' body (legislation.gov.uk). The licence is tied to the premises, lasts one year and can be refused where lighting, sanitation, ventilation or fire precautions are inadequate; the holder must keep records on site showing every therapist is suitably qualified (Wandsworth Council). Expect a 1:100 plan, a 28-day notice on the premises, an inspection, and electrical and fire certificates (Islington guidance); the City of London handles its own applications.
Where do in-room treatments sit? Richmond and Wandsworth, for example, need no licence for treatment given only in the client's own home (Richmond Council). A hotel bedroom is not obviously a home, so ask your borough in writing before you launch, and keep the answer.
Amsterdam. The title of masseur is not protected: KVK says anyone in the Netherlands may use it without training, though an NGS licence shows professional knowledge (KVK). The live issue is employment status. The Belastingdienst resumed enforcement against disguised self-employment on 1 January 2025; it can raise back-tax assessments for periods from that date, since 1 January 2026 it can again fine intent or gross negligence, and the softer approach is due to end fully in 2027 (Grant Thornton Netherlands, January 2026). The UK separates tax status from employment-law status, and employers must check both (GOV.UK). An operator that carries the therapists' employment and compliance takes that risk off the hotel; see our staffing service.
Professional standards in either city. Insurers set the floor: BABTAC requires Level 3 body massage, or a body massage unit plus anatomy and physiology, before it insures a therapist for full-body massage (BABTAC). A sensible minimum for anyone who touches a guest: Level 3 or the Dutch equivalent, current insurance, a consultation form and a written hygiene routine.
How do you keep in-room treatments safe?
Spa operators and trainers interviewed by Professional Beauty in 2019 advised telling the duty manager or security before each in-room treatment, letting any therapist end a treatment at any time, and keeping a manager reachable (Professional Beauty). A hotel's own procedure should add a hotel-confirmed booking, a consultation form, a fixed draping protocol, no treatment for an intoxicated guest, and a check-in call at the end of the slot.
Worked example: a 120-room London hotel
Illustrative example, not a quote or forecast. A 120-room hotel at 65% occupancy has about 78 occupied rooms a night; the 2012 city capture rate of 5–8% points to 4–6 treatments a day. A treatment room open eight hours offers eight hour-long slots; at the 40–60% treatment-room utilisation Horwath HTL says successful spas typically achieve (Horwath HTL), that is 3–5 treatments a day. One room roughly matches demand; a full spa would need day guests, members or locals. An in-room service serves the same guests with no fixed room, so it is the right first test: if bookings consistently exceed one room's capacity, you have evidence for building.
How do you start with in-room treatments?
- Write the menu. Six to eight treatments: massages, a facial, a post-flight option, something for couples.
- Settle the operating model. An operator's therapists or your own hires; agree who holds insurance, checks qualifications and answers the phone at 21:00.
- Check licensing. Email the borough licensing team in London; in Amsterdam, have your adviser confirm any self-employed arrangement passes the Belastingdienst's test.
- Set up booking and billing. A QR code in the room, a menu online, room charging. COCON takes bookings on Trybe, with live partner dashboards for the hotel; see yield and commercial strategy.
- Train the front desk. Concierge and reception sell more treatments than any leaflet.
- Review after 90 days. Treatments per occupied room, average spend and guest ratings tell you whether to stop there, add a room or study a spa, which the same operator can run under turnkey spa management.
FAQ
Can a hotel offer massages without a spa? Yes: in-room treatments need a store cupboard, a booking channel, qualified and insured therapists and a safety procedure, not a spa.
Does a London hotel need a licence for in-room massage? Possibly: the 1991 Act licenses premises used for massage and the boroughs' home-visit exemption may not cover hotel bedrooms, so ask your borough in writing.
How much does it cost to build a hotel spa? Published UK examples run from £1.5 million for a 500 m² refurbishment to £14 million for a 4,087 m² new build; yours depends on wet areas, plant and finish.
How many treatment rooms does a hotel need? A 2012 rule of thumb from Spa Business is one per 15–20 guestrooms, adjusted for occupancy and for capture of 5–8% in city hotels or 10–15% in resorts.
What qualification should a hotel require of a therapist? In the UK, Level 3 body massage plus current insurance, the BABTAC minimum; in the Netherlands, an NGS licence or equivalent diploma, since the title is unprotected.
Is it better to start in-room or build straight away? Start in-room unless you already have a destination-spa case: it proves demand in weeks and gives you real numbers for the capital decision.
A kind offer
Weighing these options for a hotel in London or Amsterdam? Send us your room count, occupancy and any treatment bookings you take, and we will reply with a first view, free and without obligation: request a free spa review. Or read our FAQ and how we work in London and Amsterdam.
Sources
- CBRE, "The Role of Hotel Spa Departments", 11 August 2025 (297 US hotels, 2023–2024 data): https://www.cbre.com/insights/articles/the-role-of-hotel-spa-departments
- Spa Business, "RLA Global's Mid-Year Wellness Real Estate Report", 28 November 2025 (HotStats data, H1 2025 vs H1 2024): https://www.spabusiness.com/wellness-news/RLA-Globals-Mid-Year-Wellness-Real-Estate-Report-finds-wellness-hotels-are-weathering-economic-pressures/361588
- Spa Business (hosted on Attractions Management), "Ask an expert: overbuilding", issue 2, 2012: https://www.attractionsmanagement.com/Attractions-Management-magazine/Ask-an-expert-overbuilding/27382
- Spa Business, Ffolkes £4m destination spa, 12 September 2025: https://www.spabusiness.com/wellness-news/Ffolkes-pub-and-hotel-opens-4-million-destination-spa-with-Ibiza-inspired-party-zone/358264
- Spa Business, Ardencote Hotel £1.5m spa, 9 September 2022: https://www.spabusiness.com/wellness-news/Ardencote-Hotel-spends-15m-refreshing-spa-and-wellness-offering/350052
- Health Club Management, South Lodge £14m spa, 30 May 2018: https://www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk/health-club-management-news/South-Downs-inspires-upcoming-44000sq-ft-spa/337658
- Horwath HTL, Spa Profitability Handbook (summary page; "successful spas typically achieve TRU rates between 40% and 60%"): https://horwathhtl.com/publication/industry-report-spa-profitability-handbook/
- London Local Authorities Act 1991, section 4: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1991/13/section/4
- Wandsworth Council, special treatment establishment licences: https://wandsworth.gov.uk/special-treatment-establishment-licences
- Richmond Council, massage and special treatments licences: https://www.richmond.gov.uk/massage_and_special_treatments_licences
- Islington Council, special treatment premises guidance notes, April 2022: https://www.islington.gov.uk/~/media/sharepoint-lists/public-records/consumeraffairs/information/adviceandguidance/20222023/2022040420220325stguidancenotes.pdf
- City of London, massage and special treatment: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/licensing/other-licence-and-business-permit-types/massage-and-special-treatment
- KVK, starting a massage practice (updated 21 September 2026): https://www.kvk.nl/starten/soepel-van-start-met-je-eigen-massagepraktijk
- Grant Thornton Netherlands, "Kabinet verlengt zachte landing bij aanpak schijnzelfstandigheid gedeeltelijk in 2026", 20 January 2026: https://www.grantthornton.nl/insights/legal-services/wet-dba/kabinet-verlengt-zachte-landing-bij-aanpak-schijnzelfstandigheid-gedeeltelijk-in-2026/
- GOV.UK, employment status: self-employed and contractor: https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/selfemployed-contractor
- BABTAC, insurance pre-requisites: https://www.babtac.com/240-insurance-pre-requisites
- Professional Beauty, "Talking about sexual harassment in spas", 18 February 2019: https://professionalbeauty.co.uk/site/newsdetails/talking-about-sexual-harassment-in-spas
