Spa for P299, anyone?

MANILA, Philippines -- Most of the time, the words “spa” and “cheap” seem unlikely to be used in the same sentence. As spa has always been associated with the elite, the regular Juans find it hard to imagine spending their hard-earned money on such a luxury.

Big Apple Express Spa aims to debunk that notion. Established to be the spa for the “masa,” it deviates from what people usually get from other spas, like sauna, shower, and steam room, and instead focuses on the essentials of a good spa: cleanliness, competent staff, and privacy.

“We forego all those facilities (sauna, shower, steam room) in order to give more value to the customers through affordable prices, but we also make sure to maintain all the essential elements of a spa,” says Karlo Nisce, one of the owners of Big Apple Express Spa.

Established in 2005 by business partners Nisce, Victor Fernando, Roselin Gaw-Pagunsan and Mark Orbos, who are all massage enthusiasts, Big Apple Express Spa is the group’s answer to all the high-end spas dominating the market. But instead of competing head-on with the others, they saw the opportunity to create a niche by catering to what they believe are the ones who really get physically tired: the average, lower class workers.

Upon finding out through a study that most spa-goers only avail themselves of the massage but skip the other amenities, Nisce and his business partners realized that customers can do away without other facilities and just have the massage. But what they lack in the usual perks offered by other spas, they compensate with the things that matter the most to customers.

Big Apple Express Spa prides itself in offering clean, private rooms and very good services. In other spas, customers have to pay extra for a private room, whereas in Big Apple, every customer has his own.

They also invest on excellent training program for the staff to make sure that customers get quality services. By doing this, the spa was able to lower its prices, making them really affordable to their target market.

The most popular services are the Manhattan Anti-Stress, which is designed to make the customer feel calm and relaxed using mineral oil, and the Wall Street Energy, a dry massage that uses pressure to energize the body.

A massage costs P299.

Other services are “Massages of the World, such as the Pinoy Hilot, Balinese Massage, and Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi. They also offer foot spa, facial, scalp treatment, manicure and pedicure.

They also choose locations that are convenient and very visible to the people. One of their branches is inside the Gateway mall near the LRT, a strategy that enables everyone to see the outlet every time they take the train. Other branches are in Market! Market!, SM Mall of Asia, and SM Lipa.

Big Apple also believes in helping people by giving them jobs that do not require a college degree.

“We hire people based on attitude,” Nisce says. “As long as they believe in the concept. Even if you don’t know how to massage, we’ll put you into training; in two weeks time, you’ll already know how to massage. There are so many people out there looking for jobs, and that’s part of our vision, to help the Filipino people by providing them with jobs.”

As more and more people discover the benefits of a budget spa, Big Apple aims to go global in a few years time. Other budget spa may sprout and imitate what Big Apple has started, but Big Apple is confident that it can still be on top. Knowing that they have tapped a market that also needs to indulge in their desire to relax and pamper themselves without straining their budget, Big Apple believes that they have carved their own niche.

Big Apple Express Spa outlets are soon to open in Robinsons Galleria, the Bonifacio Global City, the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya, and Subic. Big Apple Express Spa is open for franchising.