Airport Experience® News - ACDBE Issue 2025

with staff wearing gloves and sanitizing everything,” Pidoux points out. “But we reinforced our cleaning protocol, we wore masks for two to three years and we’re still encouraging our team to wear them. And if a guest doesn’t want to be touched, we can offer our hands-free massage loungers that are a very good alternative.” Since its founding in 2003, Be Relax has grown to become one the largest airport spa brands in the world. “Our latest openings include Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), where we operate the Etihad Airways spa inside their lounge—it’s the first time we’ve partnering with a prestigious airline to provide wellness services to their guests as well as regular customers—and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), where we opened our first location in the brand-new extension of Terminal D last November,” Pidoux says. The other major player in the airport spa space is XWell’s XpresSpa brand, with 28

Peace Of Mind To encourage confidence and comfort in returning customers after the shutdown, the common-sense first step for spas was to deliver heightened and highly visible cleaning procedures, which have now become standard practice. “We’ve implemented rigorous cleaning protocols and the use of hospital-grade sanitization for all tools and equipment,” notes Spa Here COO Lourdes Marte. “Our staff is highly cautious, following strict hygiene practices to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for our guests.” Marte adds that the company also introduced Privacy Cocoons that provide a secluded and sanitary space for individuals to receive treatments and limit their exposure to others for enhanced peace of mind. “A spa environment should always be clean, so for us it didn’t make a big difference as we already had strict cleaning protocols,

Top, Below: At Be Relax, which has 33 airport spa locations worldwide, massage is the most popular service, ranging from brief chair massages to longer private table massage sessions, with nail care following closely in demand.

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AX NEWS JUNE 2025