When a person leaves the beach after a sunny day of relaxation and tanning, he or she feels a sense of mental renewal and physical revitalization. This was the idea behind the company’s inception.

In April of 1995, CEO Stephen Smith coupled his experience in personal training and gym management with an entrepreneurial drive to open “Electric Beach,” a tanning salon in the Uptown district of New Orleans, Louisiana. Steve Smith’s plan was to bring professionalism and franchising to the indoor tanning industry.

The salon became a success, and Smith was prepared to move forward with expansion plans. However, the name wasn’t quite right, it didn’t quite encompass what the company stood for. The company worked hard with the first location to create an experience for the customers that was similar to a vacation, only with an edge. The customer “salon” experience was exciting and kind of “other worldly.” Thus the trademark “Planet Beach” was applied for and the logo was created by Smith.

From that sentiment, the original location changed the sign from Electric Beach to Planet Beach on April 1, 1996. The first franchised Planet Beach opened in Georgia in the fall of that same year. Since that time, Planet Beach has grown substantially to over 345 locations in the United States, Canada and Australia. It is the Planet Beach vision to bring the contempo spa experience to every vibrant and viable community across the globe.

Unique Selling Position
It became clear to Smith in the fall of 2004 that the market for indoor tanning services had become stagnant. Something had to be done to create more value for existing and future customers and to re-energize sales at the franchise locations. After an extensive amount of research and creative thinking, the “Contempo Spa” idea was born. The idea was to curiously marry the tanning business with the day spa business, yet continue to offer services in a private room with machines performing the wellness treatments.

Thereby, Planet Beach would create the hybrid “Contempo Spa” industry. The result of the conversion process has been the creation of an uncontested market space. The financial outcome has been spectacular. In the very first quarter of the conversion, the existing franchise locations that converted to “Contempo Spa” experienced a 47% average same store sales increase from the previous year.

Planet Beach has a trademark application pending for the term “Contempo Spa,” and the likelihood of it’s registration with the U.S. Patent office is virtually assured at this point. It is anticipated that the term will become widely used to describe the new industry and it is inevitable that the new Planet Beach concept will be copied. However, Planet Beach will always be known for being “first to market” with the idea.

Planet Beach offers a monthly classroom-training program as a required affiliate to our online curriculum. Planet Beach University in New Orleans is a three-day series of classes on industry guidelines, spa operations and product knowledge. New franchisees and their managers receive extensive and in-depth instruction from corporate directors as well as experienced staff members.

Planet Beach is the first and only indoor contempo spaTM franchise that offers a complete operations training program on the web to its franchisees and their spa employees.

Accessible 24/7/365, Planet Beach University Online is an e-learning platform that provides interactive and measurable training for franchisees, managers and associates; enabling contempo spasTM to stay ahead in competitive markets. Planet Beach University Online has all of the benefits of classroom training, delivered in a self-paced environment. Courses are updated regularly, to give you access to the most up-to-date information about Planet Beach products and contempo spaTM operations. By completing Planet Beach University Online prior to attending classroom training in New Orleans, our franchisees and managers are well prepared for the on-site Planet Beach experience.

In addition to our classroom program, new franchisees also receive five days of staff training at their location with a Grand Opening Specialist. This valuable experience provides the franchisee with a hands-on lesson in contempo spaTM operations, as well as an opportunity to see how the Planet Beach system works at the contempo spaTM level.

Planet Beach Area Representatives or Spa Performance Consultants are assigned to you as support consultants. Each department at the corporate office is also available for advice and assistance. Grand Opening Specialists or Spa Performance Consultants are assigned to our new franchises, once a lease is secured, as part of the Planet Beach training and consulting program. Opening a contempo spaTM is exciting and challenging, and our specialists are trained to guide you through your grand opening phase. Grand Opening Specialists or Spa Performance Consultants are also present at your spa for five days, to provide assistance and support to the franchisee. The spa manager and associates will also benefit from the visit.