The verdict in three sentences
A thalassotherapy centre with 30 treatment rooms and 40 therapists delivering 70,000 treatments a year loses revenue in schedule gaps: empty rooms between programmes, poorly assigned therapists, gift vouchers that cannot find a slot. Treatment booking software that builds a 6-day programme automatically, taking rooms, skills and contraindications into account, targets 8 extra points of room occupancy. Spa software costs 500 to 1,500 EUR a month; custom builds, at 40,000 to 90,000 EUR on the European market, make sense when hotel, programmes and online sales must run as one system.
Three clienteles, three booking logics
Seaside resorts in Brittany, Portugal or the Basque coast peak in summer and school holidays, while wellness programmes keep winter busy. Each client group books differently.
| Client group | Share of treatments | Booking channel | Main constraint | Typical spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programme guests (6 days) | 50% | Package with the hotel, 4 treatments a day | Logical sequence, no duplicates | 900 to 1,600 EUR per programme excl. room |
| Hotel guests (short stay) | 20% | Front desk or app | Slots around meals | 150 to 300 EUR |
| Day guests | 15% | Website, phone | Immediate availability | 90 to 220 EUR |
| Gift vouchers | 10% | Bought online, booked later | Slots to open in low season | 120 to 400 EUR |
| Corporate and groups | 5% | Quote, group reception | Several rooms at once | Variable |
These are 2026 orders of magnitude for a mid-sized coastal centre.
Features that lift occupancy
- Automatic programme building: the software spreads 24 treatments over 6 days (seaweed wrap, hydromassage bath, underwater jet, massage) following the recommended order, the preferred therapist gender and the contraindications recorded at the medical check-in.
- Cross-checked room and therapist planning: a hydrotherapy room and a qualified therapist must be free at the same time; the tool only offers combinations that actually work.
- Gap filling: slots still free two days ahead are offered to hotel guests and as flash sales online.
- Online gift vouchers: instant payment, email delivery, booking steered towards quiet periods.
- Dashboard: occupancy by room and hour, revenue per therapist, no-shows.
2026 prices: spa software or custom build
| Option | Cost | Time to deploy | Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-the-shelf spa software | 500 to 1,500 EUR a month | 1 to 3 months | Diary, till, vouchers | Programmes often built by hand |
| Spa module of the hotel PMS | 200 to 800 EUR a month | 1 to 2 months | Posts to the room folio | Weak for 30 rooms |
| Custom build, European agency | 40,000 to 90,000 EUR | 6 to 10 months | Fully integrated | High budget |
| Custom build by Kolonell | Complex application 10,670 to 22,870+ EUR | 3 to 5 months | Automatic programmes, rooms, online sales | PMS interface to be scoped |
| Paper diary and spreadsheet | Close to zero | Immediate | None | Suboptimal occupancy |
Integration with your hotel PMS and till depends on their APIs and is quoted on request.
The launch sequence matters as much as the feature list. Start with room and therapist planning for day guests and hotel guests, where errors are cheap and staff learn the tool quickly. Move programme guests onto the system next, once therapists trust the schedule. Open online gift vouchers last, after occupancy data shows which weeks really need filling. Centres that phase the launch over a low season usually reach stable use within 6 to 8 weeks, without disrupting the summer peak when every room is already busy.
Mini case study
Inês, director of a thalassotherapy centre on the Portuguese coast, runs 30 treatment rooms open 9 hours a day, 330 days a year: 89,100 one-hour slots. With 70,000 treatments, occupancy is about 79%.
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- Target: plus 8 points, 87% occupancy, around 7,100 extra treatments.
- At an average 75 EUR per treatment sold individually or in programmes, extra revenue reaches 532,000 EUR a year.
- Even if only half that potential is captured, the gain exceeds 260,000 EUR.
Against a spa subscription of 18,000 EUR a year or a custom build with maintenance at 183 EUR per month, payback is measured in months.
FAQ
Can the software handle medical contraindications?
Yes, check-in records restrictions (pregnancy, circulation problems) and the software excludes the affected treatments. Across 70,000 treatments, this avoids dozens of last-minute reassignments.
How do we avoid empty rooms between programmes?
Automatic gap filling offers free slots two days ahead to hotel guests and online. Centres that switch it on often recover 3 to 5 points of occupancy.
Can gift vouchers be restricted to certain periods?
Yes, each voucher can be limited to low season or certain days. This smooths workload and protects summer, when occupancy already exceeds 90%.
Do we need to replace our hotel PMS?
No. The treatment software connects to your existing system for stays and posting treatments to the room bill, depending on your vendor's integration options.
How long does rollout take?
Allow 3 to 5 months, ideally in low season, with 2 weeks running in parallel with the old schedule.
Let's scope your project. Describe your rooms, programmes and sales channels, and we will scope a booking tool ready before your next season. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.