Bathhouse as a business: how to turn an ancient tradition into a profitable business

There are businesses that are born from numbers.

And there is — from sensations.

The bathhouse is from the second category.

The smell of steamed wood, the sound of a splashing ladle, heavy hot air and that same bliss afterwards — all this cannot be digitized.

But this is precisely what makes the bath business special: people come back here again and again, not because they have to, but because they want to.

And while some entrepreneurs are chasing hype niches, far-sighted investors are quietly building bathhouses — and making steady money from it, year after year.

Contents

1. Why the bathhouse business is serious
2. What makes up a successful bathhouse project
3. Trusted expert: Alexey Shmachkov
4. Figures that inspire

Why the bath business is serious

The market for bath services in Russia is experiencing a real renaissance.

Fatigue from digital noise, demand for «live» experiences, the growth of a culture of conscious relaxation — all this is pushing demand up.

At the same time, there are catastrophically few quality facilities: most players work the old fashioned way, without a concept, without service, without understanding who their guest is.

This is where the window of opportunity opens.

A modern bathhouse is not just a steam room with a basin.

This is a thoughtful experience, a route of sensations that a person wants to repeat.

And if you create this experience correctly, the queue for you will be scheduled for weeks in advance.

What makes up a successful bath project

Before purchasing timber and hiring a stove-maker, it is important to understand: a bathhouse is, first of all, a concept.

It is the bath concepts that determine everything else: architecture, audience, pricing policy, atmosphere and, ultimately, profitability.

What is included in the concept of «bathhouse concept»:

• Format and audience
• — family bathhouse, club steam room for connoisseurs, corporate SPA complex or outdoor tourist site
• Thermal profile
• — Russian steam room, Finnish sauna, hammam, Japanese ofuro or author's mix
• Service model
• — self-service, bath attendant on staff, bath ceremonies, additional procedures
• Location and environment
• — urban format, country complex, glamping, eco-estate
• Value positioning
• — mass segment, medium plus or premium

The mistake of most beginners is to build «just a good bathhouse» without a clear answer to the question: for whom and why.

Without a concept, even a beautiful object turns into a chaotic business without a face.

Trusted expert: Alexey Shmachkov

When it comes to a professional approach to the bathhouse market, the name of Alexey Shmachkov is in the first row.

An expert in bathhouse and restaurant consulting with more than 15 years of operational experience in the HoReCa field, he is part of TOP-1 bathhouse managers in the country by the number of facilities under management and annual turnover.

Alexey has worked with such objects as Krestovsky Baths , Warsaw Baths , Welna Eco Spa Resort , Drakino Park SPA , Gremm city resort on Yangelya and dozens of other projects throughout Russia.

More than 400 people worked under his direct subordination — managers, financiers, soaring experts, HR and technical services.

Alexey personally visited more than 1,500 steam rooms from Vladivostok to Minsk and tried over 300 steam rooms techniques, show programs and ceremonies — this is not a theory, this is living experience from inside the market.

Today it offers a full range of services for those who want to enter the bathhouse business or take an existing facility to a new level:

• Bathhouse consulting and audit
• Development of architectural and marketing concepts for thermal bath complexes and SPA
• Design of bath and thermal complexes
• Development of financial models taking into account real market indicators
• Bath marketing: from naming to getting to the top of search results

Alexey also runs two author's Telegram channels — «STEAMED Director» and «First Bath» (one of the largest channels about bath culture on Telegram), where he shares practical cases and analyzes real mistakes of entrepreneurs.

If you want to enter the bathhouse business without unnecessary losses, a turnkey bathhouse business with the support of Alexey Shmachkov allows you to go from idea to first guest many times more efficiently.

Numbers that inspire

The average occupancy of a well-positioned bathhouse in the city is from 70% on weekdays and almost 100% on weekends.

The average bill for a company of 4–6 people is from 4,000 to 15,000 rubles, depending on the format.

The payback period for a well-built facility is from 2 to 4 years.

The bathhouse is not subject to seasonality as it seems: in winter people warm up, in summer they relax after dacha.

This is one of the few types of business where demand is stable all year round.

If you have been thinking about your business for a long time, which brings not only money, but also meaning, a bathhouse deserves to be your next step.

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