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November 8, 2003
Massage Bar Expanding at Airport Tennessee News DONELSON — Rolling luggage clunk-clunks along the tile, and loudspeakers cut through the airport din, but business traveler Dave Cohen is away from it all — for 15 minutes at least — in a snug alcove off Concourse C. The Florida resident sits face-down in a padded chair while massage therapist Stephen Boykin kneads Cohen's lower back and shoulders, and Frank Sinatra croons on the portable CD player, blocking out at least some of the frantic morning bustle. ''I'm always tensed up when I get up in the morning,'' Cohen says as he rises, relaxed and smiling, from his seated-massage session. ''I feel good now. I need a hairbrush, but I'll be all right.'' Cohen is one of a growing number of airline travelers who find getting a massage during a lengthy layover to be as natural as grabbing a soda to pass the time. The rise of the pampering trend has led to a new beginning of sorts for Massage Bar Inc., which started the first airport-massage business 10 years ago in Seattle and has operated a successful kiosk in the Nashville International Airport for the past six years. On Monday, the business will move its free-standing operation into a 430- square-foot retail store, adding foot-massage stations, heat therapy — a warm back and neck wrap that goes over the clothes — and some Massage Bar-brand massage oil, body lotions and other wellness-oriented products. The shop also will unveil its new look, a warmer palette with gold and rust colors, bamboo and tan fabrics instead of teal, brass and dark wood. ''We started redesigning all existing locations nine months ago,'' said Cary Cruea, president of Seattle-based Massage Bar Inc. ''It was time to give our look a face lift.'' Massage Bar has six sites in airports across the country, and Nashville will be the second to move to a full-fledged space and get the updated decor. Cruea hopes the new ''inline'' store will draw more interest, especially with the foot-massage addition tired travelers have been requesting for years, she said. While some airport officials were skeptical when Cruea started the business in 1993, the massage-on-the-go concept took off immediately, Cruea said, and seems to be a natural counterbalance to the constant clamor and stress of airline travel. ''You're off your normal schedule, standing in line, lugging around heavy suitcases, sitting on those airport seats that don't fit anybody. It takes a toll on your system,'' she said. ''People need to find a little bit of oasis when they can.'' Stressed-out customers seem willing to pay for it, shelling out $17 for 15 minutes or $30 for half an hour at the Nashville site. Even the terrorist attacks of 9/11 didn't curb the million-dollar business's growth. Sales have grown by 15% to 20% every year, Cruea said, with male business travelers making up about 60% of Massage Bar's customer base. A handful of regulars come back week after week, said Misty Coyle, manager of the Nashville site. And many tense-muscled newcomers drop in when the layovers stretch on for hours. ''When people's flights are delayed, that's great for us,'' Coyle said. After getting a massage, ''a lot of people say 'Ah, now I can sleep on the plane.' '' Cohen, a frequent flier, has made the massage a routine stop at different airports across the country. ''It's a good way to chill out and make the time go by,'' he said, coffee in hand, before heading up the concourse to find his boarding gate.
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