Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa operates over 600 locations in 36 states and Canada.
Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa is converting 23 Massage Green Spa franchise locations in eight states to its brand, with 10 of the conversions taking place in Michigan, seven in California and two in Connecticut. As part of the agreement, Massage Green units are also being converted to Hand & Spa locations in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Utah and Virginia.
Financial terms of the conversion agreement were not disclosed.
The spa conversions, the first ever done by the brand, increase Hand & Stone’s footprint to more than 600 units in 36 states and Canada while decreasing Massage Green’s franchise locations to 10, said Jennifer Durham, chief development officer at Hand & Stone. Franchisees in the selected markets were given the option to convert over to Hand & Stone or remain with Massage Green.
Related: How Hand & Stone Taps Into Existing Franchisees to Grow
Durham also confirmed that all Massage Green franchisees signed new franchise agreements with Hand & Stone ahead of the conversion of their spas, and that Hand & Stone’s fees are comparable to their Massage Green franchise agreements.
“These conversions allow us to optimize markets where our brand already operates and to establish a presence in new priority markets,” said Durham, whose company hosted the new franchisees for training at its corporate headquarters in Trevose, Pennsylvania, ahead of their conversions.
Jennifer Durham, chief development officer at Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa
Durham said the spa conversions are already taking place in a number of locations and the company is targeting completing all conversions, which includes new store signage and marketing materials as well as updating spa websites and billing and processing software, by the end of the year.
“I’ve known about Hand & Stone for quite a while, and I know how well they treat and support their franchisees, so I was excited when presented with the opportunity to convert over,” said Rob Tobias, who owns a pair of spas in Norwalk and Orange, Connecticut, that are being converted.
“Even with the added costs on my end to convert over, I see it as an opportunity to really grow our businesses,” Tobias said. “Hand & Stone’s overall volume is more than double that with what we saw with Massage Green, so that gets me excited.”
Tobias said the biggest challenge of converting over his spas was communicating the changes to his customers.
Rob Tobias is a new Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa franchisee after converting his Massage Green Spas.
“Change is difficult and people don’t normally like change, even if it’s for the best, so we’ve been dealing with that,” he said. “But I take great pride in owning these spas for eight years and the quality of customer service we provided, and we’ll just continue with that and take the time to talk to our clients and members and explain to them what’s going on, and why we decided to convert over to Hand & Stone, which provides owners more support and more services.”
The converted locations will offer customers the Hand & Stone lifestyle membership, including access to service offerings like advanced skincare and spa services, including CryoSkin treatments, decompression therapy massage, Diamond Glow facial, NuFACE microcurrent facial, Percussive Therapy massage and LED Phototherapy facial.
The locations will also offer CBD oil enhancements and partnerships with skincare lines.
The Massage Green spa locations that have agreed to convert to Hand & Stone are located in Woodhaven, Novi, Sterling Heights, St. Clair Shores, Battle Creek, Dearborn, Waterford, Clinton Township, Livonia and Brighton, Michigan; Temecula, Wildomar, Corona, San Marcos, Rancho Cucamonga and San Diego-Scripps Ranch, California; Norwalk and Orange, Connecticut; Lehi, Utah; Colorado Springs-University Village, Colorado; Toledo, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Fairfax, Virginia.
The plan is to also convert a Massage Green in Riverside-Magnolia, California, that burned down before the agreement was signed, when the spa’s rebuild is completed, Durham said.
Hand & Stone, bought by Harvest Partners for an undisclosed amount in 2022, had system sales of $640 million from 532 units in 2022. The brand ranked No. 119 on Franchise Times’ Top 400 list. That growth came after systemwide sales dropped 17 percent in 2020 during the pandemic.
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The estimated investment range for a Hand & Stone franchise is between $526,791 and $691,311, according to the company’s franchise disclosure document.