Massage Heights is climbing into the Chattanooga market as the area's first membership-based spa service provider, which allows lower-than-average prices, according to owner Alan Reimann.
"Our mission statement is to provide therapeutic, professional and convenient massages that are affordable," he said. "You don't have to be an elite person to get a massage anymore."
Alan Reimann and Allison Hillis offer clients a way to decompress at Massage Heights.Basic membership starts at $49.99 a month, which includes one monthly hour-long massage at the new East Brainerd facility. If members choose to come in more than once a month, an hour massage costs $39.99, with other discounted prices also available for half-hour and hour-and-a-half massages. Aromatherapy is complimentary with any member's massage.
"Depending on where you've gone before, that's $20 to $30 below average price," said Reimann, adding that, "A lot of places charge for aromatherapy."
Different packages offer a varying number of service upgrades, including peppermint foot scrubs, hot stone therapy and towel cold stone face massages. Facials using the Dermalogica brand will be added sometime this summer.
The staff of 14 licensed and trained therapists means the benefits are always within reach. Reimann said he specifically keeps staff on-hand to accommodate walk-ins.
The benefits of massage include general relaxation and de-stressing, improved circulation, the release of serotonin, and therapy for general aches and pains to sports injuries, according to Reimann.
"We want people to change their lifestyle and embrace the benefits of regular massage," he said. "People come in with aches and pains and stressed out. They leave here with a better quality of life, both mentally and physically."
His therapists can offer varying styles of massage, from Swedish to reflexology to pre/postnatal. Some are trained to work on fibromyalgia patients, and massages can even be tailored for those who suffer from migraines. Automated beds which allow them to be lowered down to the floor make it easier for senior citizens and handicapped people to access them.
Reimann said he received regular massages before recently deciding to open the business. Many of those were while vacationing in places like St. Thomas. He said he wanted to capture the same resort-like feel in his Gunbarrel Road location.
"Simple, elegant, warm, inviting," he said of the atmosphere. "We wanted something to remind you of being on vacation, because that's the way you're treated. We didn't want a clinical-looking atmosphere. I want the entire place to transcend [customers] mentally into the experience they're about to receive."
Reimann, who spent 31 years in the medical implant industry, said he thought he'd be happy playing golf every day upon retirement, but that turned out to be incorrect. So he decided to live his dream of owning a business and looked high and low for something that would allow him to continue improving people's quality of life, and found it in the Massage Heights franchise.
He said he plans to open future locations in Knoxville and Nashville after settling comfortably into Chattanooga.
Email Jennifer Bardoner at jbardoner@timesfreepress.com