Day Spa Owners at a Destination Spa: Massages, Facials, and Fun with Education Sprinkled In at Red Mountain Spa in Utah
Susie Ellis

I hadn't been to Red Mountain in over 4 years and was happy to experience it again. Milana Knowles, our VP Day Spa Sales and Marketing, held a Day Spa Retreat there with 35 of our partner day spa owners and managers. She invited me to speak to the group as part of the education part of the program.

I noticed a general level of improvement in décor, food and accommodations at Red Mountain. Of course staying in one of their new villas made the whole experience much more luxe than I had ever experienced it before. Their dedicated spa facility was a real improvement over their previous "temporary" treatment rooms. Now there is a nice view with a relaxation room, good product choices, and in general a more spa-like feel. The only problem was that either they didn't have enough therapists or all of their treatment times were booked solid. Seems they missed out on a lot of business because so many people wanted more treatments (including me) and couldn't get them. Although more expensive than in the past, it still is a good value. I understand they are almost fully booked in October. And of course the hiking, as always, was spectacular.
We had arranged day spa retreats in the past but this was our first one in a long time - and the first that Milana coordinated. By all counts it seems it was a tremendous success...with the day spa owners having (in many cases) their first destination spa experience. Milana provided most of the education as she is an expert on retail sales and has managed some of the largest day spas in the country. There wasn't a question she couldn't answer! Comfort Zone was the sponsor and they were very generous in gifting all of the participants with facials and an array of their full size products.

We reviewed the results of our recent Day Spa Survey 2007 and I even gave them a "sneak peek" of the Top Spa Trends we are considering for 2008. (top secret!) What I like about these retreats is that the day spa owners are willing to share information very openly because they come from all over the country and for the most part do not compete with each other. By the time we all enjoyed the evening Fire Ceremony at the end of the retreat, we had gotten to know each other and become friends. Even shedding some tears together around the fire on that full-moon night, felt surprisingly good.