Tag Archives: Luxury Spa Finder

Hot and Getting Hotter Spa Trends 2011

flames 150x150 Hot and Getting Hotter Spa Trends 2011

HOT GETTING HOTTER
Hot Stone Massage Bamboo Massage
Oxygen Facial Stem Cell Facials
Waxing Threading
Saunas Infrared Saunas
Aging Silver Spa-ing
De-stress Mobility
Fitness Coaching Wellness Coaching
Relaxing Massage Pain Relief Massage
Groupon Spa-Rah-Rah
Kick Boxing Zumba
Pilates Barre
Celebrity Chefs Celebrity Stylists/Therapists/Aestheticians
Farm-to-Table Farm-to-Massage Table
Spa Cuisine Gluten Free Spa Cuisine
Hammam Salt Caves
U.S. Asia
One-of-a-Kind Spa Branded Spas
Indigenous Hyper-Local
Extreme Fitness Extreme Beauty
Express Services Super-Express Services
Predictable Surprising
Body, Mind, Spirit Purpose, Meaning, Priorities

In case you are doing some planning for 2011, I thought you might find this quick summary of some of our SpaFinder 2011 Spa Trend predictions helpful.  As you may know, you can find the full report at: http://www.spafinder.com/about/press_release.jsp?relId=205.  In the New Year we’ll examine the trends more closely and look at additional examples that I hope you will contribute to!  In addition, I plan to include a “Counter Trend” aspect that I think might be fun.

My twitter address: @susieellis

The Flavor of Swiss Spas

beau rivage 721020 The Flavor of Swiss SpasThe Flavor of Swiss Spas
by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider

Fast forward from my last blog entry re Zurich and skydiving. The weather turned rainy – skydiving was cancelled – change of plans – we all got into the car and headed for Lausanne. We drove the back way over the hills so Nicholas could hear the cowbells and see some of the “real” Switzerland, with its cute homes adorned with white lace curtains and flower boxes. We made a few stops on the way and ended up at the Beau-Rivage Palace (photo to the left). Our first stop was the famous Clinique La Prairie which I found fascinating. Known for its sheep cell rejuvenation program, it warrents its own blog post which I will add tomorrow.

I was in spa-hopping-heaven. Our first experience (and according to Nicholas the best) was the very large and comprehensive spa at the Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa. It has an expansive and beautiful pool, fitness facilities with Technogym (and some cardio outside which I found a fresh touch), a Clarins beauty spa, and most impressive of all, the beautifully designed ESPA. It had a hamam and sauna, quiet relaxation room, showers with a variety of experiences, and a salt water vitality pool that began indoors, ended outdoors, and has a large variety of therapeutic Jacuzzi features.

I have blogged often about my various ESPA experiences – Park Hotel Kenmare in Ireland, Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo in Monaco, Mandarin Oriental New York, etc. Always, without exception, the therapists have been outstanding, the spa design has been unique, and always keenly tasteful. The ESPA at Victoria Jungfrau seems like another winner. There is a reason Susan Harmsworth and her ESPA company have been so successful. I must say, no one else seems to have accomplished achieving such consistent quality in design, treatments and staff training around the world. I have lost track of how many ESPA spas there are – ones they either manage, built or which use their products. I do remember Susan telling me a couple of years ago that they were in over 50 different countries. Since there are only a little over 200 countries in the entire world, that’s an amazing accomplishment!

After our Victoria Jungfrau spa experience, we stopped at the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace to visit their Willow Streamspasuite 001 zoom 784708 The Flavor of Swiss Spas Spa. Then I headed to the Lausanne Palace & Spa (photo to the right) for a tour and a meeting with their personable spa director. The next stop was the Beau-Rivage Palace, where we all had treatments in their lovely Cinq Mondes Spa. Again, all of the therapists were well trained, and I liked the way they set up their therapy area with hamam, sauna, swiss shower, and rainshower walk over wooden boards. In fact I think that the Cinq Mondes concept has come a long way since I visited one of their first spas a few years ago.

evian.royal.resort 737734 The Flavor of Swiss SpasToday we took the ferry from this side of Lake Geneva to the other side where we got off at Evian to visit the Evian Royal Resort (photo to the right). After lunch we toured this well-known facility where I noticed an entire area (almost shrine-like) proudly displaying all the various awards they have won from SpaFinder. They have been our Crystal Award Winner (Top Spa in Europe) in several of the past years. Last stop after lunch….the new buddha-bar Spa at the Hilton Evian-les-Bains.
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More Thoughts on the Spa (Skilled) Labor Shortage

More Thoughts on the Spa (Skilled) Labor Shortage

By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insiderhelp.wanted 789665 More Thoughts on the Spa (Skilled) Labor Shortage

In my last blog entry day I quoted Jacqueline Le Sueur, Managing Director of Creative Health & Training as saying, “Our industry does NOT have a labor shortage. What we have is a shortage of spas willing to invest in training.” In essence we have a skilled labor shortage.

Someone must have forwarded my blog to Jacqueline right after posting because I heard from her right away. I subsequently asked her to share additional insights in the “comment” section of that blog. It’s worth a read.

It has always amazed me that spas spend tens of millions of dollars to build gorgeous facilities, and then when it comes to training staff, there is either minimal or no budget. This really does not make a lot of sense since we know that customers rate their spa experience – not so much on the facility – but on the therapist!

Fortunately, there are now quite a few training programs for spa personnel around the world. We just need more people to be trained as therapists, aestheticians, spa managers, etc.

drums.olympic 770353 More Thoughts on the Spa (Skilled) Labor ShortageRemember the spectacular opening ceremonies of this year’s Summer Olympics in China where they had 2,000 people performing in unison on ancient drums? It is a good example of not waiting to find skilled performers, but rather hiring 2,000 people and training them to perform – perfectly!

Of course training costs money. Since our industry is not an exceedingly lucrative one (that’s another part of the challenge) and relies heavily on some of the perks (like great environment and personal well-being), it is unrealistic to expect staff to share all of the burden. Spas have to invest.

I hear that many hospitality management graduates of famous schools such as Cornell and the Lausanne Hotel Schools don’t end up in hospitality management. Why? They are finding jobs in other areas such as finance or banking where they can make more money.

Here is a suggestion…instead of spending, for example, $10 million to build a spa….how about spending $9 million and investing the rest in getting the most talented staff possible for many years to come? No one will miss all that marble, art, or razzle/dazzle tiling.

As Rachel Caldwell, long-time manager of Golden Door in California once said in answer to the question, “What if I train my staff and they leave?” She answered, “What if you don’t train them and they stay?”

Bingo.

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Spa Suggestions – To Share Them or Not?

Spa Suggestions – To Share Them or Not?
by Susie Ellis
SpaFinder Insider

As you can see from my previous posts, I was very impressed with Gwinganna Health Retreat in Australia. But there are always ways in which a spa can improve. Since I have been to many spas around the world and have garnered a certain amount of expertise, I have developed a sensitivity to what’s working and what’s not working.

I always wrestle with whether or not I should say something. Many years ago I would readily make suggestions to spa managers, therapists, owners, etc. However, I soon realized that those suggestions weren’t always welcome or appreciated. In retrospect, I realize it was presumptuous of me. I also found that it definitely interfered with my spa experience. Jotting down notes, typing things up, and scheduling meetings turned every spa experience into work. So years ago I decided that I would stop giving any feedback unless I was specifically asked. I figured that if someone did ask for my input, I knew they were open and would likely welcome a suggestion. The only problem was that almost no one asked. I think there have been only two instances when someone asked me for feedback.

These days…I am working on finding a happy medium. I don’t generally volunteer suggestions, however if something seems very obvious to me and I know think it might improve a program tremendously, I take the chance and give the feedback to the owner or manager. That’s what I did in this case. Also, I sometimes share it in my blog if the issue isn’t spa-specific because it might be able to help someone else. This seems to be working pretty well as the feedback is generally well-received. I remember when I had some suggestions (which I shared on my blog) for Miraval Living after having attended one of their first showcase events here in New York. I received an email from Steve Case the day after my blog post thanking me for my suggestions and actually asking me for more! So I am feeling that I am making a positive contribution this way and hopefully not annoying people and also not ruining every spa experience for myself.

Anyway…back to Gwinganna. What bothered me was the cars. To my mind the guest parking and some of the staff parking was too close to the action.

gwinganna.spa.tub 756194 Spa Suggestions To Share Them or Not?Spas make a great deal of effort to create a perfect environment for guests and Gwinganna is no exception. The setting is stunning with expansive views – ocean in the distance and beautiful green hills in between. Doing Qi Gong on the outlook early in the morning as the sun came up is a picture emblazoned in my mind even today as I am back in New York. Their property has a variety of buildings all sprinkled around the “campus”. There are various accommodations, a building housing the dining room, a lovely old chapel, the large spa, in another area is their beautiful gym and fitness studio, an infinity pool with that drop-dead view, etc.

What bothered me however, was that whenever I walked from one building to another, more often than not there would be a car passing by. That resulted in dust, noise and the need for me to walk to the side to move out of the way. It just altered the serenity for me each time.

Spa Suggestions To Share Them or Not?There was a staff parking lot in the distance behind the tennis court, however guest cars were parked within the campus area and it seemed there were always some staff driving in and out to various buildings. My suggestion (which I did share with Tony de Leede who was very gracious and seemed appreciative) was to remove all cars from the campus – move the guest’s cars to a non-visible space and expand the staff parking lot so there was plenty of room for all staff to park away from the campus.

Now I realize this won’t be a welcome suggestion all around. It would inconvenience some people. I know. I was once on the other side of this issue when I worked at the Golden Door in California. The parking lot was quite a distance from the buildings and every time I came to work or left work, I had a very long walk to my car. Sometimes I was carrying heavy things and other times I was running a bit late (OK, maybe more than a few times)…and it was tempting to at times grab one of those few parking spaces reserved for emergencies right at the entrance to the Golden Door (and yes, it was gold…although not real gold).

But then I remember seeing Deborah Szekely, the founder of the Golden Door who is now in her 80′s, make that long walk herself. Alas, the guest experience is what is most important.

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A Father’s Day Surprise: Dads & Spas

Fathers Day 751336 A Fathers Day Surprise: Dads & SpasA Father’s Day Surprise: Dads & Spas
by Susie Ellis

Quite a Father’s Day surprise. Yesterday I received an email from Steve Kane, who is a senior vice president at SpaFinder, with some extremely interesting data. Apparently Father’s Day gift card and gift certificate sales this year have increased quite dramatically. That means that most day spas out there, if they did a Father’s Day promotion, would have also seen large increases. Some may have even doubled their business from last year!

This is the kind of tidbit which I think deserves a ‘blue light.’ Do you remember years ago (well maybe decades ago) when K-Mart would move a flashing blue light next to some merchandise that was a really hot item? Then they would announce over the intercom ‘Blue Light Special,’ ‘Blue Light Special!’ Well, I think the fact that so many people purchased spa gift certificates for Father’s Day this year is a ‘Blue Light Special’ for the spa industry.

Here is why. It signals to me that the we have hit a tipping point. Malcolm Gladwell describes it this way in his book, The Tipping Point, ‘a tipping point is a sociological term which describes the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.’ Another description, which I like even better, is from Bryan Walsh who wrote in Time magazine, ‘tipping points are levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable’.

Think about it. People are buying spa gift certificates for dads. This would have been unheard of even a decade ago. It means that men going to spas has now become a norm rather than an exception. Spas which have attempted for years to attract men to their facilities for therapeutic massage services or grooming experiences, have gotten their message across.
Taking into account the economically turbulent times makes this increase even more significant. It may also indicate that current stressful times have caused people to think about the value of something nurturing and positive for the men in their lives. Rather than buying dads another tie or tool for the garage, people valued giving dad a break.
Here is how I would sum it up:
1. Men going to spas is now mainstream
2. People recognize that in stressful times, men need help de-stressing
3. Experiences are trumping ‘things’ as gifts for men
4. A new generation is thinking Fathers & Spa go together
5. The spa business is somewhat recession-proof (like alcohol and lipsticks)
It may be a funny thing to get excited about….but I consider this an ‘ah ha!’ moment for our industry and just wanted to share it with you.

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If you wish to be put on a list that automatically sends my blog posts to your email, just let dulcy.gregory@spafinder.com know and she will add you to that list. Thanks so much!