Tag Archives: Miraval Living

Sleep Health at Vacation Spas May be more Important than Massages, Facials, Manicures/Pedicures, Diet or even Exercise!

Sleep Health at Vacation Spas May be more Important than Massages, Facials, Manicures/Pedicures, Diet, or even Exercise!

by Susie Ellis

The importance of sleep is something that has been on our SpaFinder top 10 spa trends list for the past two years. In 2007 the focus was on adding sleep health to diet and exercise as an equally (if not more) important pillar of health in spas. In 2008, because of the growing research which shows sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, emphasizing sleep health in weight-loss programs at spas was the focus. good nights sleep 5810 782965 Sleep Health at Vacation Spas May be more Important than Massages, Facials, Manicures/Pedicures, Diet or even Exercise!

Tonight’s piece on CBS’s 60 Minutes made these points clearer through video than I ever could in writing. I hope everyone who didn’t see it would watch it. Here is the link. A new thing I learned is that it appears we can add diabetes to the long list of consequences of sleep deprivation.

Sometimes I think that sleep health is my mantra. And for this upcoming week – it is no exception. Here is why….

I was thinking this morning about the volatile financial market situation we witnessed last Friday and how this might affect the spa industry. And what advice I might give.
I remember the October 1997 stock market plunge (which was later called Black Monday) and ever since have been aware that bad news at the end of a week might result in even worse news on Mondays. It just makes sense to me that after a weekend when people kind of regroup, they begin thinking about their personal financial situation and start taking steps toward self preservation. Too many people making financial moves all at once on a Monday can spell disaster.
Of course, I hope that I am wrong. My advice, however, for both spa consumers as well as the spa industry would be the same – be extra careful to get enough sleep. Dealing with challenges wisely necessitates clear thinking and emotional balance. Eating well is a good idea, exercising helps, however getting healthy and adequate amounts of sleep is possibly even more important. If you aren’t convinced, please do me (and yourself) a favor, and watch The Science of Sleep Part 1 and Part 2 from last night’s 60 Minutes.

Well…am off to bed.

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Retail Sales at Spas are Good for the Customer and the Spa

(….this is the second time I am posting “Retail Sales at Spas are Good for the Customer and the Spa”)
by Susie Ellis

I posted the Retail Sales post which follows last week and soon after the post went live, I received an email from someone suggesting that it wasn’t a good idea for me to post it because spa consumers – not just spa industry professionals – might read it. In the post I was talking about the importance of retail sales for a spa’s bottom line. Since I was rather busy and didn’t have time to reread my blog to consider editing it, I asked my assistant just to pull it for now until I could take another look…which I did this morning. And have decided….I am posting it as is.

One thing I have learned about blogs is that truth is what people want. Trying to “look a certain way,” “sell,” or “promote” isn’t what blogs are about. My blog is just a place for me to share my views, my feelings, my ideas….and given that I have been in the spa industry for 30 years, have a passion for it, have visited a lot of spas, have run my own spas and businesses and am in the loop on most spa happenings around the world, well, I guess some people feel that my thoughts are interesting and maybe even useful to them – both consumers and spa professionals. So I don’t really think much about who the audience is but rather just write “top of mind” as someone suggested I do when I began. Blogs generally find their audience over time and I don’t consider it my job to try and widen my blog’s appeal. My job is to be transparent and truthful.

Regarding spa consumers…I have come to have a great deal of respect for them. They are bright, savvy people. Gary Walther, the editor in chief of Luxury SpaFinder Magazine, taught me this. He writes to his audience with a high level of respect and admiration. He doesn’t “speak down” or treat an audience as if they are youngsters. I have really liked that approach.

Therefore, it seems just fine to me for spa consumers to learn that a spa needs to have retail sales in order to make a profit and keep prices of services reasonable. Since consumers are buying products (especially skin care products) somewhere anyway, there is nothing wrong with asking them to please buy them from us. Intuitively spa-goers know that when a trained aesthetician spends at least an hour working with a client’s skin – and has trained extensively on whatever spa product brand they are using – it isn’t such a bad idea to follow their advice. It seems more reasonable to me than going with what a salesperson at a department store recommends after a 2 minute conversation. And yes, aestheticians often get a percentage of the sale (usually around 10%) but consumers know that when they buy things like clothes, electronics, cars, etc. that the salesperson is likely to receive a commission. Well, it’s the same thing for many spa product sales.

So….for the second time now, I am going to hit the “publish post” button and hope you don’t mind the transparency.

Retail Sales at Spas are Good for the Customer and the Spa
by Susie Ellis

From my notes at the recent ISPA conference re the 2007 Spa Industry research study results: Retail Purchase Effect on Retention

  • 0 spa products bought = 40% customer return rate
  • 1 spa product bought = 70% customer return rate
  • 2 spa products bought = 80% customer return rate

product.ontable 707539 Retail Sales at Spas are Good for the Customer and the SpaI thought wow! What a great thing to know…and what a smart thing for spas to teach their staff! This information should be spread across the spa world like wildfire.

Intuitively it makes sense that when a client purchases a product at a spa, it means they had confidence in the spa and will now stay more connected since the product will remind them of the spa every time they use it at home. It is also very possible that whatever products were bought (skin care in which the customer has been educated is the number one seller) has given them good results which brings them back to the spa.

Attaining a 70% or 80% return rate at a spa is no small feat. As we know in business, it is less expensive to get customers to come back than to attract new customers. And doing so by establishing a relationship through a product is a very positive way to do that. Spa therapists in particular will find this motivating since they do want to have repeat clientele. Even if they are not oriented toward product sales, they do want to see a client come in regularly, improve their skin, stress level, etc. And this is one very tangible way to do so.

When I later purchased the ISPA study, I could not find those statistics in there. Perhaps I missed it, or perhaps they are published somewhere else in an earlier study? At any rate, I thought these numbers were important findings and worth passing on. So spread the word!

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Special Spa Training in Ayurveda

Special Spa Training in AyurvedaI just received a follow-up email from Dr. Swati, the Indian born doctor in Ayurveda, Natural Medicine, and Yoga Therapy who I met at Parrot Cay. Dr. Swati just joined the staff at Como Shambhala and I must say she is a very impressive addition. She gave a presentation to our group, which was the most thorough explanation of Ayurveda I have ever heard. She has worked many years in Indian hospital and healing settings, and it was obvious to our entire group that she is a gifted healer (in addition to being very smart with a good sense of humor.) A private consultation with her is $150 which, after meeting her, is really a true bargain; I wish that I would have had more time to take advantage of that opportunity. But if anyone is reading this who is thinking about going to Parrot Cay….take my word for it and schedule a consultation with Dr. Swati before word gets out and she is totally booked!

Kudos to Chi Spa for Etiquette. Learning about China.

shangri la.pudong 759619 Kudos to Chi Spa for Etiquette. Learning about China.One silly memory – but because it is one of my pet peeves – I am sure I won’t forget it. Of the many spa treatments I’ve had, I can count on one hand the number of therapists who have washed their hands in front of me before starting the treatment. Here at the Chi spa in Shanghai, at the Pudong Shangri-La Shanghai hotel, my therapist made it a point to say between each part of my treatment, “I will go and wash my hands now.” She must have said it 3 times. Kudos then to my first spa therapist in China. And kudos to the Chi spa training program.

A thought. After our first Shanghai spa experience, Nicholas and I had dinner before heading to the Bund to see a bit of the nightlife. When we returned later in the evening, our cab driver dropped us off at the side entrance to the hotel amongst quite a bit of traffic. After we got out of the cab (thankfully) our cab driver got into a fist fight with someone from another vehicle because both vehicles wouldn’t budge to alleviate a traffic jam. This was frightening.

I thought later about how I am seeing two aspects of China here….one is the very modern face with skyscrapers, western style restaurants, and plenty of contemporary glitz. The other is a backwardness which is very foreign to an American. The fight was one example; another was a woman helping her young child, about four, squat down to go the bathroom right in front of me on a ferry ride, like a dog going to the bathroom in the street. Then there were the sounds, and sights, of older men clearing their throats and spitting on the sidewalk. It’s a bit of a yin and yang experience and I look forward to learning more about the dichotomy while I am here. I wonder if the shift from the dark ages of the cultural revolution to the modernizing influence of the west on this communist country is at the root. It certainly hasn’t been a gradual evolution of change for them.

New Six Senses Spa at Punta Cana and Tortuga Bay

The Dominican Republic is probably known more for its all-inclusive affordable vacation packages than for its luxury resorts. Based on my recent visit, I’d say that is about to change.
01 777231 New Six Senses Spa at Punta Cana and Tortuga Bay
One of the properties leading the change is the repositioned PUNTACANA Resort & Club, no longer an all-inclusive but a more traditional resort offering – and yet it has remained very affordable. A luxury addition called Tortuga Bay with a few beachfront estate villas was added to the property. I was told that Oscar de la Renta designed the interiors of these villas (pictured at right), and they are exquisite! Both give you access to the newly opened Six Senses Spa.

The rooms at Tortuga Bay cost more than $600 per night and, at PUNTACANA, less than $200 per night. I was lucky enough to have the Tortuga Bay experience as well as a taste of the resort’s two gourmet respaa 706125 New Six Senses Spa at Punta Cana and Tortuga Baytaurants. But as usual, the Six Senses Spa was the highlight. My four-handed 90-minute massage was one of the best I have ever had. There is nothing like having someone massage a fragrant Sodashi product on your face while another therapist is giving you a foot massage. And of particular interest to me was their use of very warm towels as they alternated between compression and massage.

In all honesty, it is one of the first times I have thought that it truly is possible to have a signature spa treatment that is so unusual in its choreography (and its execution) that you can actually say “That’s a Six Senses Spa Treatment.”