Spa and Hotel news from SpaCast.com. Part of Spa Index Media Network.

Soft-Price Pampering: Spas Reflect the Economy

Spas have been working hard over the past few years to market themselves as a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle, not an indulgence.  But now that consumers are feeling anxious about paying for even more basic needs — like gas, house payments and butter — some spas are responding with a different strategy to appeal to stressed-out, maxed-out customers: discounts.

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Rosewood Hotels & Resorts of Dallas is branding its spas

Ultra-luxury hotel owner and operator Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is putting its brand on spas. The Dallas-based company, which began prominently including its name on its hotels only two years ago, has launched Sense, a Rosewood spa.    It's a move that mirrors efforts by other upscale hotels to leverage their spas as a marketing tool and revenue driver.

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Virginia's spas bypass laws by serving alcohol

It's been 40 years since Virginia allowed liquor to be sold by the drink.  Since then, the state's ABC laws have gotten complicated.

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Grand Traverse Resort & Spa Settles Class Action Lawsuit by Spa Employees

A settlement was reached in a class action lawsuit between the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa and scores of resort employees over money withheld from their paychecks that was used for resort marketing.

The resort agreed to pay $78,000 to a group of around 150 current and former resort workers in a settlement filed Monday in 13th Circuit Court. The resort was sued last summer over alleged violations of state employment and wage laws over $150 bi-weekly paycheck deductions for numerous employees at its health spa that were used to help fund the resort's marketing efforts.

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Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort & Spa Takes Honors

The Spa at Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort & Spa has been voted the #1 Resort Spa in the country in a Readers' Poll published in the April 2008 issue of Conde Nast Traveler. The Readers Poll, which is conducted every year, ranks Spas across North America based on numerous criteria, including; Setting, Services, Staff, Programs and Cuisine, among others. Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort & Spa was honored with an overall score of 91.8 out of 100 - the highest in its category.

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New Policies Have California Salons on their Toes

Dirty foot spas in Orange County, California nail salons have sparked concern among consumers, causing the creation of new regulations.   The Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) is cracking the whip by enforcing a new regulation that allows any representative of the board to temporarily suspend an establishment's license immediately if unsanitary conditions exist. . . . If debris is found in jets, foot-plates or impellers upon the removal of screens from foot spas, a license can be suspended.

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Medi Spas to Expand in India

Pacific Healthcare Holdings is expanding its presence in India via a joint venture that will invest 10 million Singapore dollars (7.2 million US dollars) in the healthcare sector over the next three years, executives said on Wednesday.  The Birla-Pacific MedSpa will be 50 per cent owned by India's Yash Birla's Group, 42.5 per cent held by Pacific Healthcare and 7.5 per cent by a dermatologist based in India.

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Nation's First Green Medical Spa Opens in San Francisco

Epi Center MedSpa celebrates its 10^th anniversary with the opening of the country’s first Eco-MedSpa in San Francisco in a completely renovated facility in the historic Union Square medical building. The new facility is LEED certified and built entirely with sustainable materials, from recycled and FSC-certified wood, marble flooring and countertops, to the eco-paints and recycled fabrics.

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Facial with bird excrement takes flight at New York spa

Forget avocado, evening primrose oil or other exotic ingredients, the latest facial to hit New York is a mask made with bird excrement.  The Geisha Facial, available at Shizuka New York for $180, about $100 more than the shop's other facials, contains nightingale excrement.

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Obese Customer Plans to Sue Salon for Refusing Pedicure

She claims she was turned away and told she's too fat for a pedicure.  Now, a West Palm Beach woman is planning a discrimination suit against a local nail salon.

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