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

Foot massage parlors in Los Angeles County are feeling pinched as officials step up licensing enforcement.

About a half dozen employees waited for customers to trickle in on a searing weekday afternoon at Ching Lau's foot massage spa -- a long, open room lined with armchairs and stools from which masseuses knead pressure points across people's soles.   The second-floor storefront near an Asian grocer in Rowland Heights is part of a wave of foot massage businesses that has saturated ethnic-Chinese neighborhoods in Los Angeles County over the last three years.

The popularity of foot massage has risen as cutthroat competition has sent prices downward. But now, business owners are dealing with a new problem: a crackdown by county and state officials who have ruled that they need licenses from the state Board of Barbering and Cosmetology.

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Spa offers lunchtime power naps in futuristic pods

Rejuvenate, which opened in November 2007 inside the SunTrust Plaza, offers five snooze suites, each separated by chocolate colored curtains. A 30-minute nap costs $19. Snooze for an hour and pay $35.

Ann Wagner spent $14 on a recent lunch hour. Taking a nap.  Closing her eyes in an egg-shaped, computerized sleeping pod inside the atrium-level storefront at one of downtown Atlanta's busiest buildings, Wagner's 20-minute snooze cost more than a ticket to the movies. 

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Crunch time for luxury hotels

A steady increase in competition, the worsening economic downturn and falling guest figures are spelling out a difficult future for the luxury hospitality sector.

The Europe Hotel & Resort in Kerry is the latest five-star hotel to invest millions on everything from mud baths and rain showers, to infinity pools and laconiums. The hotel will open its €35 million spa in August, offering customers no less than 4,600 square metres of space in which to indulge and pamper themselves.

But in the current economic climate, will they get a return on their spa investments? Michael Brennan, general manager of the Europe Hotel, said the spa under construction was part of a €75 million investment in the hotel and its facilities. Today, you cannot have a top-end luxury resort without a spa, said Brennan.

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British Beauty & Spa Awards 2008 Finalist Announced

The individuals, salons and spas who have achieved finalist status at the 12th Annual British Beauty & Spa Awards have just been announced.  Health & Beauty Salon magazine launched the British Beauty & Spa Awards in 1997 to raise the profile of the professional beauty and spa industry by recognizing and rewarding innovation and excellence throughout the profession.

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Smile Reminder Keeps Spa-Lovers Loyal

A day at the spa can be the ultimate luxurious experience, but a missed appointment can not only lead to some serious frown lines, but lost revenue as well. Smile Reminder allows patrons to receive customized text messages or emails reminding them of future appointments, making empty massage tables a thing of the past. The automated service also informs spa-goers of new treatments, products and services, continually bringing them back to their favorite spa for more.

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Even In Uncertain Times, Spas Are Booming

During World War II, makeup was a morale booster for women, and sales of red lipstick skyrocketed.

In today's uncertain economic times, that same feeling - updated with a tony twist - is reflected in many women's unwillingness to relinquish beauty services that make them look and feel fabulous.

They might not splurge on fancy vacations or a new car, but they're faithfully scrubbing, kneading and exfoliating away their stress at local day spas and beauty salons.

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Ten Disturbing Spa Treatments

A girl needs to be pampered every now and then. After a long week at the 9-to-5, few things sound better than a relaxing massage and a bubbly drink. Clearly, I’m not alone—there are spas popping up all over the world, each one’s sole purpose to cater to our every desire. Papaya-scented body scrub? No problem. A mani-pedi-Botox package? Standard these days. Bull semen in your hair? You betcha!

The proliferation of spas has created a competitive market. Some of these spas, like the ones listed below, are coming up with the wackiest, strangest services to lure us in through sheer curiosity. Apparently pampering isn’t enough anymore—it’s got to shock us, too.

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Maldives Spa Launches the Sleep Spa Concept

Iru Fushi Beach & Spa Resort, which opens late summer 2008, recognises how important sleep is to its guests and is to launch the first Sleep Spa concept in the Maldives. In collaboration with Sun Spa, the programme, entitled Sweet Dreams, has one main goal – to help adults and children relax and to catch up on that much needed sleep that many of them can only dream of doing whilst on holiday.

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Massage Chairs as Drug Mules

A Vietnamese organised crime syndicate was behind an attempt to smuggle $31 million worth of drugs hidden in foot spas and massage chairs into Australia, a court has heard.  Australian federal agent Christopher Rowntree told the court more than 165 kilograms of drugs concealed in foot spas and massage chairs had been detected in late May by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in a shipping container bound for Australia.

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Massage Therapist On Call(TM) launches Free Massage for All

Like Johnny Appleseed of legend, "Dave Freerub" is on a mission, too. The mission: free massage for all!

In a time when deep economic woe, record foreclosures and bank failures, ridiculously high gas prices, global insecurity, an unpopular war and despair grips the nation, it may seem to some that a massage is a bit frivolous. To the contrary, a free 5 minute massage and neck rub from a professional, licensed massage therapist could well be the momentary relief everyone in America needs from all these troubles and tribulations.   Massage Therapist On Call(TM) (mtOnCall.com) is partnering with major retail and commercial locations to provide massage stands which offer FREE 5 minute massages to anyone and everyone.

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