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

Why don't men know how to spa? Well, we feel awkward, adiposal and clumsy.

Why is it that the average spa's music system playlist is firmly stuck in the bad early-1990s, during that preposterous “new age” period after the acid-house boom but before the upscale scented candle boom? Why do we always get massaged to the bleating, aural kapok of Enya and Enigma and those ubiquitous, Peruvian sodding panpipes? Why don't they see that it's a man lying face down on the upholstered slab and give us some Elgar, Beethoven, Chopin or Ryuichi Sakamoto? Why not a selection of Bowie's instrumentals from his Low/Heroes period? Why not William Orbit or Kraftwerk? Why not the sound of newborn babies gurgling, the soporific white noise of an unattended hotel telly, or Scarlett Johansson softly reciting passages from Proust?

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Steiner Leisure Limited Announces Agreement to Operate a Luxury Spa At the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel On the Kohala Coast of Hawaii

Steiner Leisure Limited (Nasdaq:STNR) has announced that its luxury resort spa division, Mandara Spa, has entered into an agreement to operate a luxury spa facility located at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii. The term of the agreement is five years, with an option to renew for an additional five-year term at Mandara's option.

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Spa and pampering businesses thrive in spite of recession

So far so good: the pampering business is still thriving in Finland, despite the economic downturn. Both beauty parlours and spas and wellness centers alike seem to continue to attract a commendable number of clients. But several such businesses have also taken note of the fact that these days companies no longer bring their corporate clients to receive the beautifying and relaxing treatments on offer as frequently as they once did.

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You Got to Spend Money to Make Money

The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is ramping up its marketing and offering a host of deals to lure vacationers during crucial mid-week nights.  Like the rest of the hospitality industry, the high-end resort is fighting for a slice of a shrinking pie. Tri-county tourism promises to be one of the few bright spots in a down economy, but it has become “more difficult to grab market share, so we’ve put together a very aggressive advertising program,” said Peter Bowen, the resort’s sales and marketing director.

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Owning a Spa Can Mean Long Hours

Ever wonder what it’s like to raise three young children, own and operate a business, and manage a second business — all at the same time?  Just ask Hillary and Jeff Gayler of rural Fithian have owned Escape Hair and Body Spa for almost six years and Hillary is the full-time manager of the business.

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2009 International Spa Association Spa Trends

From customizing your style, to customizing your car - we all want services tailor made to our busy lifestyles. This is why, as the voice of the spa industry, the International SPA Association is forecasting customization as one of the hottest trends of 2009.

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Couples in the Day Spa Environment Evolve

The Resort at Pelican Hill has seen a steady demand for coed rub downs since Newport Beach lifted a decades-long ban on couple’s massage at local resort hotels last month. "Couple’s massage is one of the most popular treatments now,” said Kasia Mays, spa director for the Resort at Pelican Hill, which opened in November in Newport Coast.   Mays estimates that 12% to 15% of the clientele at Pelican Hill’s new 23,000-square-foot spa are requesting couple’s spa treatments.

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Medi Spa Patient Awarded $500,000

Shirleen Sifford, 38, of Greensboro recently won a more than $500,000 civil lawsuit against the alternative medicine spa.  She says she suffered a serious blood infection in May 2007 after going to Altmed for a procedure to reduce fat in her abdomen. She's now taking steroid shots to deal with the complications, preventing her and her husband from starting a family, Sifford said.

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Casino Spas Among Most Profitable

Spas in casino resorts have come a long way since Steve Wynn opened the first casino spa at his Golden Nugget in the 1980s.  Today, spas in casino hotels are among the most profitable in the world. These world-class facilities are placed with hotels with thousands of guest rooms, and cater to a captive, free-spending clientele that both appreciates pampering and sees the value of balancing high-octane indulgence with recharging, health-oriented pursuits.

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Resort on Daufuskie Island files for bankruptcy

The owner of the financially struggling resort and spa on Daufuskie Island filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday amid declining revenue and litigation over efforts to sell parts of the sprawling remote getaway. Hilton Head Island-based Daufuskie Island Properties LLC, which owns the historic Melrose Inn and does business as Daufuskie Island Resort & Breathe Spa, listed assets of $97.1 million and liabilities of $88.2 million.  A 187-page bankruptcy petition filed in Columbia showed that the company's revenue plunged by more than one-third between 2007 and 2008, skidding to $17.3 million from $27.5 million.

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