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December 20, 2010

Spa Vendor Spotlight: Spa Management Consultants

Institute of Management Consultants - Spa Chapter
The Institute of Management Consultant's  Spa / Hospitality Chapter is a virtual community whose members provide marketing, management, design, operations and other consulting services to spa and hospitality clientele.

Browse Additional SpaWire Vendor Resources

Posted on December 20, 2010 in Marketing, Research / Studies, Resources, Social Media, Spa Trade Tools, Training and Education | | Comments (0)

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August 17, 2010

Resort Spas Focus on Spirituality

Resorts have long had programs and spa offers to attract mothers and daughters and girlfriend groups to stay and play. But now the resorts are infusing these getaways with spirituality or self-development.

"We are finding more women want get-togethers to be educational, and they want to learn from one another and get some inspiration for dealing with the current times," said Kathy Massarand, sales and marketing director at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa in Paradise Valley.  "They want to let go or heal or find inspiration for ways to maintain their heath and spirituality."


Posted on August 17, 2010 in Events and Promotions, Marketing, Sign of the Times, Trends | | Comments (0)

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July 23, 2010

How Ritz Carlton's CEO Simon Cooper Marries Luxury and Social Savvy

SpaCast Staff Post

This week's staff meeting at Spa Index Media turned lively when the topic turned to the social networking platform of Twitter, and the trend called #LuxuryChat, which takes place the third Wednesday of every month.

Our principal, Kevin McClain, has long been a proponent of Twitter (in fact, he was the first user among our staff), reads each and every one of our Twitter posts, and  frequently tweets a little something to remind us that while we're busy spotlighting spa specials, grand openings, recommendations, healthy spa recipes and such, trending is going on in the social media arena that we need to examine more closely.

McClain leaned forward and pricked up his ears when our Twitter Staff announced that Simon F. Cooper (@SimonFCooper) President of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (@RitzCarltonCSR  @RitzCarltonPR), was the special guest for July's #luxurychat.

"You're witnessing a tipping point for luxury brands in social media" he said.  "If Simon Cooper of The Ritz-Carlton can spend an hour to answer a salvo of questions from consumers and industry professionals,  CEOs of other luxury brands are going to be hard-pressed to excuse not doing so."

"Won't they just say 'we've never chatted up our luxury goods and we don't need to start now' or something like that?" we asked.

"Sure, and reveal themselves to not be forward thinking, or to reveal they see no value in socially engaging  entrepreneurs, brands, clients, friends and followers in a consumer enterprise." he replied. "The Ritz has always engaged its guests. It's just using smart, new tools to do so."

He also added "Luxury travel has been hit hard in our industry.  Incredibly, SPA -- health through water -- has become a dirty word, we all know that.  Event planners are saying 'take the word spa off your resort's name on my invoicing or I won't book my convention with you this year'."

"Luxury brands have to be careful to balance hospitality viewed through a social lens and the concept of delivering luxury -- without apologizing for it. Cooper's example shows an iconoclastic global luxury brand taking a new tack, using a new tool, to expand on what they've always done -- demonstrate unwavering luxury hospitality and showing that it's approachable.  'Welcome to my luxury brand.  At the Ritz, as my guest, you have more than luxury. You have my ear'."

So what does "luxury" even mean and why do we need to chat and tweet about it? 

It means many things to many people,  so we'll borrow a line from Supreme Court Justice William Brennan and say "We know it when we see it."   

In #luxurychat, you had in a one-hour time frame, nearly 200 hundred people, from writers to consumers to marketing representatives, engaging one another on a virtual tree branch, projecting not simply luxury trends they observe in the industry, but discussing those trends directly with a CEO of a luxury brand.  A luxury mash-up in a fast-paced classroom. Take what you need from it, and leave the rest.  

Take a look at some of Cooper's responses to many questions posed during the #luxurychat (as limited by the 140 character format, of course):

  • What value do I see in social media? ENGAGEMENT! 
  • It's exactly what we have always focused on as an organization. Engaging with our guests.
  • Social media provides us with so many new channels with which to communicate with people who want to know more about our brand.
  • If someone takes the time to send us any kind of [negative] comment, we view that as an opportunity to review and improve.
  • We use all channels available and hope that we are seen to be not only an aspirational brand, but approachable too.

  • We are always looking to introduce our brand to new audiences. Multi-generational, Multi-cultural, Multi-lingual, you name it!

McClain has long been involved with socially responsible causes, sponsors socially responsible entrepreneurs, and admires The Ritz-Carlton brand for their dedication to Corporate Social Responsibility through their Community Footprints and Giveback Getaways .  "Cooper and the Ritz just 'get it.'  They use social media not solely for financial motives, but to assure that guests and contacts alike get the best experience possible when interacting with their brand.  I don't define that as simply 'being social.' I define that as luxury." 

Special acknowledgments and thanks to the equally forward-thinking moderators of the Twitter #LuxuryChat:

@EliteTravelGal
@LuxuryPRGal
@TierraFilhiol
@MissSmartFlyer
@luxmextrvlchica
@leyla_a
@LuxeTiffany

For more information about the July Luxury Chat click here


 

Posted on July 23, 2010 in Current Affairs, Events and Promotions, Interviews, Marketing, People on the Move, Philanthropy, Sign of the Times, Social Media, Spa Index Members, Trends, Twitter | | Comments (0)

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July 22, 2010

L'Occitane enters the Indian spa market

L’Occitane, the French luxury skincare and beauty products retailer, has signed a partnership deal with Devi Resorts to enter the growing Indian spa market, senior company officials said. The partners plan to set up at least three spas co-branded as Devi Spa by L’Occitane in several luxury hotels in the country including the Devi Garh Palace in Udaipur, voted as the best boutique hotel in India by Conde Nast magazine.

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Posted on July 22, 2010 in Day Spas, Development, Marketing, News, Trends | | Comments (0)

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May 20, 2010

Spa Consultant a Treatment for Declining Sales in New York

Epidavros Day Spa, in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., bears the name of the ancient Greek coastal town known as a healing sanctuary. But by the end of 2009, owner Sandra Rovira says the spa’s atmosphere was anything but restorative.

Read the Story

Browse Day Spas in New York

Posted on May 20, 2010 in Day Spas, Marketing | | Comments (0)

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April 15, 2010

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Launches New Spa Therapy

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will introduce a new bespoke Oriental Essence spa therapy, together with additional homecare products at many of its luxury hotel spas worldwide, from May 2010. The one-hour signature Oriental Essence massage has been devised to introduce guests to a simple, effective and authentic spa experience in a short period of time.

Oriental Essence consists of a powerful, hands-on body massage ritual that combines the potent effects of oriental meridian massage with the therapeutic benefits of Mandarin Oriental’s signature “Quintessence” custom-blended essential oil. Each treatment begins with a short back diagnostic consultation in order to determine each individual’s personal and current state of wellbeing. A firm full body massage is then tailored to each guest.

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Posted on April 15, 2010 in Development, Marketing, News, Press Releases, Promotions, Spa Products, Trends | | Comments (0)

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April 12, 2010

Middle East Spas stripped down to enable profitability.

Spas have become an indispensable component of top hotels in recent years. This is true not only in terms of the perceived glamour and sophistication of spas, but more importantly, of compliance with classification authorities across our region, for whom this box must be ticked to merit a five-star badge.

Despite this trend, less than half the spas in the Middle East are in fact profitable. That is the assertion of Jo Clare, director of Spa Solutions, a consulting firm founded in Dubai in 2001, whose project portfolio includes spa hotels from Armani to The Address and Marriott to Le Méridien

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Posted on April 12, 2010 in Current Affairs, Day Spas, Interviews, Marketing, News, Spa Trade Tools, Trends | | Comments (0)

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February 11, 2010

South African Spa Association Media Resource

The South African Spa Association aims to assist the media wherever possible with its inquiries on statistics, comments on articles, editorial and lists of accredited spas. Formed in 2007, the association acts as an ambassador for the spa industry, with representation in all aspects, such as health and wellness, tourism and hospitality, education and training.

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Find Spa Associations, Organizations, and Alliances from SpaWire:

http://www.spawire.com/Vendors/Associations.htm

Posted on February 11, 2010 in Associations, Current Affairs, Marketing, News, Trends | | Comments (0)

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January 19, 2010

Updated! Spa Themed Twitter Lists

By popular request!  Our readers asked and we are happy to oblige. SpaIndex.com (publisher of SpaCast) previously tweeted its @SpaIndex #FollowFriday theme of Twitter users who are making use of  Twitter's "List Feature."  We've been asked to share our growing collection of "Twitter's Top Spa List Creators" and Spa Related Twitter Lists.  

Browsing another user's spa list is a great way to find new spa enthusists and providers in greater numbers than is permitted by the #FollowFriday trend, and by "following the list" itself you may review all tweets from the listed users in one session.

As the list feature on Twitter continues to gain popularity, and we receive your tips via Twitter, we'll enhance this list -- just let us know if you or your peers have created a spa related "Twitter List" by following and tweeting us @spaindex. *

TWITTER USERS WITH SPA-RELATED LISTS:

Newest Additions!

*Inclusion in SpaCast's Twitter Spa Lists is subject to approval.

Posted on January 19, 2010 in Day Spas, Development, Lists, Marketing, Medi Spas, People on the Move, Press / Media Opportunities, Research / Studies, Social Media, Spa Hotels, Spa Index Members, Spa Trade Tools, Twitter, Web/Tech | | Comments (0)

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December 23, 2009

More on the remarkeable LEED certifications for CityCenter Las Vegas

CityCenter may very well change the way the hotel world looks at sustainability. For the first time in the lodging business at this kind of a scale, a company set out to incorporate wide-ranging green efforts in order to create some of the most environmentally friendly structures that have ever been constructed. 

Incredibly, six components of the $8.5 billion CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip have achieved LEED Gold certification, an accomplishment of Herculean proportions that is a total game changer for any significant hospitality project on a go-forward basis.

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Posted on December 23, 2009 in Awards and Accolades, Current Affairs, Development, Grand Openings, Green Spas, Marketing, Science, Spa Hotels, Trends | | Comments (0)

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