The great recession appears to have been harder on hotel spa operations than on hotels themselves. According to a new study released by PKF Consulting USA (PKFC), hotel spas experienced deeper declines in revenues and profits than did hotels, as measured by RevPAR, in 2008 and 2009 and also are taking longer to recover. While the hotel industry began to improve in the second quarter of 2010, hote...

Intelligent Spas' new Singapore Spa Benchmark Report identified the spa industry underwent significant changes between 2009 and 2010. "Unprecedented changes have occurred in the Singapore spa market which are the most dramatic seen by Intelligent Spas within any spa industry it has studied over the last 10 years", explained Julie Garrow, Managing Director of 100% independent research company Inte...

Employee health protection is a vital part of TAC´s overall strategy. In October, the Austria-based developers of the spa & activity software "Reservation Assistant" invited their team to a two-day "Stress-less" workshop. Now TAC's employees can enjoy relaxing chair massages in their office.

PAR Springer-Miller Systems, Inc. (PSMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR) and leading provider of guest-centric hospitality management systems, today announced that SpaSoft® Spa and Activity Management System Version 3.2.2.0 has been certified to connect with Fusebox, Elavon's hosted payment gateway.

"As more eforea: spa at Hilton locations open around the globe, our first location in Europe is another important milestone for us," said Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts. "This location at Hilton Baku brings eforea: spa at Hilton to four continents and offers stunning city and sea views. This spa will deliver a world class relaxation environment for guests to refresh, rejuvenate...

"The ISPA 2011 U.S. Spa Industry Study takes an in-depth look at how spas managed the recession, as well as providing information on the types of treatments offered, a breakdown by spa type and marketing tactics employed by spas," said ISPA President Lynne McNees. "We're excited to report positive growth in the data and look forward to sharing the information with spa professionals to help them s...

"The key message from the survey is the spa industry in the U.S. is recovering from the worst recession to hit the country in living memory," said Colin McIlheney, Global Research Director at PwC. "The most positive takeaway from the study is that the health of the industry has stabilized after the declines recorded last year. 'Cautiously optimistic' would sum up the recurring theme from many res...

Westin is positioning itself as the hotel to stay at for wellness. In May Brian Povinelli started as global brand manager for Westin Hotels and Resorts, a brand of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, White Plains, New York. Povinelli is leading the brand’s evolution into a hotel for wellness, whether that be physical fitness or a good meal.

In July, Ramen shepherds the hotel and resort group's spas through its most significant makeover yet, jettisoning products, adopting new organic lines from Voya, Ila and SpaRitual and bearing down on holistic principles.

Hotel & Leisure Advisors, LLC's (H&LA's) summer 2011 survey of indoor waterpark resorts and outdoor waterpark resorts in the U.S. and Canada indicates that the number of waterpark resorts has grown in the past year, although at a much slower pace than during the mid 2000s due to the impact of the economic recession. New waterpark resort projects are expected to increase in 2012 and beyond as fina...