Reinventing the Spa for the 21st Century
The bad news for spa managers and operators starts with this slap in the face: you don't know your competition.
Opinion Articles
Capitalizing on the health-conscious traveler
The year is ending on a high note, with most people checking off their lists for the achieved and not so well-done objectives set in January. On top of a majority's list is in aspects of lifestyle, from eating healthy to staying fit. This is where the health and wellness tourism come in, a market estimated to grow to over $675 billion by end of 2017.
By Josephine Wawira, Consultant, Jumia Travel
Reorganizing Spa Operations to Leverage Automation and Technology
Technology and automation are making exponential headway touching nearly all sectors of hospitality, including spa and wellness. This article reviews the impact and importance of integrating these systematisations to help stimulate and streamline the functionality and profitability of hotel and resort spa operations. Retooling the focus from manually centered services and embracing advancements in new technologies to support sustainable profitability and continued growth.
By Mia Mackman, Owner and Principal, MACKMAN|ES
Key Drivers for Hotel and Resort Spa Profitability | By Mia A. Mackman and Ryan Wall
Relaxation and a sense of wellbeing are at the heart of the spa and wellness market. Hence, it's no wonder that hotels, resorts, and spas have begun to reorganize their operations around wellness. The benefits, in the form of a stronger bottom line and appeal to demand segments, extend not only to guests but to hoteliers and hospitality companies, as well.
By Ryan Wall and Mia Mackman
InFISHigate This Underrated Menu Choice
As health eating takes the world by storm, many people are adopting strict or esoteric diets that are becoming commonplace in any urban area. Vegetarians, vegans, paleo, raw diet – all must be appeased. As a staunch meat-lover, I can't fully grasp those who stave off cow and lamb entirely. But if I had to, I could give up red meat and poultry, but never fish.
By Larry Mogelonsky, Partner, Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited
Hotel Fitness Centers, a new ‘gold’ in the hospitality industry
Fitness Centers have become the new 'gold' in the hospitality industry, with a recently published Hospitality Report Nigeria by Jumia Travel showing the Gym as one of the most sought after amenities by customers booking a hotel stay. The growing trend from home based fitness programs to local fitness memberships, now includes the need for travelers to keep fit even when on their trips, be it leisure or business. In this regard, most hotels have adopted to the trend and incorporated gym/fitness facilities in their properties, while those with existing ones have gone a notch higher to renovate in a bid to create a better impression.
By Josephine Wawira, Consultant, Jumia Travel
Spa RIP: Is It Time to Shut Yours?
The numbers from the American Hotel and Lodging Association are sobering. Many of us in the resort and hotel spa sector have come to think we are in an endless cycle of growth. The reality is starkly different and uglier. AHLA reports that today just 5% of hotels have on-site spas that include dedicated treatment rooms. That is down from 17% in 2012.
Naming the Top Three 2017 Resort Trends - Be Ready for Surprises
This year has to count as a transitional year in US hospitality. We can now see the end of the boom and that's not to say bad times are ahead but that guaranteed good times look to be coming to an end. What that means is that those who succeed will have to work harder - and smarter - to claim their wins. Authenticity, commitment, passion and hard, focused work will be drivers of 2017 success. And the fast track to those successes is knowing what is going to be hot before everybody has gotten the memo. Here are the three mega trends I believe will be transformative to many resorts in the year ahead.
Healthy Foods as a Wellness Trend for Any Hotel
I remember my early post-college days working for a Fortune 50 firm where there was limited regard for one's health. Meetings held in a haze of tobacco smoke; cholesterol and calories were mere words undeserving of their accounting ledger; and trans-fats weren't even known let alone demonized.
By Larry Mogelonsky, Partner, Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited
Airbnb Will Never Gain This Hotels’ Competitive Advantage
I can understand frustration of decision makers in the hotels industry, as Airbnb is taking more and more of their clients. Many hotels face uncertainty and need to reevaluate costs of multiple marketing, advertising and social media campaigns, as they compete not only with new hotels nearby, but with this new game changer - Airbnb.
By Avigail Berg-panitz, Social & Wellness Entrepreneur, Avigail Berg-Panitz
What Place is there for Technology in Spa?
Long a refuge for hands-on, personal service and a haven away from the constant connection of today's technology, spas are discovering that they, too, have a need for high-tech. From offering the latest modern treatments to connecting with guests on social media, technology has a role in almost every aspect of the spa experience.
By Amanda Wisell, Marketing Manager, PAR Springer-Miller
What’s Next for Hotel and Resort Spa
Resort and hotel spas make up only about 20% of the global spa market but are often a source of inspiration and leadership in the spa industry while facing unique challenges. In addition to changing workplace dynamics as new generations enter the workforce, they must constantly search for ways to find and retain qualified staff. Staying current with trends in a rapidly evolving industry, as well as marketing to both hotel & resort guests and the local market, represent ongoing challenges.
By Amanda Wisell, Marketing Manager, PAR Springer-Miller
Exponential Growth Projected in the Medical Tourism Industry
In simple words, the term Medical tourism means the act of traveling to another country in search of better, affordable and sustainable medical treatment. This can be either because the treatment in question is unavailable in the home country, is expensive or illegal. While conventionally this kind of travel was from the less developed to high developed nations for medical treatment, the trend has in recent past taken a new twist with people traveling from high to less developed countries for the same purpose. The former is however still common.
By Josephine Wawira, Consultant, Jumia Travel
The Next Huge Marketing Opportunity for Resorts
The future is now. A new report from the World Health Organization quantifies how bad our global lack of exercise is. WHO researchers, in describing their findings, decried "a pandemic of physical inactivity."
Marriott’s Alison Ainsworth Talks Spa
We Interviewed Alison Ainsworth, Senior Director of Golf, Leisure & Spa Operations Europe for Marriott Hotels. Alison overseas about 36 Health and Beauty centers located within their membership-based fitness centers in Marriott Hotels across Europe. Alison is currently rolling out SpaSoft Online Booking at several spas in Europe. We talked to Alison about what makes an incredible spa experience and other spa topics.
By Amanda Wisell, Marketing Manager, PAR Springer-Miller
Riding the Fitness Boom to a New Wave of Resort Profits
Call this a tale of two numbers. More than two in three adults in the US are obese or overweight. Gym, club, fitness center membership in the US now tops 50 million. Put the numbers together and what we see is the early stage of what I believe will be a massive, highly profitable resort trend that will dwarf what we have seen in the spa business over the last 20 years.
Can Resort Amenity Spas Compete with Destination Spas?
Count Phoenicians lucky in the summer. Yes, the mercury routinely crests above 100+ F but it is at that time that many of the best resort amenity spas in the Valley of the Sun roll out terrific deals and discounts - 40% off is the norm - through Travelzoo, Groupon, Amazon Local, you name it. And this summer that is how I spent my vacation: I took many up on their offers.
Marketing Wellness to the Unenlightened
A spa or wellness center can be a tremendous profit maker for a hotel or resort property. Indeed, various estimates put wellness tourism in or around half a trillion US dollars worldwide, more than one-seventh of all travel bucks spent. Hardly a loss leader, but I nonetheless ask: how can wellness tap into the other six-sevenths?
By Larry Mogelonsky, Partner, Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited
How to Revitalize a Flagging Spa - Six Easy Steps
The headlines tell the story. Spas in 2015 are plunging forward with big refreshes. The flipside: to stay in place is to fall behind. Complacency = stagnation = a slow death. But the good news is that little - inexpensive - steps can put a spa on the winning track.
One Simple Secret for Building a Great and Successful Destination Spa
What makes a destination spa among the best in the world? Location, high caliber of therapists, and the overall spa experience all certainly play into the mix, but there is one simple formula for putting and keeping a destination spa on the path to success - read on to learn it.