Spa Review

Joseph Anthony Retreat Spa and Salon has been in its location in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania - only 15 miles from my house in Delaware - since 2007. That means I didn't know about it for six years. Granted, I never drive on that part of US 1, but I feel like I should have known. Some spa vibe should have alerted me to it much earlier, because it is definitely worth knowing about. Read more...

~Julie

On My Mind

Discount vs. Reward
In my opinion, offering guests discounted prices on spa services is a bad practice for a spa. I think of it as a process that actively and aggressively erodes the spa's business potential. It is part of a downward spiral that could eventually lead to the demise of a spa. In contrast, rewarding spa guests - new and loyal - for the behavior that builds the spa business (such as purchasing services and products, rebooking and referrals) is positive reinforcement, encourages growth and ultimately benefits both the spa and the guest. Read more...

~Julie

Spa Conference and Expo Reports

Julie Register's Report on the Organic Spa Magazine’s 2013 Organic Beauty & Lifestyle Media Event (April 2013)

Julie Register's Report on the Washington Spa Alliance's 3rd Annual Symposium - Beyond Wellness: Defining Wellbeing (March 2013)

Julie Register's Report on The 2012 ISPA Conference & Expo held in Kissemmee, Florida

“Spa 2.0” Explored at 2012 Global Spa & Wellness Summit: From Opportunities Ahead in Coaching or Corporate and Mental Wellness - to New Models Informed by Cutting-Edge Brain, Willpower and Telomere Science

More Conference Reports

~Julie

Events for Spa Consumers

• Women’s Wellness Weekends in Carlsbad, California
  Participating Spas include:          
  • Ocean Crest Spa, Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort & Spa
  • The Spa at La Costa, La Costa Resort and Spa
  • Aviara Spa, Park Hyatt Aviara Resort & Spa
  • Ocean Pearl Spa, Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa
  • Paddleboard and Picnic, West Inn & Suites
  • Skinsational Spa

  May, 2013

• Hay House World Summit
  Listen to more than 100 authors and experts as they share their stories, powerful exercises and advice on how to live your best life.
  June 1st - 10th, 2013
• SPA CULTURES & DREAM TIME: Integrating Spa, Wellness, Sleep & Health into your Life, deeply while exploring DREAMS and “Taking-the-Waters" with Prof. Jonathan Paul De Vierville
  Toskana Therme / Hotel an der Therme Bad Orb, Germany
  June 23-28, 2013
  

Best Spa Lists

Spas in the News

• New Book Commemorates 125 Years of Glenwood Hot Springs History
• New Life Hiking Spa Opens for the Season Today and Celebrates Their 35th Anniversary
• Turtle Bay Unveils a New Approach to Wellness: Nalu Kinetic Spa
• Joseph Anthony Retreat Spa and Salon celebrates the grand opening of the Hughes Center for Aesthetic Surgery at Joseph Anthony
• Mirbeau Inn & Spa at The Pinehills Hosts Groundbreaking Ceremony For Its New Getaway Retreat Opening in Spring 2014
• Palace Resorts Unveils New Spa at Playacar Palace
• Heavenly Spa by Westin™ to open at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida

Spa Products

More Spa Products in the News

Events for Spa Professionals

• Mirage Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
• LiveLoveSpa
  June 3-4, 2013
  Miami, Florida
• LiveLoveSpa
  July 22-23, 2013
  Phoenix, Arizona
• LiveLoveSpa
  August 19-20, 2013
  New York, New York
• SPAMEETING Paris(+ exhibition)
  9,10,11 September 2013
  Porte de Versailles, Paris, France
• LiveLoveSpa
  September 16-18, 2013
  Los Angeles, California
• World Spa & Well-being Convention 2013
  18 – 21 September 2013
  Bangkok Thailand
• 2013 Global Spa & Wellness Summit (Invitation only)
  October 5-7, 2013
  The Oberoi, Gurgaon, New Delhi, India
• 2013 ISPA Conference and Expo
  October 21 - 23, 2013
  Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada
• LiveLoveSpa
  November 18 & 19, 2013
  Napa, California
• SPA-MEETING Middle East, India, Russia
  November 27 & 28, 2013
  Meydan Hotel, Dubai
• LiveLoveSpa
  December 9-10, 2013
  Maui, Hawaii

More Spa Events in the News

Spa People in the News

• The Umstead Hotel and Spa Appoints Carolyn Doe Spa Director
• Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa Grows Business and New Skincare Line with the Appointment of Sharilyn Abbajay, Renowned Spa Industry and Retail Authority
• The Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa Names Jodi Brown Spa Director of Kelly’s Spa
• Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa Welcomes Yoshimi Anderson as New Na Ho’ola Spa Director
• Healing Waters Spa & Cosmetic Clinic Welcomes Sandy McManus As Cosmetic Clinic Director
• ISPA Conference & Expo Honors Mary Bemis as Dedicated Contributor
• Shane Bird named Director of Spa Operations at Turning Stone Resort
• Sioux Lees Appointed Spa Director of Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa
• Aji Spa at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort names Tony Nicastro New Spa Director

More Spa People in the News

Spa Studies

• Day Spa Association 2nd Annual Spa & Wellness Retail Survey (and free membership) (April 2013)
• Health & Wellness Spas in the US Industry Market Research Report Now Available from IBISWorld (March 2013)
• From PKF Consulting's 2013 Trends (R) in the Hotel Spa Industry report: The Hotel Spa Recovery Begins (January 2013)
• Global Spa and Wellness Summit Study Shows Gap Between Expansive Job Opportunities and Qualified Candidates (September 2012)
• ISPA's Big 5 Stats - Revenue, Spa Visits, the Number of Spa Locations, Employment and Square Footage - Show Big Encouragement for Spa Industry (August 2012)

More Spa Studies

SpaQuality LLC News

SpaQuality LLC* awards Glen Ivy Hot Springs locations in Corona and Brea, California with SpaExcellence^SM Certification

GREENVILLE, Del. – January 7, 2013– Glen Ivy Hot Springs in Corona, California and Glen Ivy Day Spa in Brea, California have both achieved SpaExcellence ^SM certification. This certification is the culmination of over a year of organizing, documenting and implementing Glen Ivy's quality system in accordance with The International Standards of SpaExcellence ^SM2010 under the guidance of SpaQuality LLC consultants. The Standards provide a framework for everything that a spa does including planning, day-to-day operations, behind-the-scenes processes, leadership, teamwork, training, system evaluation, continual improvement and more.

Jim Root, CEO & President of Glen Ivy, noted, “I have appreciated the work of SpaQuality for over 8 years and always felt Julie and Linda offered the Spa Industry an opportunity to really challenge assumptions and perspectives in the pursuit of operational consistency and service excellence. The results at Glen Ivy speak for themselves, and our shared commitment to continual improvement with SpaQuality is why I look forward to continue working with Julie and Linda in the years to come.”

Read More...

*Julie Register is Founder and Managing Director of Operations of SpaQuality LLC as well as co-author of The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM.

More SpaQuality LLC News

SpaQuality LLC awards Spas in Spain and Canada with SpaExcellence^SM Certification

Sante Spa Victoria, a resort spa located in the Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, achieved SpaExcellence^SM certification On December 5, 2012.

SpaQuality LLC awarded MAJESTICSPA Essential Moments, the spa at the Hotel Majestic in Barcelona, Spain with SpaExcellence^SM Certification on November 16, 2012. Read More...

On October 31, 2012, The Spa Ritual, a day spa in Calgary, Alberta, Canada achieved SpaExcellence^SM certification for the third year in a row. Read More...

*In addition to owning DiscoverSpas.com, Julie Register is Founder and Managing Director of Operations of SpaQuality LLC as well as co-author of The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM.

SpaQuality Articles

Effective Spa Team Leadership
An article written by Julie Register and Linda Bankoski for the May 2012 issue of Spa Professional Magazine. Reproduced with their permission

A spa's success is dependent on how well the staff works together as a team to understand and serve its Guests. It is the team leader's responsibility to create a work environment that engages the hearts and minds of the team members and motivates them to act together according to the spa's values. Effective teamwork accomplishes the spa's vision and mission. When the team is engaged, each member is committed both intellectually and emotionally to the spa's Guests and the spa's success. This cultivates a more tranquil and supportive environment in which to work. This positive energy directly impacts the Guests.

More SpaQuality Articles

SpaQuality Publications

The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM2010
Managing for the Sustained Success of a Spa
A Quality System Approach

By Linda Bankoski and
Julie Register

Sample feedback:

• I very much appreciate the layout of the text; simplistic, smart and useful.  Plan, Document, Manage, Evaluate.  So often, those of us in Spa lean toward the creative, "right brain" personalities and live in a state of creativity; we forget to take our creative dreams and ground them in a system that will successfully bring them to fruition.  If we all started with these 4 steps we would find success easier. 
• LOVE the text - great work ladies, what a valuable resource you have created. Thank you!!!

The fifth edition, third revision of The Standards are available in four formats:

With Guidance and Examples
This 262-page book includes The Standards, concept discussions and examples.

Format

Print (Includes shipping to US & Canadian addresses only.) $195.00 PDF (Electronic file sent as an email attachment.) $95.00

Without Guidance and Examples
This 69-page book contains only the standards section of the larger 262-page book.

• Print - $70 USD (There will be additional shipping charges for addresses outside the United States)
• PDF - $35 USD (This electronic format can be sent to any email address that accepts attached pdf files.)

Click HERE for information on how to order and for details about the book's contents, the changes for this edition, the Model of a Process-Based Spa Quality System andThe Table of Contents.

The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM has been sold to spas in over 30 countries.

SpaQuality Education

SpaQuality LLC to Teach 6-Week On-Line Quality Management Course for Spas.

Julie Register and Linda Bankoski teach Building and Sustaining High Quality Systems for Spas in partnership with the University of California - Irvine Extension's online Spa and Hospitality Management Certificate Program. The 6-week course is offered as an online certificate elective. However, it may be taken without enrolling in the full certificate. The textbook for this course is The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM.

• Click HERE to watch the introductory Webinar.
• Click HERE for Details of the course.
• Click HERE to Enroll.
• Click HERE to order a student PDF copy of the Textbook.

Here's a sample typical of the feedback provided by the past course participants:

• Just loved the structured approach and the seemingly easy, straight forward way of explaining a complex system. Thank you for sharing and I have learned so much.
• The instructors were very knowledgeable and very available for any questions we had as students.
• The presentations were very organized & straightforward. Great visuals & examples. The instructors were very friendly, helpful & knowledgeable.
• Loved the sharing of ideas that we got from this class.  It opens up so much creative thinking.
• The processes and systems are high level and could be applied to so many businesses. I can think of several ways to implement these learnings. At the same time, I gained knowledge specific to spa business.
• The course materials are great resources.
• What an interesting assignment.  I would never have attacked a problem the way you suggested in the reading...but what a great way to put a value to the problem and identify what needs to be done first!  This assignment rocked!  I will definitely use it in my business going forward.
• This is really a class that the more you put into it, the more you will get out in application of the concepts.
• This was a great course & I'm so happy that I took it.