spa industry

A cosmetic surgery company, Lifestyle Lift, that told its employees to post fake positive consumer reviews on the Web, has been fined $300,000 for fraud. Wow…that’s attention getting. This disturbing news item provides a great springboard to talk about the explosive new world of online consumer spa reviews – and assure that the spa and […]

Walter Cronkite, Spa, Wellness and a Good LifeBy Susie EllisSpaFinder Insider Being “of the moment,” I can’t help but weigh-in on today’s headlines which are all about Walter Cronkite’s life and death. Although I never actually met the man who became the most trusted voice of TV news, I feel somewhat connected to him through […]

Saving the Legendary Greenbrier Resort & Spa in Record Time Susie Ellis SpaFinder Insider Earlier this year there was the sad news that the famous Greenbrier in West Virginia (a historic piece of U.S. spa history initially called White Sulphur Springs where people have came to “take the waters” since 1778) was heading into bankruptcy. […]

Massage at a Spa Pet Peeve Susie Ellis SpaFinder Insider Is it just me or do other people have issues with this? I am at a spa in my robe and slippers heading to the massage room with my therapist. After reaching the treatment room, the massage therapist says “now I will step out of […]

Spas and Greed DiscussionSusie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider My friend and colleague Anitra from AboutSpas.com posed an interesting question on her June 21st blog, which I felt compelled to weigh in on. Her blog was titled, “Spas & the Greed Factor.” Here are her comments and mine. Others also commented so check out her blog if […]

Joan Lunden’s Spa Camp is a Dream Come True for Her and for Us! By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider A few months ago Joan Lunden, of Good Morning America fame, visited us here at our SpaFinder offices with some of her staff. We were to learn about her summer “spa camp” for women and she […]

A woman soaking in a wine barrel looking out at what you imagine to be a view of a beautiful vineyard – that’s a photo I remember seeing when I first read about the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa opening in France. It was 1999, and the first time I heard the term Vinotherapie. It sounded intriguing […]

Spa and Medical Tourism – Learning From What Happened in Detroit by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Many of you know that one of the top spa trends SpaFinder predicted for 2009 was the Medical and Spa Tourism Shuffle, so it didn’t surprise us when the New York Times recently ran an article titled, “Heads Up […]

Mandarin Oriental Spa’s New Spa Treatment and Product – Nuances that Countby Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Andrew Gibson, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group’s group director of spa asked me to try their new Signature Massage and product line as soon as it became available (this June). So I scheduled an appointment for the first Saturday in […]

“The Swiss – We are reliable.” Words from Adolf Ogi, Keynote at Global Spa Summit 2009 By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Mr. Adolf Ogi, former President of Switzerland and United Nation’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace was a keynote speaker for our third Global Spa Summit (GSS). There is more to the […]

Global Spa Summit, Switzerland 2009: HighlightsBy Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Global Spa Summit 2009 in Interlaken, Switzerland, just wrapped. I don’t know where to begin, as it was an extraordinary event if I do say so myself. (Actually I believe that every one of the delegates who attended said so which gives me courage to […]

Is Luxury “In” or “Out” for Spas? Susie Ellis SpaFinder Insider Buying luxury for yourself may be “out” right now. But gifting luxury is definitely “in!” That was my “ah ha” moment at the SpaExec event here in New York a week ago. Nancy Griffin, from SpaTrade/Questex, helped put together a solid program at the […]

May is Melanoma month. That makes sense since it’s right before summer, the sun gets stronger and people begin spending more time outdoors. It’s a good time to remind people to put on sunscreen, wear hats, and have regular mole checks with their medical doctor. It’s this last recommendation – about having moles checked – […]

How odd. On the front page of Thursday’s NY Times this week, I noticed this headline: “F.D.A. Orders Warning Label for Botox.” Yet when reading the article I found a far more interesting and important issue than what the headline touts. Let me know if you agree. Here is how the article began: “Botox and […]

Normally I would have no interest in NASCAR racing – however I couldn’t help but get involved this weekend. Peter decided to say “yes” to a crazy idea to become the primary sponsor for a car driven by NASCAR driver Danny O’Quinn, Jr. in the Talladega (Alabama) Race this weekend. He thought it might be […]

Spa Associations and Spa Research from Around the Worldby Susie EllisSpaFinder Insider Here are two resources you will love if you are in the spa world. One is a list of spa associations from around the world. The other is a list of spa research from around the world. Compiling these resource lists was a […]

Pritzker Architectural Prize 2009 goes to Builder of Famous Spa By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider An architect who built a stunning spa just won the Pritzker Prize – the top architectural award for 2009! Sometimes called the “Nobel Prize” for architecture, receiving the Pritzker is considered an amazing accomplishment. How excited I was a few […]

“Sorry. We are fully booked.” It’s surprising to me how often I hear this when I call a spa or stop in at a spa to see about booking a treatment. It happened to me twice today when I was trying to book a massage here in Freeport, Grand Bahama where I spent Easter weekend. […]

Exploring the Spa Industry in Canada By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Just returned from the Leading Spas of Canada spa conference in Toronto, where I had the privilege of speaking about spa trends of the future. I always enjoy seeing the Canadian spa owners, who are universally friendly and very supportive of both one another […]

On our list of top 10 spa trend predictions for 2009 was “Casinos & Spas: A Good Bet” so I am pleased (and not surprised) that the New York Times had a large feature on this very topic in their Escapes section this weekend! Titled in the paper, “A New View of Atlantic City,” and […]