spa industry

The Economic Climate Rains on the Spa Industry TooBy Susie Ellis, the SpaFinder Insider My twin sister, Katrine, gave me a verbal rap-on-the-knuckles the other day (sisters are good for such things.) I probably deserved it. Since she is on my blog list that automatically receives an email with my posts, she will often email […]

I felt really ‘out of it.’ Sitting at lunch with my niece Christa (17), my brother Rolf (49), his girlfriend Stacey (40), my step-daughter Courtney (30), and her girlfriend, Tana (28ish). They are all talking about the Wii and in particular the Wii Fit and how much they love, love, love it! It’s fun, they […]

Quite a Father’s Day surprise. Yesterday I received an email from Steve Kane, who is a senior vice president at SpaFinder, with some extremely interesting data. Apparently Father’s Day gift card and gift certificate sales this year have increased quite dramatically. That means that most day spas out there, if they did a Father’s Day […]

A Spa Moment of Balance with Hubby…by Susie Ellis My husband is a gem. Sometimes I mention him in my blogs – especially when I can poke a bit of fun – but today I feel like telling you why it is so great to live with him and what makes him the best husband […]

Peter and I did something this weekend which we were never able to do while living on the West Coast – hop on a short flight to spend the weekend in the Bahamas. It sounds so “East Coast” doesn’t it? Actually Peter is on a mission to convince me that getting into boating would be […]

Dr. Richard Carmona Speaks About Spas and Their Vital Role in Global Health: Spas Matter! by Susie Ellis Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th U.S. Surgeon General (2002-2006), was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Global Spa Summit held at the Waldorf Astoria here in New York City last month. He received a standing ovation! Here […]

Global Spa Summit 2008: Spa Industry’s Key Questions Answeredby Susie Ellis Want to know the #1 problem facing the global spa industry today? We know the answer – thanks to an instant audience response system technology which was used at the Global Spa Summit last month here in New York. Here is a visual example […]

Global Spa Summit 2008 – Another Perspectiveby Susie Ellis Can’t believe that my one week vacation post-Global Spa Summit is over. Alas, I could use another week – however, I am grateful that even seven days away has helped me refocus and perhaps gain a wider perspective. When you work so hard on one project, […]

Global Spa Summit 2008: Ian Schrager Addresses Spa Design (or Rather, The Lack Of…) by Susie Ellis At the 2008 Global Spa Summit, Ian Schrager, who was the keynote speaker for Day One , gave a very inspirational talk. Looking somewhat “hip” himself (although in my opinion a tad older than the age (61) I […]

Global Spa Summit 2008: Spa Economy hits $255 Billion by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Whew…Global Spa Summit 2008 just wrapped and what an amazing event. I learned so much and had such fun. It was wonderful to see so many of my colleagues – there were 230 participants representing 29 different countries from around the world. […]

Spa Terminology: Wellness or Well-being?by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Earlier this week I attended the New York Spa Promotion Alliance (NYSPA) conference. This year it was held at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Professor Mary Tabacchi organizes this event every year and despite the unfortunate timing (just days before the Global Spa Summit), I always try […]

Reiki. I have always found it mysterious. What is it exactly? Every explanation I have heard seems to be different. I have tried it a few times, however when faced with a choice between a wonderfully relaxing deep-tissue massage or a Reiki session, I have always opted for the massage. In Reiki there isn’t a […]

Trisara Resort and Spa: The Perfectly Designed Hotel Suite with Plenty of Room for Spa Treatmentsby Susie EllisLast year I experienced what I considered to be one of the most perfectly choreographed spa treatments I had ever had. It was at the Sphatika Holistic Treatment Center in New York – a 2 hour treatment superbly […]

Had a sneak peek at the soon-to-be-launched new Six Senses Destination Spa here in Thailand. It was a 30 minute boat ride from the Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi where I am currently staying. During a tour of the property which is nearing completion (although it looks to me will need more time than they […]

What Makes a Spa Soulful? Contemplating this at a Soulful Spa in Thailand is a Good Way to Find Out. by Susie Ellis Am in Thailand at the Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi while at the same time continuing my work regarding preparations for the Global Spa Summit 2008. Interesting how the two intersect. Am […]

The SpaFinder Biggest Loser Contest began in January and ended with our “grand finale” yesterday! We got down to our final 4, pictured here from left to right: Lisa (Accounting), Dan (SpaBooker), Sarah (Publishing), Nikki (Accounting) and each stepped on the scale for the final time at 5:00 p.m. Our winner was Sarah Day – […]

Spa Related Highlights from a Hospitality Forum: Through my Spa Eyes by Susie Ellis A few things got my attention at yesterday’s 2008 Leadership in Hospitality & Leisure Executive Forum (an Argyle Executive Forum) which was held here in New York. Some of us “spa-types” were in attendance – Judy Singer, Patti Monteson, and Jeff […]

Sad news. Canyon Ranch Living Chicago, which was in the design and pre-sale phase, has been cancelled. This article, “End of the Trail”, gives some of the details. From the few mentions I could find on the web, it appears that there were insufficient sales of condos and that it fell victim to the current […]

Spas and Sleep Health: A Sizzling Hot Topic in Spas and Beyondby Susie EllisYou know that something is a “hot” topic when it comes to you from many different angles at around the same time. Here are three things that came across my desk in the past 48 hours: 1. “Great Reads: Nonfiction,” People Magazine, […]

Spa Management Students at the Global Spa Summit – Spa Intensive versus Spa 101 by Susie Ellis Of all the exciting things I get to work on in preparation for the Global Spa Summit (sometimes I refer to it as Spa Davos – à la World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland) one of my favorites […]