spa industry

Yesterday morning’s press breakfast in Santa Monica on the terrace of Exhale’s new spa was great fun. I especially enjoy these major-city breakfasts we sometimes hold because all the writers and reporters in attendance are really interested in the topic of spa. Many of the members of the press who were there have had a […]

I’m in Santa Monica, California. Today was the day of the Spa Finder media breakfast, which we do each year. It is a chance for me to present the top Spa Trends that we predict for 2007. This year we held the breakfast at the new Exhale Spa. I had a chance to tour the […]

Where is the world’s largest golf club? If someone had asked me that question, I would not have guessed China. But that is the correct answer. Mission Hills, located about 30 minutes outside of Hong Kong, has been accredited by the Guinness World Records as the World’s Largest Golf Club. It has twelve 18-hole golf […]

Well, I just finished a quick video interview for NBC as part of a story they are doing on spa services such as the BlackBerry Hand Massage. They are trying to ascertain whether or not this is a trend. Since we had the BlackBerry Hand Massage as part of our “Hot and Getting Hotter List,” […]

One last Monaco experience I wanted to share. I had a two-hour signature ritual at the new ESPA at the Metropole in Monte-Carlo. For those of you who don’t know ESPA, it is a world-renowned brand out of the UK that encompasses a product line, a consultancy firm, and spa development/management initiatives. Susan Harmsworth, the […]

Peter just got off a Skype phone call he had this morning with our partners in Japan and Hong Kong. When it is 7 a.m. in New York, it is about 7 p.m. in that part of the world – a good time to schedule business calls. After his one-hour, three-way phone call, he walked into […]

So many interesting international speakers at this conference – and what a great trade show. This is the first one I have seen to truly target a luxury niche. Every booth was exceptionally well designed, tasteful, elaborate…and the products featured – whether they were saunas, steams, massage capsules, or skin care lines – were all […]

My Thermes Marins facial was very good – and it is obvious that the estheticians here are well trained. I asked mine about her schooling, and she explained to me that she had to complete three years of training to become an esthetician. Compared to the short training programs in many parts of the world […]

Checked into my hotel – the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort – around noon. After a quick shower and change, I head over to Therme Marins for the two spa appointments that had been arranged for me. Ever since Lee Katzoff, owner of the Greenhouse destination spa in Texas, told me that the best facial […]

This past week I have been preparing for a speech I will be giving in Monaco next Saturday at the Monaco Spa Congress. The title of my speech is A Spa Dialogue: Tracking perspectives in the Spa Industry. While I will be focusing on the spa dialogue between North America and Europe, I wanted to […]

This morning I attended a “Breakfast with a Leader” gathering organized by Magazine Publishers of America. The guest speaker was Cathleen Black, president of Hearst Magazines. She drew quite a crowd. Hearst has some of these well-known titles: Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s BAZAAR, O, The Oprah Magazine, Town & Country, etc. (a total of […]

What a great name. I called Refresh today to talk with Karen, its PR person, and get more details on how the spa is doing. I expect to hear from her tomorrow, but in the meantime I thought I would share what I have found out so far. The spa is 4,500 square feet in […]

As you probably know, Spa Finder issues an annual forecast of spa trends. While we have already issued our Top Ten Spa Trends for 2007, at the beginning of January I like to review all of the trends we are tracking at Spa Finder and share with you a few more of the buzzwords that […]

The day after Christmas, I received an unwelcome surprise — a toothache resulting in my first root canal. It was a three-hour ordeal (not fun, although thankfully not too painful), and all the while I was thinking about my favorite dental spa experience, which occurred a while ago at Dell’Acqua Dental Studio in Palm Desert. […]

Wow, was the La Guardia airport busy the day before the Christmas weekend! I have never seen such long lines for checking in bags. Oddly, the check-in line was long and the security line was short. Two flights (and no food) later, we arrived in Palm Springs. My husband had a surprise arranged: A massage […]

Just arrived in Palm Desert, California, where my husband and I will spend Christmas and New Year’s. On the long flight I had a chance to get into the book my sister recommended recently, John Naisbitt‘s Mind Set!: Reset Your Thinking and See the Future. What a great way to start a vacation for someone […]

The Arizona Daily Star ran a story on Thursday, December 7 announcing that Dr. Andrew Weil was in conversation with developers and Tucson, AZ city politicians about opening a new integrative-medicine wellness center to promote “health tourism.” Later that day, I received a call from a writer asking for my comments. At first I was […]

Sunday’s New York Times (December 12) ran a short, somewhat humorous piece, entitled “Spa Trends: Goodbye Pampering, Hello Rehab.” Jennifer Colin poked some fun at Spa Finder’s top spa trends for 2007, in which we predicted a new emphasis on healthy sleep at spas, detox programs, retreats, medical tourism, spa lifestyle communities with kids, bottom-line […]

I have gotten hooked on a few reality shows over the past years, but the only one on my TiVo list this season was The Biggest Loser. Even if you haven’t been following it, you will probably come across something about last night’s finale today. It was quite extraordinary. The winner was Erik from New […]

Other highlights of my trip to the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Conference: Spending time with Nime La Fauci, our account rep for the Caribbean, and finding out that she can really make friends on the phone. Everywhere we went, people just couldn’t wait to meet her – and embraced her like a long-lost friend – […]