trends

Spas are a wonderful place for female bonding, and the party flows seamlessly. If you want to combine pampering with bachelorette partying, get started with these tips on HOW TO throw a Spa Bachelorette.

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 […]

Visited Adlon Day Spa in Berlin. Learned that it is a day spa connected with the historic 5-star Adlon Kempinski Hotel…which was magnificently rebuilt right next to the Brandenburger Tor in the late 90s. The day spa is not part of the Kempinski brand, however, I think that this spa facility, with its 13 porcelain-colored […]

A Massage and Facial at Thai Privilege Spa in New York Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider It was my privilege to be invited to a spa located in the Soho area of Manhattan called Thai Privilege. I noticed it on several “top 10” lists. Since Manhattan has many hundreds of spas, making a top 10 list […]

Spa Trends 2008 – Report Card Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Before we take a closer look at spa trends we are predicting for 2009, I thought it might be fun to go back and look at the ones we predicted for 2008 and see how well we did. I think we were “right on” with […]

Spas = Stress ReductionSusie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider How I wish that more people would see the connection between spas and stress reduction. Hopefully, as an industry, we can help more people make this connection. Clearly, this is “our moment.” Stress is at an all-time high. Spas reduce stress. Most people who have been to a […]

A Peek into the Future of Spa, Wellness, Aesthetics, and Hospitals by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder InsiderI was seeing the future…that’s how I I felt after listening to the speakers at the medical tourism conference here in Manila. There was one doctor in particular who spoke for almost two hours and I never once checked my […]

From Spa to Medical Spa to Medical Tourism by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Tomorrow I fly to Manila to speak at the Philippine Health and Wellness Tourism Conference. My topic is “From Spa to Medical Spa to Medical Tourism.” Since I have been doing quite a bit of research in preparation for my trip, I […]

Top Spa Awardsby Susie Ellis, SpaFinder InsiderLast night was a big night for us….we hosted our 2008 SpaFinder Readers’ Choice Award event at the new Guerlain Spa at the Waldorf=Astoria. It was thrilling to be able to present our awards to top spas from all over the world in this beautiful setting. It was truly […]

Spa Services in the Headlines – But in an Unexpected Way.by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder, Insider Washington Post, “AIG Spa Trip Fuels Fury on Hill”MSNBC, “White House calls AIG Spa Trip “Despicable” Normally I would be applauding anyone going to a spa. But in this case, I am as outraged as everyone else! By now most […]

Spa Industry needing Massage Therapists, Aestheticians, Spa Managers. Is there really a Labor Shortage? By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Networking sometimes leads to “ah ha” moments. I guess that is why most conference feedback polls show networking as the number one reason people attend. At the recent Australian Spa Conference, held in Hobart, Tasmania, I […]

Stay Spa Close to New York City – Buttermilk Falls Inn & Spa – Worth the RideBy Susie Ellis SpaFinder Insider Last Saturday was a honey-do day for me. Not the melon kind but the “honey do this, honey do that” kind. Peter loves his motorcycles and just loves riding in the beautiful countryside outside […]

After all of the buzz about the newly announced Vagina Spa or Gyno-Spa here in New York, I feel compelled to weigh in on the conversation. As I share my thoughts, I am going to try to stay away from all the puns being used on the internet to describe this latest news item. (It […]

Visiting Spas Has Other Than Spa Benefits By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider The family appreciates me these days. Am at a family gathering in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico for the 4th of July weekend. Peter and I are with his nephew and wife, their two cute little girls (ages 3 and 6), his sister and his […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]