trends

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 […]

After a weekend in Daytona at “Bike Week,” (my contribution to our marriage) am back at my desk. As soon as Peter sends me some photos of us on his Boss Hoss motorcycle I will post them. It did actually turn out to be a lot of fun. In the meantime an article in Hospitality […]

In the Club Spa e-newsletter, which goes out twice a month, I get to answer one of the many spa questions our readers send in. Here is the Q & A from this week. Am sharing it because I have received an avalanche of response and follow-up questions. Detox is a hot topic! Thought I […]

Spa Veteran, Thad Hyland from Ojai Valley Inn Resort & Spa, heads east to open new Spa at Kelley House Martha’s Vineyard by Susie Ellis Just learned that Thad Hyland, Managing Director of the Ojai Valley Inn Resort and Spa – and one of the spa industry’s “stars” – is leaving Ojai. After 12 years […]

New York Times Travel Show Always Makes Me Want to Go To A Spa (Now!) by Susie Ellis Just returned from the New York Times Travel Show at the Javits Center. Good Day New York, Fox 5 did some interviews to show viewers what they can expect at the show. Since SpaFinder is hosting the […]

Spa & Resort Expo & Conference LA: Keeping Up With Spa Trendsby Susie Ellis The Spa & Resort Expo & Conference and the Medical Aesthetics Conference is happening tomorrow, February 23-25 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I will be driving in from Palm Springs and attending all three days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. One […]

Spa Highs and Spa Lows for the New Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa by Susie Ellis I visited the renovated Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert a few days ago. I remember when it was built (20 years ago I believe) – it was really quite a sensation. There […]

Are Spas a Necessary Evil? Impressions of the Monaco Spa Event By Susie Ellis Just returned from the Monaco Spa Event. With such a jam-packed schedule of symposium sessions, meetings and exhibits to see, there was little time for plugging in and writing on my blog.The hotel’s charge of 20 euros ($30.00) for connecting to […]

Flight Delays? Try out an Airport Spa!by Susie Ellis I had my first airport spa experience. Not because I haven’t tried before. When I have stopped at one of these places for a quick manicure or foot reflexology, they have always been totally booked. But finally on my way to catch a flight to San […]

The Monaco Spa Event: My First Spa Trip in 2008 By Susie Ellis Now that our major trend predictions for 2008 have been announced, I get to spend some time looking ahead to 2008 in terms of my travel schedule. One of the most exciting trips looks like it will be right in the beginning […]

SpaFinder’s Hot Spa Trends for 2008! By Susie Ellis Buzz Words: New Spa Gyms, Star Therapists, Wellness, Luxury Detox, Spa Real Estate, Sleep, Spa and Weight-loss, Fertility and Spa, Hydro and Thermal Spa Experiences, Urban Ethnic Spas, Spa and Technology. This week is Trend Week at SpaFinder! We released the findings of our year-long studies […]

Received this article from Jacqueline Swartz who had just returned from Vichy, France. I am familiar with the Vichy shower but have never been to Vichy. Since she has done such a great job of describing her experience there, I thought I would include it for you to enjoy as well. She promised another installment […]

I posted the Retail Sales post which follows last week and soon after the post went live, I received an email from someone suggesting that it wasn’t a good idea for me to post it because spa consumers – not just spa industry professionals – might read it. In the post I was talking about […]

Received this email from Debra Locker at ISPA helping clarify the question I had about “male visits on average” Hello Susie – we hope you are enjoying a lovely holiday season! Thanks for your comprehensive coverage of ISPA’s 2007 Spa Industry Study on your blog. We wanted to clarify one of the questions you raised […]

A Helpful Explanation of the 2007 ISPA Spa Industry Study in Regards to “Male Visits on Average” and the “Number of Men going to Spas”by Susie Ellis Received this email from Debra Locker at ISPA today. She helped clarify the question I had in my recent blog about what “male visits on average” meant in […]

  I had to cancel my trip to the European Spa Summit and Beyond Beauty show held in Paris this week. Bummer, I really don’t like to be a “no show” for something I had planned. But I am also trying to be less intense about work and more flexible when it comes to family […]

On Sunday afternoon, I attended Dr. Mark Liponis’ lecture here at Canyon Ranch entitled “UltraLongevity“. Dr. Liponis is the Corporate Medical Director of Canyon Ranch and was one of the authors of “UltraPrevention“, which was published in 2003. He was among the pioneers who preached prevention and the clever book title helped catapult the idea […]

Today’s New York Times had a huge story in their Style Section entitled “Beauty Regimens Reach for the Gold Standard.” It was an article written about three women in Beverly Hills describing how much they spend – and what they have done – in terms of their beauty regimes each week. Even I was quite […]

My thanks to Marina Kuchurkina who took an eight-hour train ride from Moscow to St. Petersburg to give me a spa tour and teach me about the spa industry in Russia. Even though her English is very good, she arranged for an interpreter so that we could communicate flawlessly. Over cappuccino at the Grand Hotel […]

Am currently in St. Petersburg visiting spas. The Russian spa industry is in its infancy, but already I can see the seeds of great spas. I thought I would share with you one particular observation that you might find interesting. Have you ever had a Russian massage therapist? Or an esthetician trained in Russia? If […]