I met with a selection of 21 high quality spa suppliers at the Global Spa Meetings Middle East last week. It fills my heart with joy, how everybody is aiming for making the guests experience even greater and one of the suppliers captured my mind and heart somewhat more then the others:

LIVINGLOBE

 

 

 

 

 

Amongst other things, Livinglobe are the producers of the Vidarium Wellness Video Dome and their slogan is brilliant:

Open your eyes and relax. I know, read it again and just feel the juice of it.

For me, it started a whole chain of thoughts and questions on the subject of wellness, and that is exactly was I was looking for going to the Spa Meetings in the first place. I was looking for something that invites me to think differently than before, something that starts my creative process on what wellness means in the industry and of course what it means to me.

I ask you this: How often do you open your eyes and actively view and rest your eyes on what you see, and allowing yourself to completely be present and relax in that moment?

Whatever your answer is, my answer unfortunately was, that far to often I look at something or look at someone, but I don’t allow the short time it takes to relax my breathing, taking in and be totally present with what’s in front of me. At times, I even catch myself thinking about my next step, and not only does that make me not see, it also makes me not hear because I am unable to listen when in a state of absence.

With the Vidarium Wellness Video Dome, we, who provide wellness for people and through that give them the opportunity to enhance their lifestyles, are given a great product and it will complement and enhance the spa experience. I picture the video dome as an active pre or post treatment relaxation room, I picture it as a treatment of it’s own where you can go together as a group or by yourself. The good thing is that you can choose what kind of theme you want projected on the screen and secure that it will fit your unique spa concept and design.

 

 

 

Who knows, through this great product, we might even be able to help change people’s lives outside of the wellness centers more. It might help them to slow down in life, it might help them to be more present simply by having practiced:

‘Open your eyes and relax’.

I wish for it.

Sabine Itze

P.S. If you want to know more: livinglobe.com

 

Just visited Thailand and had the good fortune to meet and have several treatments sessions with Mr Jaruun – as it says on his uniform Number 1 Thai Massage therapist.

The 74 year old man have been giving Thai-massage for 40 years and have developed his own style of practice

His session can very well turn into 3 hours sessions, because that is how long it takes to really work in detail on the whole body.

First time meeting him he instructs me proudly that his massages are long and very different from the common Thai massage you can find at the beach or at the massage parlors along then main streets of every tourist city in Thailand.

And….he was very right, he works soft with his palms along the Sen lines, like he is opening the pathways and also preparing my body softly for the soft stretches that will follow.

Mr Jaruun always take 3 clients a day, not more, not less and when I ask him if he gets tired he says: “ it is important to breath out giving a stroke or when giving pressure.

He also very much uses his own body weight, rocking his body from side to side, distributing his weight gradually and gently into my body.

He take his time working up and down my spine using palms, elbows, feet and knees and then with a gentle stretch – like a slow Yoga posture he stretches my back and I can feel all my cervical vertebrae silent, smoothly realigning and the stiffness that had kept my head from turning without hesitation is gone.

Ending the session Mr Jaruun invites me to sit opposite to him  and he recites a prayer in Thai and then spontaneously from his heart a translation in English where he simply and lovingly asks for health, balance and that harmony will be present in my life.

 

Rooted in the Indian Ayurvedic medical practice, Thai Massage is one of many forms of Oriental bodywork based on energy balance theory of health and healing.

The Chinese system of acupressure is an obvious influence. Thai massage focuses on the ten major sen lines by palming and thumbing along these energy pathways.

According to this theory, the human body contains a field of energy within it composed of 72,000 sen lines, ten of which hold top priority.

The Chinese meridian theory calls this energy “Qi” and the Indian Ayurvedic system of nadis refers to it as “prana”. It is believed that blockages in the flow of this energy manifest in discomfort, disease and pain.

 Most ailments then are the result of an imbalance in these meridians, whereas free flow along the sen lines leads one to feel energetic, relaxed and free from stiffness and pain. Working pressure points along the sen lines releases blockages of energy and increases energy flow, thereby helping to restore balance, the key to good health. Well-being can be restored and maintained by rhythmically working along the ten sen or vital energy conduits.
This sacred philosophy was taken directly from the teachings of Yoga. Thai Massage is very rhythmic and meditative, enabling both the client and the practitioner to reach a deeper level of consciousness.

Retail is an absolutely vital part of a successful spa operation. In many cases it can be the difference between generating a profit or sustaining a loss.

Today, spa retail revenue on average generates 5-25% of total spa revenue but represents 20-25% of total profit. Therefore, it is clear that by increasing retail revenue there can be a huge effect on overall spa profitability. Every spa operation today needs to evaluate their retail operations to ensure that they are fully maximizing their retail revenue/profitability potential.

SHOP COMMUNICATION is something we see will be the new “buzz” word for spa retail management – just becuase this is something that we can improve at drastically and it is not that hard to do.

Most buying decisions takes place in the actual shop. Therefore exposure and communication in the shop have significant impact on sales.

Shop communication purposes

• Communicating the retail range in an attractive manner
• Provide information on product characteristics
• Help the customer to make purchasing decisions on their own
• Controlling the sale of the goods with the highest profitability and turnover
• Inspiring add on buying
• Communicate the retail brand

HOW?

Exposure affects profitability. Products given more space and clear exposures will sell more. The products that you want to sell most of should have prominent positions at the entrance, near the checkout and the “main shopping street”.

Some tips…

Eye tracking– There have been numerous studies to show how our eye is tracking the retail item in terms of packaging design, placement, preferences and search behaviours. Studies have then shown that the eye perceives the most exclusive products to be on the top shelf, and budget/low cost products on the bottom shelf. Research has also shown that the most effective retail display is the ones that include a face and those products that are repeated in display and in an actual product sells better, as customers like to purchase products the feel familiar with.

Guest round – The way your customer “walks” the shop; studies shows that 80% of the customer walks clockwise and that they are most interested in the beginning in the “round”. Further that the customer best sees an item from knee height up to just above eye height. This gives you hints on how to strategically place retail products to encourage flow and minimize “cold” spaces.

First impression – Eye tracking has also shown the crucial importance of first impression, capturing the customer’s interest to explore the shop further. The goal is to inspire and simplify the first impression.

The McCann Group study “The truth about beauty” (great study BTW – you can download from http://www.globalspaandwellnesssummit.org/index.php/spa-industry-resource) showed that consumers desired in-store experience should include

1. That they can touch & feel the products
2. That products are easy to find
3. Beautifully displayed

So get going with making your spa shops shine!

//Anna

Ps. The above is part of our Retail chapter from our on-line spa management course. Ds.

 

 

Achieving Operational Excellence won’t happen overnight, but it won’t take years or decades either.  There are two major steps that, done correctly in the beginning, will enable us to “jump” to Operational Excellence.  These steps are:

1. Establishing a destination.
2. Building a roadmap to that destination.

We spoke about the destination in the last blog post last week, if you haven’t read it, probably a good idea to glance it through! No to the roadmap…

Once we’ve taught each employee to think the same way about continuous improvement and Operational Excellence, we can start on the more practical side of achieving Operational Excellence by building a roadmap.

Just think of it this way:  companies that know where they are going will simply get there faster, and companies that achieve Operational Excellence will grow their businesses by taking market share – most likely from those who don’t.

The basis for the road map is to obtain consistency, something that the spa business isn’t famous for. In all industries, it takes attention to detail, it takes a combined effort, it takes training, sometimes it takes inspection and testing, and it always takes a real commitment to Quality.

In the Spa industry all of these things are more difficult because we lock our customer in a room with our employee and hope all goes well and our client is happy. Once we have consistency – which is essential service, then we can build excellence.

The three main weapons we have to achieve consistency are:

1. Standard Operational Procedures
2. Training
3. Evaluating & Testing

The Research Institute of America, which conducted a study for the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, sheds some light on the devastating consequences of poor customer service:

• The average business will hear nothing from 96% of unhappy customers who receive rude or discourteous treatment.
• 90% of those who are dissatisfied with the service they receive will not come back or buy again.
• Each of those unhappy customers will tell their story to at least nine other people, and 13% will relate their tales of woe to over 20 people.
• For every complaint received, the average company has 26 customers with problems, six of which they consider serious problems.
• Only 4% of unhappy customers bother to complain. For every complaint you hear, 24 others go un-communicated to your company, but not un-communicated to other potential customers.

So get out there an achieve operational excellence!!!

//Anna

Achieving Operational Excellence won’t happen overnight, but it won’t take years or decades either.  There are two major steps that, done correctly in the beginning, will enable us to “jump” to Operational Excellence.  These steps are:

1. Establishing a destination.
2. Building a roadmap to that destination.

Today we will speak about the destination and the next blog post on Tuesday we will go over the roadmap. Stay tuned!

Establishing the destination of our efforts is key.  It lets everyone know we are not trying to just get better every day; we are trying to attain a level of performance in the operation where management is no longer needed to tell each employee what to do.  To achieve this, a good destination to set is Operational Excellence.

Operational excellence is when: “Each and every employee can see the flow of value to the customer, and fix that flow before it breaks down.”

This means we want to get our operation to a point where the flow of product has been made so visual that everyone in the operation can see if we are on time to the customer without asking any questions. We also want to make disruptions to the flow visual, too, and then create standard work for abnormal flow conditions that employees can enact when – or even before – flow breaks down.

There are nine questions about continuous improvement that do just this.  These questions are critical to achieving Operational Excellence because they show that there are many “opinions” on why we do continuous improvement instead of one straightforward, solid answer that each employee can understand.  Here are the nine questions.

• Why do we do continuous improvement?
• What is the best way to improve?
• How do we know where to improve?
• Why do we strive to create flow?
• What causes the death of flow?
• What would the spa floor look like if we did everything right?
• What would the office look like if we did everything right?
• What would the supply chain look like if we did everything right?
• Where will our continuous improvement journey take us?

You need to set the destination with your team, there is no pre-set universal destination, each spa is different and the best way to decide upon where you want to go, is to do this together with your team.

Once we’ve set our destination as Operational Excellence and understand what it is, we then need to create the roadmap that will get us there.

Until next time!

//Anna

I often geet asked which are the best spas in the world I have been to. Of course it all depends on what you want to get out of them and the below list is a mixture of destination, city and resort spas, and what they all have in common is that they ambience and energy of the spa is special and transformational combined with excellent well-trained treatments.

Today you will find 3 of the top 6 spas and on Tuesday the remaining 3. Cliffhanger!

AMANPURI, THAILAND

Amanpuri was the first Amanhotel built and the spa opened 2001 and just as the rest of the resort, it has that magical feeling. Each treatment room is a villa overlooking the valley and part of the ocean. After your treatment you have a private sala where you can relax and enhance the treatment. Treatments are of course top quality.

JIVA GRANDE SPA, TAJ WELLINGTON MEWS MUMBAI

Ayurveda is a way of life and a powerful healer, not to be taken lightly as done in many spas. At Jiva spas it is true Ayurveda supervised by a certified Ayurveda Doctor, providing their guests with actual health results. Jiva’s spa concept is 100% Indian, and even the more pampering treatments are true to Indian and rare experience in the spa world.

MANDARIN ORIENTAL NEW YORK

I love this spa for its cosmopolitan feel, great service, very high quality therapists and great design. To sit and wait for your treatment overlooking all of New York, then experience a personalized treatment in their amazing spa suite and using their superb wet areas to conclude the experience is one way to spend a great day in New York.

 

Saty tunded for the next 3!

//Anna

During a conversation with some yoginis sitting on a lawn in the middle of Stockholm some reflections surfaced. During the summer there are many Yoga workshops taking place in Sweden and we were talking about the different messages and interpretations of Yoga. How one takes on the practice – do I Yoga to live or do I live to Yoga?

Is my practice serving me or do I get injured? Do I use the practice to become more aware of my body and energy level and can adapt my practice according to the received information? Or do I bring my competitive mind to the mat and race towards achieving the asanas no matter what?

There, on the lawn in the afternoon sun, one of the Yoginis spoke about doing the mountain pose (starting ones practice) with integrity, those words stayed with me during my own practice that evening. To stay soft, focused on my own needs and accomplishments rather than going into achieving and comparing with my status yesterday or my aspirations on tomorrows practice or comparing myself to someone else’s practice in the room.

So I am trying to stay in tune with my breath, here and now, what is needed in the moment and the community in the room.

 

 

Shanti shanti

Isabella

Today I read from EWG newsletter (Einvornmental Working Grouop) http://www.ewg.org/ about cleaning products from the President Ken Cook, and I though we would just publish the letter on our blog, as one of our goals is to make everyone question and be more aware what we get exposed to every day through food, products and environment.

Happy Reading!

//Anna

Dear Friend,

Did you know that on average we’re exposed to 126 chemicals through personal care products every day?

This alarming fact made me wonder: what about the cleaning products I use? If my shampoo and deodorant contain that many chemicals, what the heck is in my laundry detergent?

Turns out, most cleaning products don’t even list their ingredients on the label. I had to jump through hoops – going to the website, calling the company – and even then I couldn’t get the full story. So I talked to the research team
at EWG. And they went to work for me – and for you. Next month we’re releasing a new database with more than 2,000 household cleaners ranked on how hazardous their ingredients are and how much information is on their labels.

Our analysis found some startling facts. Many products contain ingredients known to cause asthma or are contaminated with carcinogens. And, maybe even worse than that, lots of products provide little to no ingredient information – leaving you in the dark about what you think is cleaning your home.

“Green” products aren’t necessarily any better. Many of them boast of using ingredients made from plants rather than petroleum – but there’s little or no safety data for some plant-based ingredients. A truly green product should pose few risks to your health and to the environment – and be transparent about what’s in it.

We know that indoor air is sometimes more polluted than outdoor air, so it’s important to know what’s in your cleaning products. Labeling cleaning products isn’t mandatory – as it is for food, personal care products and drugs – but as a consumer, you ought to have that right. You shouldn’t be left in the dark about products you buy and use every day.
I’ve been working to protect consumers from harmful products for almost 20 years now, but what I’ve learned about cleaners shocked me. I hope you’ll take some time to learn the truth about the products you use so you can continue to keep your family safe.

Sincerely,

Ken Cook

President, Environmental Working Group