Content by: CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER

“Every person has internal and environmental sensitivities that affect their sleep, including temperature, sounds, aromas, textures, surfaces, and their physical and mental health.”

In the heart of bustling, energetic Midtown Manhattan—where taxicabs are honking, bus brakes are screeching, and bright lights are shining—two blocks from Central Park South and across the street from Carnegie Hall, you will find the Park Hyatt New York. The property occupies the first 25 floors of a 90-story skyscraper on 57th Street. Walk through its bronze double doors and up to your room, and you will be whisked away into a dark, quiet, serene space, secluded from the chaos of the city buzzing below. This is especially the case if you enter one of the hotel’s six dedicated “sleep suites.”

Park Hyatt New York, which has a robust wellness program including an award-winning spa, is one of many hotels that is in the midst of innovating the sleep experience it offers guests. 

The idea for the new sleep suites took shape at a time when the hotel was reimagining its wellness story, in April 2021, as it reopened following a 376-day closure due to the pandemic. The concept revolved around a partnership with A.I. mattress startup Bryte. 

“The partnership with Bryte came at the perfect time post-pandemic,” general manager Laurent Ebzant says. “Focusing on the attributes of a room that has a prime sleeping area was a point of focus for us.”

The five-star hotel unveiled the suites in January 2022. The Bryte mattresses are the hallmark of them—each one has 90 intelligent cushions that sense, adjust to, and relieve the body’s pressure points. The mattress also controls the climate, tracks and provides sleep statistics and insights that can be accessed on your phone, and is able to respond to the unique needs of couples. 

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Content Contributed by: SPA EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE

(Spa Executive is published by Book4Time)

“Are you making mistakes that are costing your spa revenue, staff, and business opportunities? Check out these common mistakes managers make in spa and wellness.“

Spa managers and directors have a lot going on and sometimes things get overlooked or go wrong because you’re pulled in too many directions at once. And sometimes we make mistakes, which can be costly. Fortunately, we can learn from our mistakes and come out better for them in the end. 

Are you making mistakes that are costing your spa revenue, staff, and business opportunities? Check out these common mistakes managers make in spa and wellness.

Relying on only one or two revenue streams

Having too few revenue streams puts your business in a precarious position, because if you lose them, you lose everything, as many spas discovered during the COVID-19 shutdowns. Multiple revenue streams help during these times as well as during slow seasons, and increase profits all year round. There are many ways to diversify revenue streams. Membership programs, for example, through which customers pay a monthly fee for a set number of treatments or services and/or regular use of amenities, bring in steady revenue. Subscription services are a way to stay connected with your guests and bring in extra revenue with products or packages. Partnering with experts to offer adjunct services and experiences at your spa is another option, while leveraging retail is an obvious example that some spas forget about. A spa does not have to offer only traditional services and in-store retail. Everyone can get creative with potential revenue streams and should. 

Skipping over internal talent for promotions

Team members quitting is an all too common complaint in spa and hospitality and one of the main reasons for this is a lack of upward mobility. Overlooking internal talent for promotions is one of the most common mistakes managers make in spa, and in all industries, to be fair. People want (and need) opportunities for advancement and, if they don’t get them, they’ll move on to move up. If you have an excellent massage therapist who was expressed interest in growing within the brand but you’re holding them back because you think you need them in the treatment room, they’re going to leave you for a better opportunity, or at least become disengaged from their work (also known as “quiet quitting” these days), which will impact your guest experience and your revenue.

Deirdre Strunk, Vice President of Spa, Fitness and Beauty at Canyon Ranch, once told us, “Promotion from within is ideal because those leaders understand your business and have established relationships with team members.” Even if you feel that the person is missing some key skills, if they have been working with you for some time, they will be starting with a valuable foundation that is hard to find elsewhere, and those extra skills can be learned. 

Slacking on training

Everyone performs better when they know what is expected of them and have been given the proper training. Your spa team should never wonder what they are supposed to be doing. From entry-level employees to senior management, everyone should get the benefit of proper training and, if they don’t, your business will struggle.

Carlos Calvo Rodriguez, now Senior Spa Director Four Seasons Toronto, once told us he thought it unfortunate that the industry puts all its focus on training therapists or spa attendants, and neglects to train managers. And Kathryn Moore, Founder and Managing Director at Spa Connectors, shared similar opinions. She said, “In some cases they’re running these huge assets, multi-million dollar spas, and they’re not making any money. It’s dead, because they don’t know how to do the sales and marketing; they don’t know how to manage the team; to manage performance, to run a training schedule; they don’t know how to make sure the inventory is looked after. So, there’s stock on the shelves that’s been there forever, or is expired, or stolen. We’re expecting these kids to run businesses without teaching them how.” 

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Content Contributed by: Well Defined 

Author: Froswa Booker-Drew, Ph.D. | Guidely

“…we are forced to reckon with our identities being so much more than what we do but recognizing the vastness that embodies each of us…”

Years ago, I lost a job, and it was devastating. Not only because of the financial implications but also because my identity had become so woven into the work. The role had become an integral part of who I was, and it was unnerving to realize that I had placed so much emphasis on seeing myself solely through a lens of what I did for a living. I’m so grateful for a community that offered support, guidance, and grace during a difficult season to remind me that I am so much more—I am a seeker, a learner, and a connector. I am more than my 9 to 5.

While working on my Ph.D., I saw this same pattern in the women that were a part of my research group. One of the ladies lost her job as a director and without this role, she was influx in determining not only who she was but also how others would view her. It’s in these experiences that we are forced to reckon with our identities being so much more than what we do but recognizing the vastness that embodies each of us—it is embracing the breadth and depth of our lived experiences that shape us. If the time is taken to truly discover who you are, you will discover the uniqueness that you bring to the world and that no one can be like you.

Building Community and Connections Are Important

Part of understanding our identity is recognizing the importance of community. When we isolate ourselves, we are unable to see the totality of who we are….

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

By Guest Contributer: Julie Keller Callaghan | Co-founder of Well Defined 

“Employee burnout was simmering even before the pandemic…This means leaders must fully understand what is working and what isn’t for employees, and then collaborate on specific solutions that will work for an organization’s business strategy and the workforce.”

A new survey from Eagle Hill Consulting reveals that more than half of the U.S. workforce is burnt out, with younger workers feeling the most strain, at 62 percent. Workers say that implementing a four-day work week and reducing workload would alleviate stress. And as the workforce shortage continues and quit rates reach historic levels, more than one-third of the workforce plans to leave their job in the next 12 months. More than half of workers polled (51 percent) say the pandemic has triggered a re-evaluation of their personal priorities. 

“Both employers and employees are near the breaking point,” says Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. “Employers are struggling to find workers, and employees are stressed at work. Unfortunately, the workforce situation likely will worsen before it gets better. The so-called Great Resignation means that employers must start a Great Re-Evaluation, re-thinking everything from their culture to how work gets done.” 

The survey’s key findings are as follows:

Asked if they are feeling burnout at work, 53 percent of working Americans said yes, with women at 56 percent and men slightly lower at 51 percent. Burnout is highest among younger workers (62 percent for those aged 18 to 34), followed by mid-career workers (58 percent for those aged 35 to 54), and lowest among older workers (33 percent for those 55 and older). 

When asked about the causes of burnout, employees say their workload is the top culprit (52 percent), followed by a lack of communication (44 percent), juggling work and personal life (35 percent), time pressures (32 percent), a lack of clarity about expectations (27 percent), not feeling connected to their colleagues (25 percent), performance expectations (24 percent), not feeling connected to the company vision, culture, and values (23 percent), and not feeling empowered (22 percent). 

When asked how to reduce burnout, 83 percent said a four-day work week would help. That was especially true for women and younger workers. Other options included increased flexibility (84 percent), decreased workload (82 percent), better health and wellness (78 percent), reduced administrative burdens (76 percent), more on-site amenities (73 percent), working from home (67 percent), and the ability to relocate or work from multiple locations (58 percent). 

One-third of employees indicate they plan to leave their organization in the next 12 months, up from 26 percent in November 2020 and 29 percent in May 2021. The planned departure rates are even higher for younger workers (41 percent for 18 to 34-year-old workers), followed by mid-career workers (35 percent for 35 to 54-year-old workers), and 20 percent for those 55 and older. 

The pandemic has triggered many employees to re-think their lives and careers. More than half (51 percent) say the pandemic has caused a re-evaluation of personal priorities, especially for younger workers (65 percent). Thirty-one percent of employees say the pandemic has them considering changing careers, with 34 percent considering changing employers and 21 percent thinking of changing where they live. 

These findings are from a workforce survey from Eagle Hill Consulting, a woman-owned business, conducted by Ipsos from August 11-16, 2021. The 2021 Eagle Hill Consulting COVID-19 Workforce Burnout Survey included 1,010 respondents from a random sample of employees across the United States. The survey polled respondents on burnout and retention in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Employee burnout was simmering even before the pandemic, and now it’s boiled over for more than half of workers,” says Jezior. “It’s simply an unsustainable situation for a business when burnout is rising, and the labor shortage continues. This means leaders must fully understand what is working and what isn’t for employees, and then collaborate on specific solutions that will work for an organization’s business strategy and the workforce. It’s complicated, because there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. For example, a four-day work week may work well for some businesses, but it’s impossible for others.”   

She adds, “One bright spot in our research—two-thirds of workers say they value their employer more since the pandemic. Smart employers will dig in to find out exactly what employees value so they can leverage the positive to retain those employees.”   

By Guest Contributer: Mia A. Mackman | President & Owner, Mackman ES and Founder & President | Arizona Spa Association 

“The mission of most [professional associations] is to unite local industry, build new relationships, and share information that supports success, continued education and overall industry growth.”

With accelerating growth across the spa-and-wellness market, new post-COVID protocols have ascended throughout hospitality. These include a renewed focus on development thresholds, facility concerns, consumer products and multilateral demand factors.

The spa-and-wellness industry is still a new and developing market. Under less pressure pre-COVID, these segments were accelerating and improving with robust, record growth year-over-year since 2009.

Reflecting back to 2009, a variety of operational choices that were made impacted the whole of the spa-and-wellness trajectory over the last decade. Many of these choices were beneficial. However, some of these choices were detrimental to the operational growth and program agility of the industry-at-large. Despite a decade of strong growth,  there were hurdles in deploying an advanced concentration on wellbeing and service diversity. This has been an ongoing, slow curve for many spas, properties, and businesses across the market.

While facing the 2009 downturn, many veteran spa directors, and senior operator roles were dissolved, or reduced for budget and payroll revisions. This further led to slow pivots in a market growing at an ever-vibrant rate. Meanwhile, this frequently resulted in a lack of deliberate growth, dynasticism and leadership proficiencies. While reducing costs is a primary goal of many businesses, some of these moves created less gradation in the field of expertise. This led to slower innovations in education, and stagnated performance strategies in select market segments.

Over the last ten years, the pace of the industry has ignited new factors to contend with such as, information accessibility challenges. Alongside, staffing hurdles and attention to nuance. Many of those in leadership roles found themselves insulated from new information lacking the time to explore new vendors and educational options. This also made discovering the increasing array of high-performing, wellness-programs a slow-moving effort. 

The spa-and-wellness industry is still a new and developing market. Under less pressure pre-COVID, these segments were accelerating and improving with robust, record growth year-over-year since 2009.

Reflecting back to 2009, a variety of operational choices that were made impacted the whole of the spa-and-wellness trajectory over the last decade. Many of these choices were beneficial. However, some of these choices were detrimental to the operational growth and program agility of the industry-at-large. Despite a decade of strong growth,  there were hurdles in deploying an advanced concentration on wellbeing and service diversity. This has been an ongoing, slow curve for many spas, properties, and businesses across the market.

While facing the 2009 downturn, many veteran spa directors, and senior operator roles were dissolved, or reduced for budget and payroll revisions. This further led to slow pivots in a market growing at an ever-vibrant rate. Meanwhile, this frequently resulted in a lack of deliberate growth, dynasticism and leadership proficiencies. While reducing costs is a primary goal of many businesses, some of these moves created less gradation in the field of expertise. This led to slower innovations in education, and stagnated performance strategies in select market segments.

Over the last ten years, the pace of the industry has ignited new factors to contend with such as, information accessibility challenges. Alongside, staffing hurdles and attention to nuance. Many of those in leadership roles found themselves insulated from new information lacking the time to explore new vendors and educational options. This also made discovering the increasing array of high-performing, wellness-programs a slow-moving effort.