Top Ten Spa Trends 2012

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SFi 2012

Spa trend reportTop 10 Global Spa Treds Forecast

r e S e a r c h


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SpFir 2012

Sp Tr Rprt

Top 10 Global Spa Treds Forecast

As SpaFider celebrates its 25th aiversary, we also mar aother

sigicat milestoe: the publicatio o our 9th aual Spa Tred

Report. We thi this years orecast is especially excitig, as the

idustry exits recessio mode ad begis a ew era o pushig the

evelope with resh, ew ideas that deliver more wows, more u

ad quite serious welless iovatio. There seems to be somethig

really ew i the air ad we lie what we are seeig!

Susie Ellis, president, SpaFinder, Inc., and ounding board

member o The Global Spa Summit

r e S e a r c h

SpaFinders annual spa trend orecast is based on analyses rom SpaFinder Research and its team o experts

that visit hundreds o spas and wellness businesses around the world every year, as well as interviews

conducted with leading industry analysts, and data and eedback collected rom SpaFinders partnerships with

over 15,000 spas, yoga, Pilates and tness studios, wellness practitioners and salons worldwide.

Developed under the direction o Susie Ellis, past Spa Trend Reports have been credited with orecasting

numerous industry mega-trends that have taken hold across the world. For example, spas are stil l ramping

up their green/eco initiatives, sleep health programs continue to evolve, wellness tourism is booming and spa

brands are a more powerul trend than ever.

As we look into our crystal ball or 2012, two distinct, overarching themes emerge. One is an industry

innovating diverse, newsensoryexperiences and treatments. The second is how spas are re-imagining and

extending their connection to customers, moving beyond the sporadic visit, to new programs and concepts

aimed at orging long-term relationships, such as coaching and online gaming. Please also enjoy our bonus

trend, Employee Wellness (pg. 52), which represents a serious, next wave opportunity or spa

businesses everywhere.


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To learn more about SpaFinders 2012 Trends Report,

or to speak to SpaFinder President Susie Ellis,

Contact: Beth McGroarty

(213) 300-0107 or [email protected]

SpaFinder, Inc.

257 Park Avenue South, 10th Floor

New York, NY 10010


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Tp T 2012 G Sp Trs:

1. Feet Focus: Healthy Feet Treatmets pg 6

2. Cold ad Ice Are Hot pg 10

3. Welless ad Beauty Coachig pg 14

4. Olie Welless Gamig pg 18

5. Pairig Fie Diig ad Spa-ig pg 22

6. Vibratio, Soud, Music, Light ad Color pg 26

7. The Glam Factor: Glambitio pg 32

8. Spa Evidece pg 38

9. Spas Become a Family Aair pg 42

10. Spas Go or the Wow pg 46

Special Tred Aalysis: Employee WellessPrograms & Spas pg 52

The Couter Treds pg 60

Buzz Words: Hot & Gettig Hotter pg 62

pg 6

pg 42

pg 22rtesy o Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas Courtesy o KLAFS

Courtesy o HOTEL METROPOLE Monte-Caphotographer Nicolas Izarn


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ourtesy o The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas (U.S.)


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FeeT FocuS

Hth Ft Trtmts

Spas ad welless ceters are ow puttig a big ocus o eet: rom oot tess

classes to ew 100-percet oot-ocused med-spas to podiatrist-oversee medi-

pedis to treatmets specically targetig high-heel pai. Ad while the aciet

Chiese practice o refexology revolves aroud usig oot acupressure to impact the

orgas o the body, the act that refexology ceters are becomig as commo as ail

salos may have more to do with people simply seeig pai relie via oot massages,

rather tha some sudde coversio to Traditioal Chiese Medicie.

The human oot is a delicate, complex structure o

33 joints and 26 bones, wrapped in a web o 126

muscles, ligaments and nerves. The most utilized

part o our bodies, the average person spends

our hours (pounding out 8,000 to 10,000 steps) on

their eet every day. We exert a orce equivalent to

several hundred tons every day on our poor southern

extremities.

So what do we encase our bodys precious shock

absorbers in these days? The ashion gods have

women wearing the sky-highest heels in history, and

women worldwide are bombarded with images o

Lady Gaga or Victoria Beckham teetering around

in insane six inch-plus killer heels. Two in ve

American women now wear high heels every day, and

43 percent claim they wont give them up, despite

the misery.1 Other oot-bruising ashions: ashionable

and unsupportive ballet fats and fip-fops, and the

running worlds mania or the new, nearly bareoot

oot gloves. Also signicantly adding to the worlds

collective oot trauma is the global obesity and

diabetes pandemic, and a global population aging at

unprecedented rates.

The upshot o all this sexy ootwear and anti-oot

behavior? An epidemic o not-so-sexy conditions

like plantar asciitis, bunions, hammertoes, corns,

metatarsalgia, fat eet, Achilles tendonitis, neuromas,

Haglands deormity, or pump bump, and arthritis,

etc. Medical experts argue that high heels share the

blame or the act that our in ve American women

now suer oot problems2 and also or the arthritis

surge underway in the UK, with 60 percent o cases

now occurring in eet.3 The pain can be so agonizing

that some women are actually having Botox, silicone

and Restylane injected into the bottoms o their eet,

to counteract the damage their high heels have done!

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exmps:

Consider the new, extremely comprehensive

Healthy Feet program at Canyon Ranch

SpaClub in Las Vegas (U.S.), overseen by a

well-known doctor o podiatry. The programs

tagline: I it will make eet eel better, its available

here The dedicated Healthy Feet acility

oers computerized gait analysis and orthotics

assessment, along with a whole slate o oot-

ocused treatments perormed in zero-gravity

chairs, with names like Foot Rescue! and

Healthy in Heels.

One striking example o the new oot tness

bootcamps is New York Citys Yamuna (U.S.), with

classes that assess peoples walk, improve their

posture and oer a host o therapies designed to

get peoples shoes out o their eet. (Yamuna

also oers Foot Waker kits, Stiletto Classes and

special exercise balls to prevent and combat high-

heel trauma.)

Spokesperson or Miraval, Dr. Andrew Weil, has

collaborated with Orthaheel, whose tagline is

Well-being with every step. Together, they are

introducing a new spring collection or his Weil

Integrative Footwear.

Podiatrist-overseen medi-pedi examples are

numerous, rom celebrity oot doc Margaret

Dabbs London locations (UK), including her Sole

Spa at the Liberty store, to Hand and Foot Spas

three London locations (UK) to Kachina NaturaSpa (Ireland). Famed French oot doctor Bastien

Gonzalez signature Le Soin de Pieds pedicures

are served up to well-heeled clients in London,

Dubai, etc., and are now incorporated as the

Pedi:Mani:Cure treatments at One&Only spa

resorts, rom Reethi Rah (Maldives) to

Palmilla (Mexico).

New 100-percent-eet-only med-spas include

Stride Wellbeing in northern Caliornia (U.S.),

which integrates ull podiatric medical services

and surgeries with a rich menu o oot-relie spa

treatments. (Strides program revolves around its

STRIDE Annual Foot Exam, or SAFE.)

Multi-treatment, oot-ocused spa packages

specically zeroing in on high-heel agony (i.e.,

special eet/cal massages, stretching, etc.) include

New Yorks Mohonk Mountain Houses (U.S.)

High Heeler treatment. Spa Montage locations

in Caliornia and Utah (U.S.) oer special high-heel

pedicures using special oils and gels to reduce

stiletto swelling.

Unique specialty pedicures, treatments and oot

spas are also on the rise, rom Mandarin Oriental,

Las Vegass (U.S.) 1930s- and Shanghai-themed

Chinese oot spa to Dragonfy spas (20-plus

Chinese locations) our-hand oot massages to

medi-pedis specically or men at the Mandarin

Barber in Hong Kong, perormed by a third-

generation Shanghai medi-pedi master, Samuel So,

using ten razor-sharp metal blades.

Loo or: almost every spa skincare line to include

specialty oot products, and or companies that

specialize in pain-relie, like Bioreeze, or oot-

care specialists like the more than 100-year-old

powerhouse Gehwol o Germany to continue to

make big strides into the new eet-ocused spaarena. (Gehwol products are used in hundreds

o global spas, including Canyon Ranchs new

Healthy Feet program.)

1 American Podiatric Medical Association Data, 20112 The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society, 20103 The Society o Chiropodists and Podiatrists, 2011


10/64Courtesy o Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace Las Vegas (U.S.)


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cold and Ice aRe HoT

Thik: I Thrpis & c dsig expris

Spas have traditioally bee all about hot: sauas, steam rooms, Jacuzzis, hot roc

massages, etc. Hot is the spa worlds age-old weapo to help people relax, sweat,

detoxiy ad draw blood to the surace. But ow spas are bravely steppig out ito

the cold. Well see more icy therapies ad cold desig experieces i 2012, alog

with more hot/cold cotrast treatmets. Perhaps o tred better exemplies the spa

idustrys trajectory away rom mere pamperig tha this oe!

And, as noted in our 2011 trend, The Science o

Spa, approaches with some medical evidence

backing them will have greater traction in the uture.

Cold/ice applications are shown to reduce pain and

infammation in muscles and joints, and they certainly

release endorphins, which are shown to aect pain,

mood, etc. Contrast/hot-cold therapy treatments,

which have been around or more than 2,000 years

(the Romans ended their spa circuit with a trip to

the rigidarium), will continue their resurgence.

The Europeans have embraced the concepts

health benets via Kneipp therapy since the mid-

18th century; this therapy involves a circuit through

alternating hot-cold water oot baths. I cold

actually has a long (but less storied) spa history, its

now getting re-imagined in bracing new ways.

Loo or: more pure cold-rock massages and

contrasting hot/cold versions at places like the

Hand & Stone day spa ranchises (Canada), or at the

GlenApp Castle (Scotland), as well as more cold jade

and spoon usage and more ice masks in acials. At

every ESPA around the world, you can now scoop

ice crystals out o abulous ice ountains or bracing

rubdowns ater saunas. More hotel and resort spas

will add ice/snow rooms, or igloos, making that

transition rom hot to cold less dreadul than the old

cold plunges. Spa-goers to Qua Baths & Spa at

Caesars Palace Las Vegass (U.S.) arctic ice room

can experience alling snow; at the Dolder Grand

(Switzerland), they can have a snowball ght in the

snow room; and at the Aqua spa at the Belry (UK),

they can cool down in the igloo, or induce a giant

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wakeup call with ice hoses and showers. Spas like

the Ritz-Carlton in Vail, Colorado (U.S.), report that

many more spa-goers are taking group rolls in the

snow ater their Jacuzzi and sauna time.

And get ready or the launch o leading spa designer

Thermariums innovative cold experience that will

hit the spa world in February: the rst-ever snow

shower. Tap its cool, digital touchscreen, and you

can choose between light snowall, moderate

snowall or blizzard.

SPA-GOERS CAN BRAVE THE ICE CHAMBER

TREND AT PLACES LIKE THE NEW SPARkLInG

HILL RESORT AnD SPA (CANADA) OR

CHAMPNEYS TRING (UK).

The most stone-cold radical o these new

experiences? Cryotherapy, where people (wearing

just a bathing suit and socks, gloves and mouth/

ear protection to prevent rostbite), enter a chambercooled to the mind-numbing temperature o -120

C (or -184 F). A human can only last two to three

minutes in a cryotherapy room or pod (portable ones

are even available now), but its all the rage with

elite athletes to help them recover rom workout

infammation and pain. (One Welsh rugby player

dubbed it the evil sauna.) The Olympic rehabilitation

center in Poland has a cryotherapy chamber used by

sports teams rom around the world.

The medical evidence on cryotherapy is seemingly

mixed, and certainly more studies are needed. One

study reveals that runners who used cryotherapy

showed signicantly ewer blood markers or

infammation, while another study reported that

while athletes elt considerably less sore, it didnt

lower their creatine kinase the hallmark o muscle

damage. But popular wellness advocate/celebrity Dr.

Oz recently gave cryotherapy an enthusiastic thumbs

up on his TV show, arguing it has a direct positive

eect on pain and infammation.

Spa-goers can brave the ice chamber trend at places

like the new Sparkling Hill Resort and Spa (Canada)

or Champneys Tring (UK). The rst dedicated

cold therapy clinic the 4,300-square-oot U.S.

Cryotherapy Center just opened in Caliornia

(U.S.), with its new, ull-body cold therapy experience

poised to ranchise to numerous other U.S. locations.

While spas report that serious athletes jumped on the

cryotherapy craze rst, now more women are testing

its reputed benets on skin, mood, weight loss, etc.

The calorie-burning benets o ice therapy are gettingbuzz: A new book,4 Hours to the Perfect Body,

advocates ice therapy/immersion because it orces

ones body to burn a dramatically larger number o

calories while doing the hard work o keeping your

body warm.

Saunas, another spa staple, are taking a denite turn

toward the cooler: the rise o the inrared variety,

which emits inrared radiant heat that is directlyabsorbed into the body, without needing to indirectly

heat the air or steam, provides cooler, but deeper

penetration. Proponents note that theyre an ecient

way to alleviate pain and stiness and to quickly

sweat o 600-800 calories with no adverse eects. A

recent SpaFinder survey ound that roughly one in ve

spas now oers inrared saunas.

Courtesy o Sparkling Hill Resort and Wellness Centre (Canada)


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Courtesy o Thermarium Bder-Bau GmbH (Austria)

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14/64Courtesy o Canyon Ranch (U.S.)


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WellneSS & beauTy coacHInG

Hpig Pp Mk lg-Trm chgs

Health coachig, welless coachig, eve eyebrow coachig coachig is

a cocept gatherig steam at spas, with ew approaches ragig rom the very

seriousto the simply egagig ad u.

First, the serious. While coaching seems to be

a term that can get wantonly slapped onto any

proessional or personal goal, the concept is

especially applicable and packed with potential

or the spa sector. Integrative medicine leader Dr.

Ken Pelletier recently noted that the spa industry

is actually in a better position (than the medical

establishment) to deliver preventative healthcare,

i.e., to provide an environment and oerings that

can actually help people make long-lasting liestyle

changes the number-one medically proven path

to disease prevention and optimal health. But to llthose large (and potentially protable) shoes, more

spas must switch their model rom delivering

isolated treatments and establish more personal,

post-visit connections with clients that could actually

help sustain the changes i.e., coaching.

Wellness coaching and health coaching are,

thereore, very serious trends (rather than addish

new marketing terms), and some very high-level

institutions are validating that position. Harvard

Medical School (www.harvardcoaching.org) now

underwrites an annual conerence on coachings

role in healthcare, while supporting the Institute o

Coaching. And one o the many research initiatives

being analyzed by the International Coaching

Research Forum is developing coaching as a

global, academic proession. There are already

eorts underway to clearly dene the parameters

o coaching and help distinguish it (which is

uture-ocused) rom other proessional services

like counseling (which delve into a persons past).Corporations are digesting the power and ROI

o coaching: Those ramping up investments in

corporate wellness programs, to reduce their crushing

healthcare costs, are reporting that wellness coaching

is the most eective model to get people to adhere,

long-term, to healthy regimes.

Destination spas are taking the lead with both at-

the-spa coaching models and post-stay coaching

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Courtesy o Miraval Resort & Spa (U.

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connections. For instance, Arizonas Mii amo (U.S.)

spa resort recently integrated coaching, and its

guided journey packages include ollow-up with a

guests onsite coach. Miraval Resort & Spas (U.S.)

Integrative Wellness Program oers ongoing, back-

home wellness consultations, and San Franciscos

Cavallo Point (U.S.) oers diverse orms o Lie

Enhancement Coaching, where guests can opt orunlimited ollow-up sessions. The Deereld Spa in

Pennsylvania, one o the original destination spas

in the U.S, reports that its most popular specialty

program is its Expert-in-Residence: Love Your Lie

with Certied Master Lie Coach, Dawn Morningstar.

Canyon Ranch health resorts (two U.S. locations)

Follow Up at Home program involves 30- to

50-minute phone, email and Skype sessions with

a whole host o practitioners: doctors, nutritionists,

lie management therapists, even Traditional

Chinese Medicine experts and spiritual counselors.

And Rancho La Puerta (Mexico) has teamed up with

technology company, SelOptima (creators o the

www.spaevidence.com website), to adopt its brand-

new WellO guest engagement platorm (eaturing

health assessments, progress charting, ways to

stay in touch with the spas experts and peer social

networking) all designed to keep people connected

to both the spa, ater departure, and to their healthregime.

More coaches o diverse stripes, and more

coaching language (i.e., tness coach, not trainer,

etc.), will invade both day and resort spas, as these

sectors realize the models unique power in keeping

customers ultra-close, engaged and spending. One

Wellness at the Solara Resort and Spa (Canada) has

a deep pool o health and wellness practitioners, a

long-standing connection to proessional sports andtraining and has new Pathway to Engagement and

Lie Strategy Coaching components in its program.

And coaching is now hitting the beauty arena, too.

Spa skincare brand Skin Authority represents an early

pioneer o the concept o ater-spa ollow-up with

online aestheticians. French beauty brand Clarins

recently opened its new Parisian fagship, Spa My

Blend, and its therapists are now called beauty

coaches, who provide support or people to reveal

their own essential beauty. (The brands spa also has

pool coaches or customized aquatic activities, and

tness specialists known as body coaches.

New technologies are driving, and will quicken, the

trend: email, Skype, texting and apps already make

long-distance coaching connections easier and more

eective. And a whole rat o high-tech gadgets now

makes it possible or people to monitor and share

their vital signs, as well as every calorie consumed

and burned, with a spa doctor or coach.

Predictio: The big, breakthrough opportunities

still lie ahead, as proessional coaching networks

are just getting organized. When this becomes

widespread, every type o spa would then be able to

enlist coaches, train them in its unique philosophies

and have them serve as the critical link between

the on-site spa experience and its clients long-

term wellness success. Companies like Wellpeople.

com (U.S.) already oer certied on-site or virtual

wellness coaches or spas, hospitals and businesses.

Australian-based The Cosgrove Group, which has

oered wellness coaching-certication programs at

home and in Europe or a ew years, just launched

in the U.S., and expects to certiy 1,000 American

wellness coaches this year. This is all very new (rightabout where the tness industry was 30 years ago)

and eorts to establish certication models will

continue to develop.

Loo or: greater specialization in coaching

approaches (i.e., states o change, mindulness,

wellness wheel, etc.), and or ever-expanding

coaching categories, i.e., nutrition coaches, sleep

coaches, etc. New models like group coaching and

shorter-term, ollow-up coaching will emerge, so thata coaching program o some variety could be within

the reach o day spas, hotel/resort spas and more

destination spas and to more people, given the

greater range o price-points.

The coaching trend is a serious and welcome one or

the global spa industry, and could ultimately prove

the key to making the spa that true third place (like

Starbucks) or so many more people.


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GAME-CHAnGInGWellneSS


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onlIne WellneSS GaMInG

P yr W t Hth & Wss

The sheer umber o people, o every age, all over the globe, that sped vast amouts

o time playig olie games is staggerig. Hal a billio people worldwide play olie

games at least a hour a day. The average youg perso speds 10,000 hours gamig

by age 21, as much time as they sped i school rom age 12 o.4

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4

Gaming is not just about zapping virtual enemies or

or Farmville residents anymore. With everything-

themed games now, millions o people worldwide

have played dozens o spa-ocused games, including

Sallie Spa, Saras Super Spa or Spa Mania. And

French beauty powerhouse Clarins just took the

spa-themed game to a new level with its Spa Lie

on Facebook, where players compete to manage an

ever-rising fow o clients in search o treatments, and

where they can redeem points or Clarins products.

But the big, powerul, serious, truly game-changing

gaming and wellness connection lies ahead, as

more medical experts agree that gaming could

actually be the key to changing the worlds health,

given the unique power that its core mechanisms

(especially social dynamics) have on sustaining

wellness goals. Countless medical studies show that

the old directives rom doctor to patient dramatically

ail to keep people on track. But, as so many experts

point out, the gamication o adhering to regimens

(whether tness, diet, stress reduction, even beauty),

with core game elements like voluntary participation,

rules, points, levels o achievement, challenges/goals,

rewards and a social eedback system, may be the

best weapons ever invented or keeping people in the

health game. When you add the social gaming layer

(peer/network pressure), research shows people are

radically more likely to adhere. Add the new gadgets

that make monitoring bio-inormation, and connecting

the results online, easier (every vital sign, every calorie

eaten or burned, every step taken can get uploaded),

and the game can suddenly get very precise and real.

While hundreds o tness/health games (like the

Wii Fit or Nintendos Lets Yoga! etc.) have been

around or years, wellness gaming concepts are

suddenly getting ar more serious and complex.

Improving health behavior is a massive $2.5-trillion

opportunity (and stakeholders include hospitals and

doctors, insurance and pharmaceutical companies

worldwide)5 so the medical establishment is now

getting involved.

The leader in this movement is the U.S.-based

Games or Health project which brings medical

proessionals and game developers together to

study how cutting-edge games (i.e., exer-gaming,

physical therapy, bioeedback, nutrition, emotional

health, games, etc.) can improve peoples health and

governments healthcare policies.


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World-renowned medical institutions like the Mayo

Clinic (U.S.) are now holding conerences like

Games as Lie-Changers. And insurance giants are

increasingly betting on gaming: Aetna just partnered

with wellness game developer MindBloom to launch

Lie Game, designed to make it un, rewarding

and social or members to achieve wellbeing goals,whether drinking more water or planting a tree. Lie

Game wants to gamiy everything rom spiritual to

relationship wellness, and serves up personalized

content like daily imagery and audio to help people

meditate.

SuperBetter is a new game rom Social Chocolate,

a digital serious games company recently launched

by gaming guru, Jane McGonigal. Its stated goal isto turn everyday olks into superheroes or health,

and it revolves around a social platorm that allows

people to recruit their riends, amily and physicians

as allies in their quest or better health.

New sites like HealthyWage.com allow dieters to bet

their money (and prot nicely) i they lose weight.

Nike+ and FitBit (and a whole host o other GPS- and

bio-based tness tracking apps) allow exercisersworldwide to do things like archive their workouts

and compete in challenges they throw down to their

online network. Skimble, a mobile tness platorm

that schedules short workouts into a busy day, shares

peoples progress socially on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

OptumizeMe lets users dish out/accept physical

challenges like run ve miles or do 50 push-ups.

Soon-to-launch, tween-ocused Zamzee uses

hip-worn sensors to reward kids or all physical

activity, awarding points that can be redeemed or

shopping, etc.

Corporations (given their crippling healthcare costs)

will continue to ramp up the games, partnering with

new companies like Keas that get employees to eat

better and exercise through a live and virtual gaming

mix; their on-site tness challenges are praised

or delivering tangible, eective motivation or a

community o people that already work together.

Spas, tness and wellness centers are ground

zero or kick starting healthy liestyle changes

so the opportunities or integrating gaming/game

mechanisms are uniquely logical and powerul.

Mind-body guru Deepak Chopra has a brand-new

meditation game, Leela, that uses 43 interactive

exercises, ocusing on the bodys seven energy

centers, to help people relieve stress. Chopra spent

three years designing Leela, and has explained

that it was the addictive nature o video games that

attracted him, allowing his philosophies to reach and

engage ar more people. Destination spa Canyon

Ranch (U.S.) now oers an entire suite o iPad appscalled 360 Well-Being (with tness, meditation and

healthy cooking videos, etc.). Were they to add layers

like challenges, phases o achievement, rewards

and a social network, that app would easily be

transormed into a game.

Wellness gaming is projected to generate $2 billion

in revenues by 2015,6 and the challenge or the spa/

wellness industries will be to create truly engaginggames (whether online or o) that creatively connect

their clients to the spas programming, experts and

special community, whether they use/customize third-

party gaming platorms or unleash their own. Spas

have a strong advantage in wellness gaming because

they orge powerul, real connections with and

between guests, ar more real than the generic,

purely virtual, wellness gaming communities.

Gaming delivers unimagined client engagement

and connection. And thats why the spa world will

ultimately jump urther into the wellness game.

4 Reality is Broken, Jane McGonigle, 20105 Cited in: Can Games Fix American Healthcare? Shaun Quigley,10/2011.6 RealNetworks Data, 2009

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Courtesy o Miraval Resort & Spa (

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Courtesy o Deepak Chopra (U.S.)


22/64Courtesy o HOTEL METROPOLE Monte-Carlo; photographer Nicolas Izarn (Monaco)


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PaIRInG FIne dInInG & SPa-InG

Th utimt cissr expri

May hotels ad resorts do very e ood AnD very e spa, but historically their star

oerigs have bee dissociated, both i terms o maretig ad as a cosideratio by

guests. That is chagig dramatically. Fie diig ad spa-ig are beig aggressively

paired pacaged curated mareted ad savored together as ever beore.

Creative culiary-plus-spa experieces ad pacages are a tred because theyre

massively appealig: a logical, sesory, liestyle combo or romatics, pleasure-

seeers ad true cooisseurs (as well as that growig crossover demographic o

people that are both rabid oodies ad spa/welless devotees).

So many hotels and resorts now boast award-winning

celebrity ches and award-winning spas, and the

trend is about tasting and appreciating both. One

example: The Hotel Metropole o Monte Carlos

(Monaco) restaurant Jol Robuchon (eaturing a che

with more Michelin stars than any other in the world)

can be combined with the hotels incredible ESPA

spa (one o Cond Nast Travelers top 25 spas in the

world). When ve-star ood and wine gets intertwined

with ve-star spa, it represents the ultimate romantic

or special celebration experience.

The trend is unabashedly about healthy hedonism,

or, as David Romanelli (the Los Angeles yogi amous

or his experiences where yoga is paired with ood,

wine and chocolate), put it, its all about combining

moments o sensory ecstasy But it also has

practical appeal: In this economy, people seek shorter

stays, and these culi-spa weekends are typically

packed with a ull social and sense-immersing

itinerary.

In pursuit o truly engaging oodie/spa junkie

combos, some spas are oering guests a chance

to harvest and help cook ood, attend cooking and

wine pairing classes, make outings to local wineries

and restaurants, etc. all wrapped up with daily

spa treatments. Consider it a very sophisticated re-

23

5


24/6424

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imagining o the once-tacky all-inclusive vacation:

i.e., Grand Velas Resorts (Mexico) describes its

culinary/spa getaways as Beyond all-inclusive,

beyond all compare.

These oodie/spa packages are now so numerous,

theyre impossible to summarize. Culinary weeks/

weekends revolving around choosing, preparing and

easting on healthy ood include Gwinganna Liestyle

Retreats (Australia) Feast and Nourish nutrition

education/cooking/spa getaways and San Franciscos

Cavallo Points (U.S.) cooking/spa retreats, designed

around group expeditions to local armers markets.

Many spas are also fying in (in tandem) amous

ches and wellness gurus rom around the world to

headline their special gastro-wellness weeks. Just

one example: Cascina Papaveris (Italy) Plates and

Pilates retreats, pairing a amous che and Pilates

instructor, so oodies and the tness-minded can be

immersed. Three daily Pilates classes are topped o

with meals sourced rom the villas garden and rom

group excursions made to local arms. (Guests even

do communal trufe hunting in the nearby hills.)

Foodies can be distinguished rom gourmets in

their quest or local, authentic gastro-explorations,

and countless spas are hitting that angle, including:

One&Only Palmillas Mexican Culinary Festivals,

which invite local ches and oer regional wine/tequila

tastings, along with outings to super-authentic, local

eateries.

More spas like the Four Seasons Doha (Qatar),

with its Aprs Spa Ca, will unveil in-spa dining

experiences or special spa cas. The Guerlain Spa

at the Waldor=Astoria New York (U.S.) just launched

in-spa lunches, which are served pre- or post-

treatment, in the grand-scale lounge. (Spa-goers can

order on iPads located throughout the spa.)

At some spas the spa/wine/ood pairings are

explicitly curated to enhance each other. Consider

Napa Valley, Caliornias Auberge du Soleil (U.S.):

Each vinotherapy spa treatment is paired with a

tasting o a local wine selected by the propertys

sommelier, who explains the logic behind the pairing

and why its the right blend o sensory experiences.

At the Ritz-Carlton Denver (U.S.), male clients sample

local artisanal beers while they help make their own

beer-based spa treatments.

Finally, more spas will continue to accommodate their

guests unique ood demands, rom Fivelements

(Indonesia) raw ood cooking classes and menu to

Hawaiis Grand Hyatt Kauai Resorts (U.S.) gluten-ree

dining across its six restaurants.

In 2012, more travelers worldwide will choose their

destinations based on their unique, sensory-sating

dine/wine/spa propositions.

25

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VIbRaTIon, Sound, MuSIc,lIGHT & coloR

Sps ar Pikig up G Virtis

Spas have used soud, music, color ad light i the past, but typically as ambiet,

aterthought accessories. now theyre ote becomig the mai evet, ad this ew wave

o approaches, each essetially rooted i vibratios ad requecies, is beig uleashed

to help us relax ar more quicly, clear eergy blocs ad relieve pai, etc. new soud,

music, color, light (ad physically vibratig/rhythmic) experieces are either beig

deployed idividually or i heady, immersive combiatios egagig multiple seses

ote i startlig ew ways.

Spas have traditionally spoken to our sense o touch

(via massage, etc.), and to a lesser degree, our sense

o smell (aromatherapy). Now more spas will impact

our eyes, ears and bodies with an explosion o good

vibrations. We already know how deeply these orces

impact us: how sounds o nature can help relax us;how drumming sounds can energize us; how walking

into rooms o dierent colors can alter our mood;

how stepping into bright sunshine enlivens us; how

rocking calms us down

New technology (oten in the orm o devices,

chairs and pods) is driving these innovations, as

is our need or solutions that radically disengage us

rom our increasingly anxious, stressed-out minds.

In addition, new scientic evidence about how

requencies and vibrations aect us both physically

and emotionally is bolstering the trend. Some o the

new approaches are based on vibrational medicine,

the concept that various systems (and organs) inour bodies vibrate at dierent requencies, and

disruptions can aect our health and wellbeing. While

the science supporting these individual approaches

is strengthening, the new multi-sensory spa

concoctions are just that very new. Less is known

about the net results o these sound/music/light/color

cocktails, but theres no doubt it will be un to

nd out.

27

6


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Soud ad music: Music in treatment rooms is

expanding to many channels, including options

like white noise and spa proessionals report a

strikingly wide variety o preerences. A breakthrough

thats re-inventing the idea o passively listening to

the old massage music: a new sotware innovation

out o Italy, MUUSA, that creates real-time treatmentmusic (with tones, beats and sounds like wind

rustling and rivers fowing), directly generated by the

therapists hand movements and the clients bodily

responses. Clients then depart with a CD o the

wellbeing music-art they created in tandem. Taking

it one step urther are those who incorporate live

music. Canadas Spa Eastman oers Harp Therapy,

where the melodic and therapeutic sound o the

live harp accompanies the treatment and makes it

adaptable to the emotional state o the massage

recipient. At Toskanaworld locations in Germany

where Liquid Sound is the norm, live concerts are

interspersed on special occasions.

More music therapy examples: Vermonts Stowe

Mountain Lodge (U.S.) has unveiled a new Zen

Sound Therapy program, while Fonteverde (Italy)

reports that its pioneering Music o the Brain

program is still popular. The medical evidence

strongly backs music therapy: Natural Standard,

a research collaboration that reviews global

scientic evidence, gives it a straight A or its

ability to enhance mood and reduce anxiety. Were

seeing more spas like the Lodge at Woodloch in

Pennsylvania (U.S.) or comortzones Soul Space

spa in Florence, Italy, implement ancient Tibetansound massage, using singing bowls designed to

balance the body/mind through vibrations. Tuning

orks are increasingly being used in acials and with

acupuncture. Sometimes the trend is about sound,

and other times its absence: at MAVIDA Balance

Hotel & Spa in the Austrian Alps, the salt water

foatarium lets people foat weightlessly in a totally

soundproo room.

Color ad light: Color is refected light that hits

our retinas through vibrating wavelengths (which is

then interpreted by our brains) so color is both a

physical sensation and a vibration. Chromatherapy

is based on the principle o using colors to generate

electrical impulses, or elds o energy, said to

activate biochemical and hormonal processesthat either sedate or stimulate us. Research has

shown that color has measurable psychological and

physiological eects: Warm colors, like red, act as

stimulants (and have been shown to elevate heart

rates and arouse eelings o excitement), while cool

colors, like blue, have a calming eect. Color therapy

is gaining momentum as more spas incorporate

Ayurvedic medicine, an approach that conceives o

the body in terms o seven chakras, each associated

with a specic organ, and each, in turn, associated

with a color. In Ayurvedic thinking, physical

imbalances can be improved via color therapy.

More hydrotherapy experiences are incorporating

color/color sequencing, and more massage

therapists are adjusting color and light to maximize

treatments. New York Citys Yelo Spa (U.S.), the

pioneer o the napping pod, highlights sunsets and

sunrises simulated via color and light to help regulate

circadium rhythms. At Barcelonas Spaciomm

at Hotel Omm (Spain), relaxation rooms eature

rocking gravitational beds with chromo-therapy. At

Arizonas Mii amo spa resort (U.S.), Qua Baths and

Spa at Caesars Palace Las Vegas and in many UK

spas, Aura-Soma Color Reading is now available.

This unique experience has a spa guest select ourbottles rom a vast display o colored liquids, and a

practitioner guides him or her through the signicance

o his or her color choices and combinations.

Light therapy may have the most science to back it:

High-intensity light is shown to improve skin, mood

and sleep disorders, and its impact on treating

seasonal aective disorder is well known. LED light


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therapy or aging and damaged skin is one o the

hottest skincare treatments, and more spas like

Acqualina by ESPA in Miami (U.S.) and Mandarin

Orientals around the world use red and blue LED

technologies to repair/renew skin cells.

Multi-sesory experieces: The blended, multi-

sensory good vibrations approaches are perhaps

the most exciting aspect o the trend. Were seeing

an explosion o new spa products like saunas, steam

capsules, lounge chairs, massage tables, tubs and

experiential pods that interweave light, color,

sound and music/rhythm together. These high-tech

experiences are designed to release people rom

sel and stress quickly and intensely, and their ot-

stated goal is to plunge people into new experienceso space, time and consciousness. For some spa-

goers, they may deliver unprecedented bliss, while or

others, the dazzle could eel like sensory overload.

The usion o sound, music and water is one

approach. For instance, Kohlers new VibraAcoustic

baths (at many spas worldwide) broadcast sound

waves through the water, all choreographed to music

and chromatherapy. In Germany, the Toscana ThermeSpa brand has introduced Aqua Wellness and Liquid

Sound, or bathing in light and music, designed

by a well-known multimedia artist. Spa-goers foat

weightlessly in warm salt water and are gently cradled

and manipulated by therapists, as the underwater

music transorms the pool into a concert hall. At

the spas Bad Sulza location these eects are oten

combined with laser light shows and electro-acoustic

music.

And then there are the uturistic massage tables and

experience pods. Major spa designers like Gharieni,

Klas, Schletterer or Thermarium are all rolling out

variations o multi-sensory devices. We are seeing

spa tables that can incorporate vibromotors,

musical massage (with tables shaking to musical

requencies) and oscillating waves combining

music and chromotherapy. Arizonas Miraval Resort

& Spa (U.S.) recently introduced its instantly popular

Taiz Sensorium, a unique therapy that integrates

vibrational medicine, music therapy, gentle human

touch and aromatic oils to ully engage the ull

spectrum o senses.

One o the most high-concept, mind-melting, sense-

blending spa experiences comes rom Viennese artist,

sha., whose award-winning AlphaSphere (at spas

like Berlins Mandala Hotel ONO Spa or Bulgarias

Kempinski Hotels Zalez spa), encases spa-goers in

blue light, sound and vibrations, while their bodies

sway to the rhythms o their own breathing. Klass

new WOLKE 7 CLOUD 9 designed with sha.s input

is a pure ritual o the senses. A spa-goer reclines ina canopied, warm cradle-pod and experiences image

and color clouds, eaturing incredible cloud scenery

and color transitions based on the real sky. Immersive

sound clouds are ormed out o the rhythms o

the swinging cradle and the users own breathing,

creating the three-dimensional music, all while sot

vibrations caress the entire body. The result? An all-

encompassing body/mind eect that begins to work

almost immediately.

Spas are denitely picking up good vibrations and

it cant help but give people some real excitations.

30


31/64

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32/64ourtesy of Six Senses Sanctuary Phuket

GLAMOUR TAkEScenTeR STaGe

Courtesy o Guerlain Spa, photo by Daniel Aubry, NYC (U.S.)


33/64

THe GlaM FacToR

Gmiti

The headlies i the spa idustry these last ew years have bee all about welless.

But ow beauty ad groomig is seriously boomigbeig drive by a ew tredwe call glambitio. The itesity, requecy (ad ote sheer whimsicality) with

which people are gettig glammed up, groomed, bedizeed ad beautied is

explodig worldwide.

33

7

And, given economic realities, i.e., the sharpening

wealth polarities making headlines worldwide, this

ambition-to-be-glamorous trend is taking two

paths. One path: Not only are whole new breeds o

glamour and grooming services emerging, they are

now super accessible and aordable. The industry is

working overtime to invent ways or the not-super-rich

beauty-seeker to quickly change up his or her looks

and hair (in ways that are oten downright erce),

and get more high-impact little beauty xes and

rills, more cheaply and more oten. And or the lucky

ewer that have never been so fush, were seeingnew, ultra-high-end spa/beauty experiences emerge

that distinctly channel classic, retro glamour

ushering in a triumphant return or some unabashedly

old school pampering.

Fuelig the tred: Given the long economic

downturn, the lipstick eect is certainly in eect, but

the smaller beauty splurges have now expanded way

beyond that touch o red lipstick.

But whats really ueling the global glambition and

grooming upsurge (or both the 99 percent and the

1 percent) is the sheer impact and saturation o

celebrity culture and imagery, making red carpet

levels o beauty and maintenance suddenly de

rigueur or the rest o us. Just a ew years ago a

good haircut and nice skin (and maybe a blow dry

or special occasions) passed as groomed. But the

beauty bar has been intensely ratcheted up. What

was once the exclusive province (or duty) o starlets

the weekly blow outs, the proessionally done

makeup, brows, lashes, waxing, tanning, nails, the

Botox or llers is now the standard. The endless

dissection (on TV, in magazines and blogs) o every

celebrity look, and precisely how they achieved it

(down to those little crystals braided in their hair), is

not only really quickening beauty trends, its making

the world very glambitious to go out and get it, too!


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la carte, quicie groomig ad beauty: And get it

they can: These glamming and grooming services are

increasingly available at low price points, everywhere

and the rituals are now or everyday, not just

special occasions. A key Glambition trend is the

global prolieration o new spa/salon niches serving

up all types o la carte beauty, rom eyes to toes,and everything in between.

Examples: The blow-dry bar phenomenon is heating

up at chains like Drybar (rapidly expanding across

the U.S.), with its rock-and-roll, party atmosphere

and monthly Bar Tabs, packaging requent blow

outs and massages on the cheap. Or at ast-growing

Blow Dry Bar (10 Australian locations), which ups

the glamour with ree champagne and antiquechandeliers. Typically $35 or less, these blow-dry

bars make it possible to always look done, the new

mandate.

Hershesons hair spas, with ve locations in London

(UK), illustrate the celebrity-ambition trend. Walk in,

choose rom a dozen cois like Brigitte Bardot or

Kate Moss, and or 24, the hair spa will recreate

the look. From elaborate bows made o hair, to thenew Pop-Up Pony Bar, the hair spa is dedicated to

aordable, super-trendy hair transormations.

Proessional makeup application salons are rising,

like Los Angeles-born Blushington Makeup Beauty

Lounge (U.S.; adjacent to Drybars), with a similar

set-menu model: i.e., choose rom Pure & Simple to

Simply Glowing, where a ull ace costs only $35.

Lash and brow mania took fight last year, and eyes-

only places like Blink (across the UK and now in Henri

Bendel in New York, are solely dedicated to glamming

up the peepers, with lash tints, brow shaping, alse

eyelashes, etc.

Wax-only salons like European Wax Center or Uni K.

Wax (national, U.S.) are spawning.

Quickie beauty-x services (a 2011 trend) are

speeding up the niche spa movement. Hong Kongs

Fast Beauty serves up express acials, waxing,

threading and massages, while Groom at Selridges

(UK) oers 30-minute, two-therapist beauty combos

like Zoom Groom, a acial and mini mani/pedi.

More services like Glamourpuss Makeover

Photography (UK) will launch, specializing in beauty

makeover headshots because regular people want

star-quality photos or their close-up on Facebook.

These spa/salon niche brands are building devoted

ollowings o glamour girls (and, yes, guys, too,

particularly with waxing), aided by aggressive loyalty

programs embracing social media. Expect a sharply

renewed ocus on men, the gentlemans shave

and barbershops within the spa (as well as new

barbershop-spas), serving up new Mad Men-inspired

club atmospheres and imbibing.

Bligy, edgy, creative beauty: A distinct beauty

trend is that whats considered beautiul or cool is

moving beyond conventional long blonde hair and

demure Barbie-doll prettiness, with looks becoming

ar more blingy, theatrical, playul, sel-expressive and

edgy. Now that the beauty market has widened to

capture teens and even younger girls, it is a healthy

development. There is no longer just one way or

young women and girls to look, who are now inspired

by artier, more unconventional models like a Lady

Gaga or the gothy vampires o Twilight.

Not blending in artsier sel-expression is

the new glambition or tweens and younger

women, even i they still lust ater all the trimmings.

And that edgier look is impacting the whole spa/

beauty market and all ages. The goal is lots o call-

attention-to-yoursel impact, but not or a whole lot

o bucks, whether it is outrageous metallic, mesh,

lacey, snakeskin and dagger-like pointy nails, or the

serious hair fair trend, with tresses done up with


35/64

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Courtesy o Spa Martier Courtesy o DryBar (U.S.)

Courtesy o Spa Martier (U.S.)

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37/64

Courtesy o Spa Martier (U.S.)

ornate braids, eathers, ribbons, crystals or colorul

extensions.

The tale o nails best illustrates the unkiness

transpiring more widely. Beyond the long-lasting

(purse-riendly) new gel and airbrush manicures,

technicians have devised endlessly outrageous, fashy

looks, like those eaturing adornments, including

genuine Swarovski crystals, holograms, glitter,

gradation and mixed media art at more places like

New York Citys Spa Martier (U.S.).

High-ed, retro spa glamour: While the beauty

market unleashes new, aordable opportunities to

get glamorous, the higher-end spa market is trending

even more high-end. It is a sign o the times, as the

wealthy are even more so in places like the U.S.,

and new upper classes are exploding in markets like

China, Russia and India. But the high-end spa/beauty

trend isnt just generic luxe; it has a distinct look-

and-eel that conjures classic, very retro, concepts

o glamour think Old Hollywood glamour, or the

stately, perumed spa palaces o an early Elizabeth

Arden or Marcella Borghese. The look o spa has

lately been dominated by a medical or hyper-modern or wellness vibe, a trend that emerged to

clearly signpost that the industry had moved beyond

expensive hope in a jar, and was about serious

medical results. But now that it is a given that high-

end spas deliver medically eective approaches and

hardcore wellness, it seems to be aording the return

o a sheer luxury, glamour and pampering layer back

into the spa experience. The pendulum is swinging

back to old school spa glamour.

Just a ew examples: At the Waldor=Astoria, French

beauty pioneer Guerlain has just taken the wraps o

its new haute-luxury spa experience, based upon

its original vision or a French woman to be shining

or an evening. Channeling 1950s glamour, the spa

eatures touches like a social grand salon instead

o relaxation rooms, French jazz music and a nal

touch concept that oers complimentary makeup

application and clothes pressing, so you leave looking

more dapper than when you arrived.

Or consider the just-opened Trump International Hotel

& Tower in Toronto (Canada) that takes champagne

and caviar as its moti, while positioning the spa

experience as total immersion in old Hollywood

glamour.

Spa beauty and grooming will boom in 2012, and

continue to be endlessly re-imagined to satisy the

glambitious at both the lower and higher end. And

the powerul, new glambitions o people in emerging

markets are key. For instance, Chinese women werent

even allowed to wear makeup until 1982, and that

beauty market is now worth roughly $21 billion. And

consider: Brazil, Russia, China and India alone will

contribute over hal o the total $43 billion growth or

the global beauty industry by 2014.7

7 Euromonitor Data, 2011

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I 2011, SpaFider amed The Sciece o Spa a top tred, orecastig a ew era

where more questios about the prove, medical eectiveess o spa therapies would

get ased, leadig to ew visibility or the growig archive o cliical evidece that

exists or approaches lie massage, meditatio or acupucture.

With the launch o the new website SpaEvidence.com

this year the worlds rst portal to the aggregated

medical studies that exists or 21 common spa/

wellness approaches that trend was literally

embodied. Launched by the Global Spa Summit in

mid-2011 (an advocacy group or the worldwide spa/

wellness industries), and shaped by doctors with

an expertise in integrative medicine, SpaEvidence

gives the world easy access to the evidence-based

medicine databases that doctors use, so they

can search thousands o studies evaluating which

spa modalities are proven to work, and or which

exact conditions.

SpaEvidence represented a big, courageous step

towards transparency or the spa industry, as the

site presents the clinical evidence behind therapies,

whether it is positive, inconclusive or negative. And

it orged new, common ground between the medical

and spa worlds by embracing the rigors o evidence-

based medicine.

For 2012, we name a trend ater this breakthrough

website because the act o its appearance so

neatly encapsulates a macro shit that is quickening:

the continued breakdown o the once separate silos

o traditional medicine and complementary/spa

therapies. And the erosion o these silos, the Spa

Evidence trend, will take diverse orms in the year

aheadsome ongoing, some new.

In 2012, more hospitals than ever beore will

incorporate and more doctors will prescribe spa

and wellness approaches, not only because more

new research shows that mind-body treatments can

be especially eective or chronic pain, heart disease,

sleep disorders and depression/anxiety, etc., but

because the sheer global costs o not ocusing on

prevention have passed the tipping point. (Spending

39

SPa eVIdence

Shwig th cii evi bhi Thrpis

8


40/64

on healthcare amongst OECD and BRIC nations will

grow 50 percent-plus rom 2010 to 2020.8) Consider

changes underway in the prevention-challenged U.S.

healthcare system: A new study9 reveals that the

number o hospitals oering alternative/spa services

has tripled since 2000 (rom 14 percent o hospitals,

to 42 percent today). Roughly two in three o these

hospitals now provide massage, three in ve oer

acupuncture and music/art therapy and one in ve

provide reiki. Hospitals report ooting the bill 44

percent o the time, and at Pritikin (one o the

premier weight-loss/heart-health American spa

resorts), qualied people now get their trip covered

by Medicare. Another new study10 nds that o

the 41 million Americans that use mind-body

therapies like yoga or tai chi, 6.4 million are now

doing them because they were prescribed by theirmedical provider.

More hard evidece o Spa Evidece: The National

Institutes o Health has nearly doubled its grants

or complementary and alternative medicine rom

2007-2011. And Medicare, the U.S. governments

health insurance program or all people over 65,

has just announced it will cover screening and

counseling or obesity, which, as Dr. Patrick Conway,the programs spokesperson, noted, was a result o

it systematically reviewing the best possible medical

evidence to identiy those preventative services that

can keep (people) as healthy as long as possible.

A striig ew example o hospitals bledig

medicie/spa: ashion icon Donna Karans Urban

Zen Integrative Therapy program, expanding

across major U.S. hospitals like UCLA MedicalCenter. Frustrated by the lack o eastern healing

approaches during her husbands cancer treatment,

Karan designed the program to train medical

proessionals in yoga therapy, reiki, essential oil

therapy, nutrition and contemplative care.

Other maiestatios o the tred: more global

spa/wellness businesses broadcasting the medical

evidence that exists or what they do (in marketingmessages, client communications, etc.); more

incorporating SpaEvidence.com into their own site;

and more adopting the language o evidence-based

medicine. Big spa players like Rancho La Puerta

(Mexico), Fairmonts Willow Stream Spas (across

Asia, Europe, North America, etc.) and SpaFinder.

com (global) have adopted a custom version o

40

The % o U.S. Hospitals

Oerig Spa/AlterativeMedicie Approaches HasTripled Sice 2000

2007 2011

50

40

30

20

10

0

14%

42%

American Hospital Association/Samueli InstituteReport, 2011

Healthcare Spedig across

OECD & BRIC natios (Brazil,Russia, Idia & Chia) willSyrocet 51% betwee 2010ad 2020

2010 2020

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

51%

PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) HealthResearch Institute Data, 2010


41/6441

SpaEvidence.com; spas rom Gwinganna LiestyleRetreat (Australia) to Quantum Spa (South Arica)

prominently link to the site; and many spas like

Jumeirah Resorts Talise spas rom Dubai to Shanghai

have adopted the language o evidence-based

medicine to describe their oerings.

As more people digest the medical evidence or

alternative/spa therapies (and the realities that some

evidence is strong, some negative, and that manymore studies need to happen), the conversations

no alternative therapies work or no traditional

medicine is good will continue to become less

shrill and divisive. In act, distinct, new conversations

are emerging, well expressed by Dr. Jay Parkinson,

named one o the ten most creative people in

healthcare11: The companies that realize the uture

o health is about lie and happiness rather than

sickness, death and medical solutions, are the ones

that will lead in the next decade.

There are now new medical studies, like the one just

released by University College, London, showing that

happy people reduce their risk o premature death

by as much as 35 percent12 And the conversations

around concepts like happiness, the quality o a

lived lie, true wellbeing (both physical and mental)and the value o pleasure are really heating up.

More governments are measuring happiness

along with GNP; the UK and France perormed

national happiness indexing studies in 2011. More

happiness movements are aoot like the UKs

Action or Happiness, which organizes to promote

the pillars o happiness: physical/mental wellbeing,

relationships and giving. Books like renowned

psychologist Dr. Martin Seligmans Flourish: A

Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and

Well-Being are generating buzz or exploring how true

health is much more than the absence o illness

and is comprised o both subjective and biological

assets. Once seemingly intangible concepts like

happiness are becoming a eld o scientic inquiry

because the medical research backs the approach.

As the medical evidence or prevention, more truly

holistic concepts o wellbeing and now, even

happiness escalates, its a huge opportunity or

the spa industry.

[8] PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute Data, 2010[9] American Hospital Assn./Samueli Institute Report, 2011[10] Archives o Internal Medicine, 2011[11] Named by Fast Company Magazine[12]12 Published: Proceedings o the National Academy oSciences, 2011

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i th h ss t sitif

stis mstrtig

trtmts ivr msr

hth fts.

- SRI Internatinal, Spas & the Global

Wellness Market Report, 2010


42/64Courtesy o KeyLime Cove (U.S.)


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SPaS becoMe a FaMIly aFFaIR

Th Kir-Sp Krz

Spas have traditioally bee retreats or growups to relax ad revitalizear away

rom childre. But there is a rapidly growig traveler demad to be able to brig tees,

twees ad eve tots alog or the spa ride. now that spas are broadly associated

with welless (rather tha ussy grow-up pamperig), ar more amilies, ad may

cocered about the growig childhood obesity epidemic, wat to get their spa-o

together. SpaFider idetied the tred o more childre at spas way bac i 2004, but

this is o loger about the occasioal id. Its totally maistream: Whole amilies are

spa-ig together, ad more spas are dig creative ways to welcome the etire cla.

43

Far more resorts will reevaluate age restrictions in

tness/spa areas, and heartily welcome tweens (and

younger) into the spa/salon. And they will continue

their endless rollout o ull-blown teen-and-younger

day programming, which incorporates tness and

even some spa services. I.e., more resorts are oering

what could be dubbed all-day wellness babysitting,

something parents can eel overjoyed about,

especially as theyre relieved rom duty or hours.

Kid-specic spas are on the rise, whether its

the Scoops Kids Spas at ten Great Wol (North

American) resort locations, Floridas Nickelodeon

Suites and Keylime Cove (U.S.), or numerous day

spas like Connecticuts Sundae Spa (U.S.). These

new kiddie spas typically oer whimsical, extremely

sweet-sounding treatments like ice cream pedicures

served up on oversized banana split pedicure

thrones, or Starsh Sparkle manicures ound at

Keylime or Mini Me Massages oered at Vermonts

Stowe Mountain Lodges Chillax KidSpa (U.S.).

9


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Little Lambs Kiddie Spa & Clinic (Philippines) oers

a unique spin: combining ull pediatric medical

services (rom immunizations to well-baby programs)

with a host o wellness, beauty and salon services

geared across the 0-19 set. Klas in Germanys new

three-story, child-riendly spa concept introduces

Disneyesque sensory experiences like thunder,rain and lightning eects, as well as a tree sauna,

a cooling water grotto, adventure showers and a

waterall. In general, many o the new kid-spa menus

would please both a Dr. Oz and a Paris Hilton.

Spa parties (so deeply entrenched now or the bridal/

bachelorette set) are protably being re-imagined or

the under-18 demographic, whether it is mobile spa

parties (complete with kid-riendly products, mani/pedi stations and un ood), or the rise o dedicated

Kids Fantasy Suites at resorts (the actual name o

the oering at Omni Houston Galleria). I spas beauty

and wellness menus (whether make-up application,

acials, yoga or massage) used to target the sweet

16s, now theyre increasingly being directed at the

single-digit kid. And its not only a emale-phenom:

Karma Resorts (Indonesia), which has launched

amily, teen and kid spa oerings across all o

its resorts, promotes its ather and son chill-out

massages. Kids are gobbling up what were once

grownup-only beauty treatments and wellness rituals

at incredibly young ages, and their parents are all

or it. And there is no doubt that this phenomenon

will oster entire new generations o people with

sophisticated spa, wellness and beauty habits.

Other examples: Jiwa Spa at Conrad Balis Mum

and Me packages, introducing a young person to

spa treatments, where the child chooses rom a

ootbath, oot mask, back massage or chocolate bath

all served up with healthy snacks.

At Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Maui (U.S.),

guests can now book the Family Spa Suite (and

Malama ka Ohana package), with treatments like

chocolate-coconut scrubs, the Wave Massage with

warm lava stones at the Keiki Spa (ages 6-12), or mud

body wraps at its Teen Spa (ages 13-17).

Schloss Elmau Luxury Spa & Cultural Hideaways

(Germany) separate Family Spa sports a 24-hour

indoor swimming pool, six saunas and an indoor/

outdoor gym. Children can spend time in the Nature

Spa alone or with parents, and can join the Kids

Club oering sports and adventure day programs.

Hong Kongs Bodywize Day Spa introduces young

people to yoga with Kidsasana! using story,

music and puppets to bring out the childs inner

yogi. The spa also oers a Namasteens yoga

program and hosts teen parties in its Secret Butterfy

Garden.

In the Caribbean, Jamby Bay, A Rosewood Resort,

has introduced the new Rose Buds Junior Spa Menu

at its SENSE spa. Guests (starting rom age our)

can select rom a Beach Bliss Mani or Pedi, a Mini

Massage or Facial and a Chillax treatment involving

aromatherapy washcloths and cool cucumbers.

Aulani, Disneys new Hawaiian resort, may provide

a glimpse o what is to come, with its Laniwai Spa

welcoming and accommodating amilies in novel

ways. In special amily spa suites, youngsters can

have massages with their parents, and babies can

also accompany parents to treatments, where mom

and dad (one at a time) learn the art o baby massage

rom a proessional. The dedicated teen spa,

Painted Sky, has its own private entrance and oers

traditional spa/salon treatments, as well as extras like

yogurt and perume bars, ater hours events, weekly

wellness programming and Painted Sky tness.

Youngsters can get their hair and nails bedazzled or

get dressed up like a hula dancer in the main salon.

And the main adult areas welcome those aged

14-plus i they are with an adult.


45/6445

Courtesy o KLAFS (Germ

F m ss will vlu gsiis i fss/s s,

ily wlm ws (

yug) i s/sl.


46/64

In SEARCH OF THEaHa MoMenT

Courtesy o Coqoon Spa at Indigo Pearl (Thailand)


47/64

SPaS Go FoR THe WoW

big r litt, th Wws Hv It

For may years, most people probably thought that oe hotel or day spa sure seems

a whole lot lie ay other: the same beige, Ze loo, the same meu o treatmets

ad homogeized experieces. But ow spas are really pilig o the wow actors,

servig up both big ad small wows (ad true surprises) i a quest or idividuatio.

47

10

Wows and eorts towards greater dierentiation

are rising now, as a countertrend to the strong spa

branding/ranchising trend we identied or 2011. And

given the act that, i once upon a time, conormity

helped the budding spa-goer know what to expect

when stepping into the spa realm, now spa-goers are

ar more seasoned, and they crave truly new aha

experiences.

The big new wows include eye-popping design and

uturistic, blow-your-mind amenities. But, given

this economy, many o the wows are smaller, less

expensive and very smart. Most spas are attempting

to engage and delight spa-goers without a ton

o investment by adding unique little touches, a

ew strategic wow amenities and more unique

treatments/experiences. So, with the much-discussed

economic realities o our 99 percent and 1 percent

world, there are wows or most any budget. I spas

over the last couple o decades had become hushed

shrines o deadly seriousness, more spas are now

lightening it up and that trend includes whole new

spa models like amusement park spas that are un

and social, where laughter is becoming one o the

best medicines they serve up.

Big wows: One big wow is the jaw-dropping design

heating up at resort spas, oten in wow, exotic global

locations

Take a look at the bold design elements at the Atomic

Spa Suisse, or bubble spa, in the Boscolo Milano

hotel (Italy), where wild, LED-illuminated mirror

bubbles rise to the top o the interiors o the treatment

rooms, sauna and baths, like a rothing glass ochampagne. This hyper-unique design scheme

certainly dees spa minimalism.

At the Coqoon Spa at Indigo Pearl in Phuket

(Thailand), the design literally thrusts spa-goers into

nature. At its center is The Nest, a luxurious wicker

tree house hanging rom the branches o an ancient

banyan tree, while the individual spa coqoons have


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private pools, rain showers, saunas, etc. nestled

within the rainorest.

St. Regis Bangkoks (Thailand) high-design Elemis

Spa provides a little mid-air pre-pampering, with its

foating, nest-like relaxation pods.

Ritz-Carlton Hong Kongs spa by ESPA is the worldshighest spa (on the hotels 116th foor), where

incredible design elements include an innity pool

that makes you eel as i youre in an airplane, peering

down on the city and a stunning indoor pool with a

ceiling-mounted LED screen.

Sparkling Hill Resort & Spa (Canada) touts itsel

as the rst building in the world with crystal

architecture, and is comprised o 3.5 millionSwarovski crystals.

Bota Bota Spa-Sur-LEau (in the old port o Montreal)

is a foating, ve-deck modern spa constructed on an

old barge, eaturing a cool water circuit and cocktail

lounge.

Other big wows: Spa resorts bringing in celebrities,

or the spa-parazzi actor: Six Senses brought in

Richard Branson, and Arizonas Miraval Resort & Spa

(U.S.) has a partnership with Dr. Andrew Weil.

And more spas are unveiling highly thematic

desig/experieces, like the Banyan Tree Spa

at the Marina Bay Sands Hotels (Singapore) new

4,000-square-oot tropical garden spa, where

everything rom the art on the walls to the botanical

treatments revolve around the brands Tree o

Lie concept. Or Germanys Schloss Elmau, which

uniquely blends spa and high culture: Guests

experience a ull schedule o classical music and jazz

concerts in the spa resorts very own concert hall,

hear rom great artists and authors and can snuggle

up with the many wonderul books that ll the spa

lounges.

Amusemet par spas:A whole new concept is

taking shape in spa-land, and were calling it the rise

o the amusement park spa, popping up across

Asia, Europe and North America. These dynamic,

un, all-ages playgrounds are ull o sensory rides

and typically oer larger-than-lie all-day water and

spa experiences or the entire amily. (See trend 9:Spas Become a Family Aair.) This new species o

spa speaks to the acts that not only do many more

people want to have a whole lot more un when

spa-ing, but that the aordable daycation (in this

economy) has massive appeal. These new spa-parks

oten embrace a Disney-internationalism or its a

small world vibe, piling on dozens o experiences like

Icelandic geyser baths, Caribbean lagoons and

Amazon wateralls.

In North America, theres Spa Castle (New York City

born, but just expanded to two more U.S. locations).

Five stories high and 100,000 square eet, spa-goers

buy tickets like a theme park, theres a ood court and

a vast number o internationally themed sauna, steam

bath and swimming/hydro experiences.

Across Canada, the Nordic-based Scandinave dayspa resorts, which oer un circuits o saunas, steam

rooms, wateralls, plunges, etc., are a big name

gaining popularity.

Yunessun is a hot springs spa resort and water

amusement park located in a scenic part o Japan.

Kalev Spa Water Park in Estonia was developed by

top sportsmen and includes numerous pools and

water attractions like tube slides and bubble

baths, along with a big menu o theme saunas.

Many o these spa-parks are explicitly geared towards

kids or accommodating parents and kids: Sealala Spa

& Water Park in South Korea is kid-ocused, while

GyulaCastle Spa in Hungary (within Almasy Castles

park) has a Wellness and Sauna Centre or adults and

a huge aqua playground or the kids.


49/64

Courtesy o AWAY Spa at W Retreat & Spa Bali - Seminyak (Indone

t big w wws ilu y-ig sig uuisi,

blw-yu-mi miis.

49


50/64

Courtesy o ATOMIC SPA SUISSE at the Boscolo Milano (Italy)

a ATOMIC SPA SUISSE, bubbl s, i

Bsl Mil l (Ily), wil, Led-illumi mi

bubbls is iis m

ms, su bs, lik ig glss mg.

50


51/6451

You can eel the small world spin at Center Parcs

(our locations in the UK), which eatures around-

the-world-themed spa rooms inspired by the

Far East, India, Greece and Ancient Rome and its

subtropical swimming paradise. You can really eel

it at Schwaben Quellen (Stuttgart, Germany), with its

dozens o global spa- and water-themed experienceslike Himalayan salt rooms, Canadian log cabin

sauna and Temple o the Maya lounging room.

Smaller wows(that still pac a puch): Many

o the wows are smaller, less-pricey touches, with

spas innovating ways to capture peoples (and the

medias attention) without having to be on the cover

o Architectural Digest. (Think o the wow when

Bliss spas opened, with the brands brownie buet inrelaxations areas.) The smaller wows are about giving

spa-goers that something more they didnt expect,

even i its serving them lunch, a glass o wine or a tea

ritual, or warming their bathrobe. Its about engaging

them.

Its happeig with idividual wow ameities:

Consider the JW Marriott Grand Rapids (U.S.), which

only had one massage room, so recently brought inan innovative mobile spa cart system, Suite Spa,

that brings massages, acials, wraps, pedicures and

even hot stone therapies directly into guest rooms.

That SpaSuite cart is now rapidly ranchising to

more hotel properties.

Destination spa Mii amo (U.S.) now eatures a

WaveMotion massage table that rotates, rocks

and tilts, so people eel like theyre foating.

The amazing new ESPA Lie spa at Londons

Corinthia Hotel (UK) is a major big wow and an

example o the many individual, smaller wows within

is the stunning all-glass amphitheater sauna.

For those who want to satisy their inner cowboy,

there is the newly opened destination spa Travaasa

Austin (U.S.), which oers mechanical bull tness

class, a novel way not only to get your exercise but to

reduce stress with a lot o laughter.

The new spa brands are, o course, not devoid

o wows: Hiltons global spa brand eorea is

emphasizing Vichy showers.

With thousands o yoga studios around the world,the Salt Yoga Studio at the Mantra Samui Boutique

Resort (Thailand) stands out or its wall o Himalayan

Salt (See 2011 trend: Salt Rooms and Salt Caves),

so people can get their salt therapy while they do

their yoga.

The unique treatment wows, some with a ramped-up

ocus on sheer un and whimsy, are too endless to

detail. Expect more creative oerings on spa menuslike Rockupuncture (Gwinganna Liestyle Retreat,

Australia), which combines acupuncture with a hot

rock treatment. And more guest engagement wows

like Los Angeless Hotel Palomars (U.S.) Walk this

Way program, which rewards guests who walk

10,000 steps a day (they use pedometers) with a 50

percent discount on their next stay.

Hittig the u agle squarely: Cosquillearte, anew tickle spa in Spain, and more spas worldwide

eaturing laughter yoga, whether its Ecotulum

Resort & Spa in Mexico or Peritiwi Resort in Bali.

Look or ar more hyper-individuality, and more

liberal doses o that je ne sais quoi rom spas in

years ahead. Given the realities o 72,000-plus spas

globally, both brand-new and established spas will

continue to push the wow envelope to get theworlds attention.


52/64Courtesy o Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa (U.S.)


53/64

With healthcare costs spiralig out o cotrol worldwide, the global movemettowards employee welless or corporate welless programs is ow gatherig

uprecedeted steam. The private sector has digested the avalache o data about

how nOT ocusig o prevetable chroic diseases is impactig its bottom-lie,

ad the ew storm o studies about the high ROI that programs devoted to creatig

heathier, happier, more productive employees are deliverig. As theHarvard Business

Review put it, employee welless is suddely o loger a iche activity, or thoughtul

extra or a ew high-mided mega-corporatios its becomig a strategic

imperative1 or busiesses both bigandsmall.

Employee wellness programs can span medical

screenings, health education, coaching, subsidized

gym memberships and spa visits, weight-loss and

quit-smoking programs, on-site tness programs,

healthy ood initiatives, online health tools and

company-wide contests and challenges. And

spas, whose sweet spot is stress management,

are increasingly embracing this emerging

opportunity: partnering with businesses to provide

in-house massage, tness, yoga, meditation or

stress-reduction classes rolling out discounts/

memberships tailored or local businesses hosting

more healthy corporate retreats and becoming

a core incentive (that trip to the spa or spa git

card) that more companies are dangling as the

carrot to keep employees on track. And, as the

medical evidence mounts that stress plays a killer

role in chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer,

etc. and as a burned-out global workorce is

orced to work ever more hours spas stress-

reduction specialization will increasingly become

a key integer in employee wellness programsin

2012 and beyond. A recent survey analyzing 1,200

organizations across 47 countries ound thatreducing

stress is now the #1 driver of wellness programs

worldwide.2

53

eMPloyee WellneSSPRoGRaMS and SPaS


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Th Mth: Th cst

chri, Prvt disss

The data around skyrocketing global healthcare

costs, and the costs o unhealthy employees on

private enterprises, could ll libraries. The realities in

the U.S. are especially chronic: Seventy-ve percent

o the $2.6-trillion U.S. healthcare spend goes to

treating preventable chronic conditions,3 but less

than our cents o every dollar is spent on prevention.

Hence, employer-provided insurance plans are up

30%-plus in just the last ve years, and will double

in the next ten. The average Fortune 500 company

now spends 75%-100% o its ater-tax prots on

employee healthcare!

But its a GLOBAL crisis: As people worldwide

become more sedentary, smoke more and eat more

junk ood, liestyle-related health issues are exploding

everywhere, including emerging economies like

China, India and Mexico. While the U.S. is the attest

nation (more than one-third are obese), China and

India are now growing atter, aster. The World Health

Organization estimates heart disease, stroke and

diabetes will cost China $558 billion in a decade,

and by 2025, 57% o the Indian population will

have diabetes.4 Twenty years ago, less than 10%

o Mexicans were obese, while now 68% are. The

result? The healthcare spend among OECD countries

and BRIC nations will grow 51% by 2020 (or $71

trillion). So, whether companies get hit directlyin

private-payer nations like the U.S. or Switzerland

or indirectlywith government-run medical programs

unded by taxes (i.e., Japan or Germany) or lose

productivity in nations where most people have no

health coverage (China, India, etc.) companies,

governments and insurers are now doing the math,

and realizing that employee wellness investments are

a no-brainer.

Prv RoI

Its the science behind employee wellness, the data

that keeps pouring in that shows they deliver high

ROI, thats driving adoption. Hundreds o studies exist

proving successully run programs transorm health

behavior, reduce a companys healthcare costs and

boost productivity and employee retention/morale.

An overview o this archive reveals that ROI typically

ranges rom 2:1 to 10:1, with the bell curving between

3:1 and 6:1. And this ROI evidence is increasingly

getting broadcast in infuential publications like the

Harvard Business Review, which got the business

worlds attention in a report rounding up existing

research and presenting case studies o ten

organizations (including SAS Institute, Johnson &Johnson, Chevron, etc.) that documented diverse,

powerul results. For example, J&J saving $250

million on healthcare costs in the last decade, while

reducing employee smoking by two-thirds, and high

blood pressure by more than hal.

Irs G apti

Thats why employee wellness has surged beyond

niche: Sixty-six percent o larger businesses

worldwide now have a ormal employee wellness

strategy (up rom 49% in 2007),5 and in the U.S.

90% o corporations are now on board.6 In the U.K.,

where companies oten supplement NHS-provided

universal healthcare with private insurance policies,

a new survey shows that nearly 40% o workers now

have access to employer-provided health programs,

with 32% reporting their organization oers stress

management o some kind.7 Adoption rates and the

core business goals o initiatives dier by nation.

The U.S. (late to employee wellness compared with

countries like France, Germany, Japan, Singapore

and the UK) now has the highest rate o adoption,

ollowed by South Arica and Europe.8 And again,

while stress reduction remains the #1 driver o

54


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adoption globally, national goals vary: The U.S.

is ocused on reducing healthcare costs, while

Europeans seek better workorce morale and Asian

and Arican nations want to reduce absences.9

Gvrmts Tkig ati

Governments are now taking action and helping

businesses mitigate the cost o programs. The

U.K. has been busy in 2011, rom the launch o a

National Wellbeing Index to Dame Carol Blacks

groundbreaking re

Documents

Top Ten Spa Trends 2012