Spa and Hospitality Management

This course provides an overview of the evolution of the spa industry from ancient civilizations to new frontiers of convergence integrating spas, medicine, healthcare, tourism, and hospitality. From an international perspective, an overview of the industry will be provided with emphasis on current business models and positioning for future trends. Definition and market segmentation of spa categories including day, resort, medical, destination, hospital, and lifestyle management programs will be discussed with examples in each category. Following an overview of foundations of the American spa industry, a review will be provided on the fundamentals of spa therapies, equipment, and products. Building upon the first two days, the final day will conclude with projections for future industry trends and guidelines for starting a spa business.

Gain an understanding of the general operational and administrative procedures in spas, private clubs and the hospitality industry. You'll develop an understanding of unique sensitivities required in managing and operating in the increasingly lucrative and complex spa industry. Other topics include: business planning, marketing, licensures, compensation models, legal and ethical issues governing club, hospitality and spa projects, insurance issues, technical issues, billing, inventory control, client file management, privacy issues and the development of standard operating procedures. You'll also learn the guidelines for optimizing energy efficiency in facility operations including design, energy, and water and waste management issues.

This course provides the student with a comprehensive application of financial management for the spa industry for spa operations managers and supervisors. Topics include: understanding the components of a spa financial statement, capturing the key drivers of daily revenues and expenses, using ratio analyses as a business evaluation tool, and understanding the basic principles of spa accounting and financial responsibility. Students will have the opportunity to use various problem solving methods and apply them to managerial situations tailored for the spa industry. Students will analyze, quantify, and evaluate the “wellness” of specific spa businesses, and use these skills to set the course for greater financial success.

Effective marketing and branding means more customers, increased sales, and branding opportunities for your spa. In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of developing a strategic marketing plan through sample case studies and examples of various spa models. A review of marketing plan elements will be combined with an overview of various print and electronic resources available for state-of-the-art marketing communications. Students will develop their own marketing plan inclusive of a situation analysis, mission and position statement, and SWOT analysis, with a step-by-step action plan that identifies the objectives, tactics, competitive analysis, and metrics for plan implementation and evaluation. Additional topics include: branding, media and public relations, building customer and employee loyalty.

The importance and benefits of appropriate human resource management techniques in the spa environment such as employee selection, progressive counseling / progressive discipline, termination, employee motivation and employee training are explained. Learn the skills you will need to recruit, hire and retain qualified individuals who can meet the growing and changing needs of your organization. Explore the hiring process including the administrative preparation, direct hiring activities, retention practices, and related employment laws. Understand the ins and outs of applicant sourcing, effective interviewing, accurate assessment and evaluation, while gaining a clear understanding of your role as a human resources professional in interfacing with management and other staffing decision makers. Discussion topics will include importance of staffing metrics, tips and tools for recruiting on the web, and a review of creative recruiting methods. This class is designed for small business owners, supervisors in the spa industry and spa managers who are interested in a hands-on HR course for practitioners.

As more spa managers are expected to provide financial results, the spa retailing function is being viewed as a strong profit generating source. This course focuses on the issues associated with spa retail management, the necessary retail mix as well as the importance of the staffing and training of the retail team. Additional topics include solid strategies and tactics to develop a clear and precise retail plan along with the process for immediate implementation.

As the industry evolves, day spa, hotel spa, destination spa resorts, and spas with medical services are becoming more specialized. Understanding the concept, financial forecast design and development process is critical for owners and developers to have a realistic grasp of the multitude of details that need to be addressed in designing a spa project. Behind the scenes of interior architectural and design planning are complex plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and climatology systems that need to be carefully planned to optimize operational flow, service delivery and energy efficiency.

Learn various techniques for effectively and successfully dealing with customers. Find out how to engage with customers and understand their needs and desires. This course also focuses on the key customer service success factors necessary for capturing and retaining a profitable customer base and outperforming the competition. Customer intensive, the spa industry merges the service economy with the experience economy in new service models designed to constantly exceed customer expectations. Topics include: definition of quality customer service, cost of service and its link to profit, secrets of best service providers, communication strategies, conflict resolution and crisis management.

The view from behind the front desk is enlightening. As a spa intern, you'll experience firsthand spa operations, customer service, management, finance and staffing. Behind the scenes, you'll gain practical knowledge about all the efforts that go into providing the services customers want. It's a unique way to gain knowledge, understanding, access and an experience that will prepare you for a management role in the spa industry.

Ayurveda means "The Science of Life". It is an ancient system of healing that focuses on the complete person. Considered the sister science of yoga, Ayurveda says that for complete wellness to occur, the body, mind and spirit must be in harmony with each other. Ayurveda defines wellness not as "the absence of defined disease" but when all bodily tissues, organs, systems and functions are acting together in a healthy way and are able to maintain health and wellness in spite of potential illness causing influences. By balancing the various mind-body functions the natural intelligence of the body will automatically bring itself to wellness. This hands-on course provides an overview of the basic principles of Ayurveda and how they may be used to keep you balanced on your path of yoga, meditation and life.

A spa's quality management system transfers into practice the spirit and the intentions of what the spa's owners and managers want to provide for their guests. All processes interact to create the guest experience. In order to be fully functional, the spa quality management system has to have an aim, a method and a way to measure its effectiveness. This course will focus on the interconnected process and the necessary quality management that emerges from the spa's mission, values and methods. Topics include: Spa's key Process Indicators and objectives; quality management's role in the Spa's system of operation; process that improve guest experience; regulatory requirements to optimize spa business operations and processes that minimize risks and continually improve all aspects of the spa business.

This course explores how to integrate wellness in the operations of resort and day spas. Topics include a review of a range of health and wellness services under the broad category of CAM (complementary/alternative medicine); the development of a wellness inventory for your spa; the positioning of your spa as a provider of these services and who should be providing wellness in your spa.

The spa industry has an opportunity to expand its role as an incubator that revolutionized spa and healthy lifestyle themes into a global industry to now also serve as an incubator for environmentally sensitive business practices. Recognized as resource and waste intensive, spas have an opportunity to implement sustainable business practices that can also improve the bottom line by understanding the criteria and benefits for selecting building materials, furnishings, equipment, products, waste management systems, and all aspects of operations and ongoing maintenance. This course will provide an overview of operational and management practices that serve as fundamentals for green spas. Topics will include: international greening trends in the spa industry; green business terminology; green building programs in the spa and hospitality industries; and green procurement.