With the booming spa business, spa opportunities for employment also grew rapidly.
In the United States in 2004 the spa industry involved over 300,000 professionals with revenue of over 6 billion dollars.
In 1996 and again 2004, Entrepreneur Magazine voted day spas one of the year’s hottest businesses, because they represented the most rapidly growing segment of the spa industry over the previous years.
The ISPA (International Spa Association) Consumer Trends Report conducted by The Hartman Group in seven US cities (Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston and Seattle) showed that spas become viewed as places where consumers want to pursue a relief from a stressful daily grind. The report also showed that “while there are still those who view spa experiences as unnecessary indulgence spas continue to be more mainstream in terms of prices as well as cultural acceptability.” (Source: The ISPA 2004 Consumer Trends Report).
The biggest challenge for Spas is and will be to find people who do understand the industry and want to grow with it.
Ideally, spas would want to hire from within: spas should be run by massage therapists and estheticians. Why?
Spas differ from hotel/hospitality management and food and beverage industry.
Spas also differ from the beauty industry even though at the moment in North America it seems that the spa is also an extension of the beauty/hairdressing salon.
Spas are partially about hospitality but also, care giving, esthetics, nutrition, and preventative health in meticulously perfected environment.
Spas are luxury escapes for clients but from the therapists’ point of view they require a significant amount of personal growth in terms of being open to new trends and flexible enough to rely on team work.
Running a spa requires above average operational management, marketing and customer service skills
These are the main reasons why people trained in business and entering the spa industry as spa managers may not be the best managers for Spas. These are also the reasons why many massage therapists and estheticians do not feel prepared to cope with the challenges in operating a successful and financially sound spa business. To tell the truth, there are not many schools that will prepare you to become a therapist who thrives in a spa environment. You will have to allocate money to receive extracurricular training not only in therapies but also customer service, esthetics services and retail. Lack of cross training will become a real problem in the future where more and more places will define themselves as a cross marketing, esthetics-health-weight loss-nutrition-yoga venues (medical spas, health and fitness spas etc.) Whether you are coming from a complimentary health field or you are a registered massage therapist, being willing to stay open or maybe even evolve toward the medical, destination or combination spa-type-of-business as well as being aware of cross-training issues, will help you to position yourself better on the market.
Good resources to find out more about the current state of affairs on the Spa market are:
Day Spa Association This directory will guide you to day spa facilities that take their business seriously, and are committed to bring you the best services and products that the spa industry has to offer.
The Day Spa Association has established a set of guidelines to help you recognize what to expect from a day spa.
International Spa Association (ISPA) The International SPA Association is a worldwide community of spa professionals, product manufacturers and service providers all striving for the same goal. The support and knowledge of our community is unmatched anywhere in the industry. Whether you are a spa professional or a spa-goer, ISPA is your proven resource.
International Medical Spa Association Recognizing the importance of bringing together the health care and spa industries in a way that will ensure the quality of care available to consumers, medical spa industry leaders, including licensed health care professionals, spa owners, spa consultants, medical spa facility designers and product manufacturers, have come together to form The Medical Spa Association.
Spa 20-20
SPA 20/20™ imparts strategic and business know-how to a powerful circulation of decision-makers at medi-spas, skincare and medical facilities, and day, resort and destination spas.
ABA Canada
The Allied Beauty Association (ABA) is a registered not-for-profit Canadian organization that represents more than 90% of the Canadian professional beauty supply industry with respect to hair and nails.
The Australasian Spa Association
Providing communication and information services to spa owners, therapists and other participants. Setting spa industry standards and promoting these to consumers.
Spa Wire... Connecting you to the Spa Industry
SpaWire™ is a spa, salon, and wellness industry news feed service brought to you by the Internet's leading online spa and wellness directory.
Spa Directory
Spa Directory - everything about: spa resorts, home spa treatment, spa equipment and weightloss & spa.Read our spa articles, browse carefully compiled spa categories and submit your own spa web sites!
1-800-MediSpas.com
1-800-MediSpas.com is the leading online Medical Spa directory in the US. In addition to finding a Medical Spa on the website you can dial anywhere toll free 1-800-MediSpas and select the desired location and automatically be connected to the Medical Spa thru our automated telephone concierge system.
Resorts To Wellness
Resorts to Wellness are experts in selecting the perfect health spa vacation retreats. Because we have visited every Spa R2W represents you are assured our knowledge is firsthand.
Spas Ontario
Premier Spas of Ontario, an association of spas committed to offering Premier spa experiences.
Spas in Canada
The best spas guide of Canada! Find spa treatments, massage therapy,
Leading Spas, Health Spas and Premier Medical Spas in every Canadian province.
Spa Finder
Spa Finder has been the leading spa travel and marketing company connecting consumers with the spa experience via publishing, travel, Internet, and corporate incentive services.
Spa Elegance
SpaElegance was conceived and designed with the spa professional in mind. Whether you are an employee of a spa who is looking for information about the latest treatments or a product supplier trying to reach new customers, SpaElegance satisfies your needs.
Fitness Health Spas
A Comprehensive Directory of Health Spas Worldwide along with Reviews, Health News and Classified.
Leading Spas of Canada
A national organization working together through member services, professional development, education and ma
Magazines
SpaTrade
Relative information on the spa trade. News and advice.
Spa Canada Magazine
Spa Canada Magazine is a nationally distributed publication which keeps trade professionals up to date on various aspects of the Aesthetic, Fitness, and Spa industries.
Day Spa Magazine
The business magazine for the salon of the future. Business education to help you grow your spa or salon and increase revenues with additional services.
