Inspiration
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A Conversation with Justin Wren
Pulse: The principles of well-being and self-care are often associated with spa environments. How do they align with your own journey as an MMA fighter and humanitarian?
Justin Wren: Well, from the wrestling and MMA world, we always used saunas and ice baths and needed massage, so we always found ourselves in a spa environment. First, when we had no money, it was laying on the wrestling mats and our training partners rubbing out our shoulders, our hamstrings, our calves, our back and neck. Then when I got to the Olympic Training Center, we would have massage therapists once a week. We’d get in the ice baths, we’d always be in the sauna, especially before tournaments. And in the MMA world, whenever you’re fighting, you’re always finding the spa that had a gym, a sauna, a steam room, hopefully cold plunges, and then massage therapy that could really help you. I would say it changed from performance to taking care of myself later in my MMA career to now having four ice baths—or four cold plunges—and two saunas at home, and starting a podcast around the heat and the cold and the benefits those have for the body.
A Conversation with Peter Katz: Learn to celebrate with an internationally renowned singer-songwriter
Juno award and Canadian folk music Award nominated singer-songwriter Peter Katz has spent the last 15 years touring internationally, earning a reputation as “a thunderbolt for the soul.” His singles have garnered nearly 10 million plays on streaming platforms, and his music videos have amassed more than 25 million views. Katz’s work has been featured on numerous TV shows and movies, including coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics/Paralympics.
A Conversation with Ryan Leak
Pulse: The spa world has a long history of efforts to improve individuals’ holistic health. As a community, we sometimes are more successful providing care to others than to ourselves. How can spa professionals balance self care with their mission to tend to others?
Ryan Leak: Practice what they preach. It’s so easy to sell the things that are working well for us. At that point, we’re not selling, we’re just being. I always say, there’s got to be an area of your life where you are truly “off” with Do Not Dis[1]turb on. We can only give out what has been put in.
Pulse: In your role as CEO of a leadership development firm, you work with Fortune 500 companies and professional sport teams and other high-profile businesses. What does it take to be effective and sustainable as a leader?
RL: Sustainable leadership requires truth tellers. What often comes with the territory of leadership is people not being honest with them to save face or save their jobs. Leaders have to have people around them who can be honest with them when an idea or strategy isn’t good.
A Conversation with Suneel Gupta
Pulse: Spa is meant to be a place where individuals can find balance. How does your advocacy for emotional resilience and engagement complement the work done in spas?
Suneel Gupta: One of the things I find interesting about your work is you bring people’s lives into balance. What you do is really important—desperately needed. The number one driver of mental health for most of us is our work, our job. There’s an intimate connection between our work and our well-being. The reverse is also true: If we aren’t feeling good, our work is also exhausted. Our wellbeing harmonizes our work.
A Conversation with Taylor Fields
Throughout 2023, Pulse will feature interviews with experienced practitioners whose insights about spa specialties will help facility leaders to recruit, engage and retain staff members.
Kristine Huffman for Pulse: You started off in the industry as a spa attendant. How did you get that job?
TAYLOR FIELDS: I made an effort to meet property leaders through social events and interactions in my neighborhood and learned more about the resort. Once I graduated high school, I applied at the property and listed one of them as a personal reference.
Pulse: You are now the corporate director of spas for PCH Hotels & Resorts. Can you tell us a little bit about how you became so successful?
TF: When I wasn’t attending to spa guests, I was out in the retail area or engaging with the front desk and getting involved with more aspects of the spa operation. When I started as a supervisor, I had a lot of angst going into a position where I was suddenly in a position where my peers were reporting to me, but I think a lot of my success can be attributed to caring and treating people with respect. Also, I’m always curious. It helps me be prepared for any type of call or interview or meeting. I don’t like to go in and just wing it. I strive to be a continuous learner.
Amanda Al-Masri: Evolve or Become Irrelevant
Join key leaders within the industry as they share insights on how constant evolution within the spa business is necessary to thrive, and how spas are adapting and changing to stay relevant.
Pulse: What are some of the challenges and opportunities of new technology in the spa?
Amanda Al-Masri: Our recent 2023 Trends Report found more than half of travelers across the globe are aiming to have an easier travel experience in 2023, leading to clear opportunity for us as an industry to offer innovative solutions that are both human and technology-led. In this widely digital world, we see technology as a means to provide an enhanced experience for guests and, ultimately, smooth operations so that our team members can focus on what they do best: provide guests with exceptional hospitality and service.
While technology often powers the day-to-day, it’s people who provide the relatability, personalization and genuine hospitality that we have grown accustomed to. That’s why more than half of global travelers say they’ll care about reliable and friendly service. There are just some things— like a smile or warm greeting—that can’t be digitally replicated or replaced, and our team members are always available to deliver that and more.
Attracting Guests Through Innovative Treatment Offerings
Defining innovation as successfully implementing new ideas that introduce value for your customer, Michael Tompkins asked panel members to identify spa innovations they have focused on recently.
Aaliya Bashir shared her work with detoxification. “Detox was a bad word—usually associated with drug use—but now you see it everywhere, like on toothpaste,” she said. Aaliya also pointed out “consumers are now more educated about detoxification. Now, people are getting more aware that detoxification is an everyday thing. Everything we put inside of ourselves needs to come out.” She sees a direct benefit of innovating around the concept of detoxification within the spa: “People are coming to the sauna a couple of times per week.”
Be a Mountain Climber: Key Tips to Overcome Any Barrier
Face your mountain. Mountains can discourage you, but mountains in the spa industry consist of how we attract great people, how we keep them, and how we help them thrive. In his Knowledge Builder Session at the 2023 ISPA Conference, Dr. Bryan K. Williams joined attendees to discuss tips to over overcome any barrier.
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, or motivation theory, is how you get people to do what they want to do. It attributes two factors to motivating action: hygiene factors and motivation factors. Most recruitment is based on hygiene factors—ones related to job satisfaction such as compensation, job security, benefits, company policies and workplace conditions. These factors will attract people who just want a job. Motivation factors consist of challenging work, opportunity for personal growth, personal responsibility, recognition, sense of belongingness and sense of purpose. These factors tend to attract people who want to stay and thrive at their job.
Beacons Within The Spa Community: ISPA Conference Awards recognize industry’s brightest lights
VISIONARY AWARD • Michael Tompkins The ISPA Visionary Award is presented each year to a true spa industry visionary who has made significant contributions to both the definition and positive movement of health and wellness over the lifetime of their career.
Ben Nemtin: Making the Impossible Possible
“By doing what you love, you actually inspire other people to do what they love—and that ripple effect continues more than you will ever know.” That was the advice Ben Nemtin shared with ISPA Conference attendees in May, and also a personal philosophy he has put into action by encouraging others to create and accomplish a “life’s bucket list.”
“There’s also a ripple effect when you help someone,” Ben continued. “Because you aren’t just helping that one person. You help their friends, you help their family, you help everyone who comes in touch with them. Kindness is contagious—because of the ripple effect. A smile creates a ripple.”
Ben, who received ISPA’s Alex Szekely Humanitarian Award prior to his keynote address, had the spa industry in mind as he discussed the ripple effect of kindness. “The work you do day in, day out, helps people reduce stress, increase resilience, bolster mental health,” he told ISPA members. “The problem is, the day-to-day stress, the pace, makes it difficult to contribute to that ripple.”