Inspiration
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Cultivating Ownership in Your Spa Team: 10 Proven Ways to Boost Engagement
One of the most consistent concerns in spa and resort organizations is the lack of ownership among new staff. Ownership means more than just fulfilling job duties: Leaders often talk about needing team members who have a sense of personal investment in the organization’s success, take pride their own performance and contribute to the overall success of their team. Ownership is about being proactive, paying attention to detail, committing to look for solutions and exhibiting a pervasive sense of responsibility for quality and outcome.
Dan Gingiss: Why a Remarkable Customer Experience is Your Best Sales and Marketing Strategy
LET’S FACE IT: Competition is tougher than ever these days. How can we stand out in a crowded marketplace that is constantly evolving? In this fun and engaging keynote, customer experience speaker and former Fortune 500 executive Dan Gingiss will teach the audience how customer experience can be your company’s ultimate differentiator, creating a competitive advantage that cannot be copied.
Pulse: How can spa companies help customers understand the difference between price and value?
Dan Gingiss: Competing on price is a loser’s game because it’s a race to the bottom. Even if you can acquire a customer with a promotion, chances are they’ll be looking for a promotion somewhere else if price is what drives them. Instead, focus on how customers will feel after visiting the spa. There are dozens of places a customer can go for a Swedish massage or a yoga class; the reason they will choose to return to your spa will be because of how you made them feel. Consider ways to help customers feel welcomed, understood, appreciated and connected.
Design Philosophy: The Spa At Thunder Valley
For spa professionals seeking inspiration to enhance their own establishments, Lincoln, California’s Spa at Thunder Valley provides valuable insights into the deliberate choices that elevate the guest experience. The spa and its carefully considered retail components stand as a testament to the power of thoughtful design and personalized service in creating a truly exceptional spa visit. Spa Manager Amy Lopez graciously shared the spa’s design philosophy, her favorite aspects of the space and the elements that resonate most with guests.
Dr. Bryan K. Williams: Be a Mountain Climber: Key Tips to Overcome Any Barrier
This session will review the mindset and behaviors necessary to effectively address both professional and personal barriers. Special emphasis will be on 10 proven tips to take control of your efforts and transcend any obstacles in your path.
Pulse: You talk about personal barriers and professional barriers. Are the same behavior changes needed to overcome both types?
Dr. Bryan K. Williams: Absolutely! One of the keys to addressing and overcoming barriers is to understand the importance of prioritizing yourself. For those of us in the service industry, it may seem like an oxymoron to serve oneself, but that is exactly what self-care is meant to do. As you become more proficient, respected and accomplished in your professional (and personal) roles, people will ask for more and expect more. More of your energy. More of your time. More of your advice. More. More. More. Without putting up healthy barriers, you WILL feel pulled in 1,000 directions, which leads to burnout. A former colleague once told me no one is going to be an advocate for my schedule more than me. He told me that when I was in my 20s, and I didn’t believe him. Now, I’m in my 40s and thoroughly appreciate his sage advice. Proactively carve time out for yourself, and establish healthy barriers SO THAT you can serve others with your whole heart.
Embracing Nature in Spa Design
Designing spaces that evoke a connection to nature can greatly enhance the therapeutic experience for spa guests. Combining wood, stone, live plants, water features and earthy materials with natural light presents a harmonious and balanced environment that fosters a sense of well-being. The aesthetic appeal of these materials, coupled with their intrinsic health benefits, creates spaces that nurture, heal and rejuvenate.
Erica Dhawan: Connectional Intelligence
“WE ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS TO THE NEW WORLD OF DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE.” Erica Dhawan believes we’re all experiencing the same challenges as more of our interactions—with colleagues, with resource partners, even with clients—move away from in-person to online. So, how do we connect intelligently?
Erica suggested to the ISPA Conference audience that “the question shouldn’t be how to adapt to ‘the new normal,’ but instead how to create a better normal” in digital communications. Whether communicating in a video conference or by email or text message, Erica offers five key principles to ensure your message is received the way you intend:
Expect More, Lead More: The Art of Setting Stubbornly High Standards
Leadership is not for everyone. It demands a person who consistently sees the best in others—and acts on it. That takes energy, perseverance, forgiveness, faith and— gasp—stubbornness.
Wait, stubbornness? Yes, stubbornness.
As a leader of a high-performing spa team, you have to be stubborn enough to maintain high expectations every day— even when you don’t feel like it. There will be days when you’re tired. Emotionally, mentally and physically spent. Everything in you will urge you to “excuse” someone coming in late… or doing their job half-way… or being short with their teammates. Don’t do it.
Fighting For The Forgotten With Justin Wren
Justin Wren began his address to ISPA members by honoring Alex Szekely’s dedication to making a difference. He then recounted some of his life experiences that instilled a passion for “fighting for the forgotten.”
Wren shared that he was bullied as a child and felt alone until he became interested in wrestling. When he was in high school, his parents sent him away from home to train with Olympic wrestling coaches, and he continued training after high-level success in high school.
Full Circle with Amy Purdy
“In so many ways, this was where it all began for me,” Amy Purdy told Conference attendees in Colorado Springs. “In 1998, I was a massage therapist and one of my goals was always to go to an ISPA Conference.”
Purdy’s keynote address during the Power Session on the ISPA Conference’s opening morning was nothing short of inspirational. She took the stage with a heartfelt reflection after receiving the 2025 ISPA Alex Szekely Humanitarian Award: “You never know when your detours will lead you to exactly where you want to be.”
Harmony in Heritage: From Rebuild to Renewal
The Mokara Salon and Spa underwent more than just a renovation in 2022. The facility at Omni’s flagship property, the Omni Tucson National Resort, received a down-to-the-studs rebuild.
At one point, they considered moving the spa to a different area of the property. The rebuild was part of a multi-million-dollar reimagination of the resort. Everything from guestrooms to the haciendas to the casino to the lobby to the fitness center was given a new look.
And while Michael Maruca, general manager for the hotel, stresses the spa is a resort spa and not a healing one, Mokara has become a “respite for renewal.”