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Mr. Trump Jr.

Spas, Health & Fitness

Spa Concept Development: A co-Branding Story

By Donald Trump Jr., Executive Vice President Development & Acquisition, The Trump Organization

Co-authored by Ivanka M. Trump, Executive VP of Development & Acquisition, The Trump Organization

In creating the Trump Hotel Collection, it was clear from the outset that a world-class spa experience would be a cornerstone of the brand. Our challenge was to develop a spa brand that would stand out in a market burgeoning with new product, and would truly embody the “next generation of luxury hospitality” promised by the Trump Hotel Collection brand.

As a young professional woman and world traveler, Ivanka is herself a spa-goer and has been fortunate to experience many of the top spas the world has to offer. She has brought these personal experiences to bear in our development of The Spa at Trump®. The result is a spa concept for the sophisticated global traveler – one that reflects the singular brand of luxury associated with a Trump Hotel Collection experience. Distinguished by an exclusive partnership with leading skincare expert Kate Somerville, a wide array of services rooted in wellness rituals from around the globe, personal Spa Attachés for each guest, and services tailored to the unique needs of each market, The Spa at Trump is a key part of the success and branding of the Trump Hotel Collection.

In March 2008, our first spas opened at Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago and Trump International Hotel™ Las Vegas. Within a year, the Las Vegas spa was named to the Conde Nast Traveler Hot List of the world’s top new spas, singled out as a “refreshing departure” from the bigger-is-better mentality of the Strip. Our third launched with the opening of Trump International Hotel™ Waikiki Beach Walk® in November 2009. And this spring marks the debut of our fourth – at Trump SoHo™ New York. Like its sister spas, the SoHo spa introduces something new to the local spa market; in this case, New York City’s first authentic luxury Turkish hammam (think Middle Eastern steam baths). The spa’s global flavor is carried out in Turkish and Moroccan design elements like Macassar ebony portals and ceilings tiled in a shell pattern. Encompassing 11,000 square feet on the hotel’s seventh and eighth floors, the spa features separate hammams for men and women, indoor and outdoor private treatment rooms, an outdoor relaxation area with pool, and three spa suites, two of which share private access to a wet-and dry-treatment room with hydrotherapy tubs. We have outfitted the fitness center with top-of-the-line Technogym equipment. And, like its sisters, this newest embodiment of The Spa at Trump incorporates all of the hallmarks of the brand.

The Trump® Spa Attaché.

Like the Trump Hotel Collection, our spa brand is committed to a level of customized service that guests find unmatched. We applied the concept of the Trump Attaché – a Trump Hotel Collection signature – to the spa, creating the Trump Spa Attaché, whose purpose it is to ensure that every individual spa visit is customized down to the smallest detail. From the moment a spa-goer arrives, his or her personal Attaché attends to every need along the journey: assisting with selection of a robe, slippers and a locker; preparing a refreshing elixir; and creating an itinerary, or “Path of Experiences,” depending on what the guest wants to accomplish at the spa. The Spa Attaché also customizes music selections for each guest’s treatment based on his or her selected “Intention” (more on that below), arranges for a shoeshine, one-hour pressing, and any other special requests.

Exclusive gemstone treatments and the five Trump® Personal Intentions. To further customize The Spa at Trump experience, we created the five Trump Personal Intentions, inviting the spa-goer to choose one to serve as the foundation of his or her visit. Each of these Intentions can be matched, among other treatments, to a selection of exclusive massage services employing gemstone-infused oils in perhaps the most elegant signature of The Spa at Trump brand: diamonds to balance, emeralds to purify, rubies to revitalize, and sapphires to calm or heal. Whether they choose a Trump® Signature Gemstone Service or another spa experience, the guest’s selected Intention determines the essential oils, colors and music that will be incorporated into the experience. Oils and masks are hand-selected from the Essentials Treatment Bar and, to conclude the ritual, spa-goers are presented a gift bag of products, chosen specifically to complement their treatments, that allow them to continue their spa experience at home.

Global influences with treatments specific to each locale.

Each Spa at Trump incorporates international elements, both in design and treatments, to appeal to the global traveler as well as a selection of treatments exclusive to its location, from the Morning After Eye Cure in Las Vegas to the array of Ultimate Urban Treatments in Chicago. For the SoHo spa, global elements combine with local lifestyle issues in a selection of signature treatments designed to combat the effects of fast-paced urban living and late nights. The Spirited City Treat, for example, is centered on the hammam experience in a two-hour retreat that employs ingredients from the far reaches of the Middle East – sea muds from Jordan and Israel, chamomile from Morocco, and cardamom oils from India.

An association with the top names in beauty and wellness.

In an exclusive arrangement with Kate Somerville, we succeeded in bringing one of the leading names in skincare to the hotel spa environment for the first time. Every Spa at Trump features the Kate Somerville Signature Facials that are the hallmark of the renowned aesthetician’s Los Angeles practice – a must-stop before red carpet events for many a Hollywood celebrity. Like the Kate Somerville line, we painstakingly selected all products employed in Spa at Trump treatments based on the reputation and quality of their brand and their preeminence in the market. These include pharmaceutical-grade skin care by Germaine de Capuccini, luxurious shaving and men’s grooming accessories by Hommage, Bali-based Jamu’s organic herbal products, and Tara aromatherapy. And our exclusive, gem-infused organic body care products are by Shiffa.

The Spa at Trump is an integral part of the hotel experience for the Trump Hotel Collection guest, and will continue to be as we expand both brands into new locales across the globe.

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Co-author Ivanka M. Trump is executive vice president of development and acquisition for The Trump Organization, including Trump Hotel Collection. She is involved in the company’s global hotel developments in SoHo, Panama, and Toronto, among others. Ivanka is a magna cum laude graduate of the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in real estate.

Donald J. Trump Jr. is an innovator and leader in today's young business world. As an Executive Vice President at The Trump Organization, he works in tandem with his siblings Ivanka and Eric to expand the company's real estate, retail, commercial, hotel and golf interests nationally and internationally. His extensive real estate development experience, rigorous education and inherent business sense add a level of detail and depth to the management of all current and future Trump projects. Mr. Trump Jr. can be contacted at 212-832-2000. or donjr@trumphotels.com Extended Bio...

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