With the tremendous growth of spas within the lodging industry, there is increasing attention being paid to how can the spa be an economically strong department within a lodging or mixed-use real estate venture. I believe that the answer to a spa's revenue and profit potential is the STAFF.

The staff are your most important asset. They are the heart and soul of your business. They relate to guests in a way that is very different from that of their colleagues in other hospitality departments. They generate most of the revenues in the spa, and they are the most costly operating expense of a spa.

The spa industry, much like the larger hospitality industry, is experiencing a significant shortage of qualified staff. Due to the one-on-one nature of the spa experience (most of the revenue comes from spa treatments where there is one service provider providing a treatment to one guest), the impact of this shortage can be the difference between success or failure.

As the founder, co-owner and consultant in an international spa consulting company, I never under-estimate the need to educate our clients on the economic realities of a spa venture as it relates to the number of staff needed as ...