In the last several years, spa development in the hospitality and lifestyle real estate industries has boomed. As more and more spas are built, the challenge will be to find, train and retain staff. For those of you who already have a spa, you know that the spa staff are not exactly like all the other staff at your property. They make contact with the guests not only in terms of their service/hospitality skills, but there is also physical contact and oftentimes there is a certain degree of emotional and psychological contact. Many of them are care-givers, nurturers and healers. In this article, I will try to give some insight into the challenges and opportunities for staffing your spa with people who are "grounded" and who possess the right skill set, attitude, vision and professionalism to make the spa a successful, marketable and profitable venue within the hospitality industry.

Staffing is one of...if not the... most important decisions you will make. There are lots of beautiful spas that have stunning architectural and interior design features, high tech sophisticated equipment, customized exotic products, and unique signature treatments, but this is "hardware"...this is the "stage." We need it, but without the "software" (the ...