Residential trends and spa environments lines of demarcation are blurring. Destination spas Such as Mirival, Canyon Ranch and Red Mountain Resorts, are creating residential components highlighting their consumers' desires to have easy, immediate and equity access to a spa lifestyle. Destination resorts with full-service wellness spas like the Montage, La Costa, and the Four Seasons are creating residential components for much the same reason. And to round out the picture private communities such as Big Horn, Laughlin Ranch, and Kiawah Island are developing wellness environments to enhance their residential communities. READ MORE

Prior to starting my health spa consulting firm, I was the spa director for glamorous celebrity filled world renowned spas. Being a director of a spa encompasses a myriad of responsibilities, most important of which may be the personal meeting and greeting of guests utilizing the facility. Of course, guest service and care is vital to the success of a spa, and if your spa caters to a sophisticated market, then meeting these guests' expectations can be a bit more challenging. But, has anyone ever revealed what really goes on inside a spa? Here's a peek at some of my experiences behind those tightly closed doors, no names, of course! READ MORE

This new "medspa" category is growing - strongly. In the USA, the most developed medspa market, the numbers more than doubled between 2004 and 2006. And in barely more than a decade medspa dollars went from zero to over one billion dollars a year. (There is as much conflict about market sizes as there is about definitions.) The medspas are themselves but one segment of a relatively new category, the day spa. Currently in the USA, revenues in 14,000 "spas" are over $12 billion a year. The spa market is growing faster than wider professional beauty services market. Indeed spa revenues compare to the $60 billion revenues in about 313,000 hair salons/beauty salons in the USA. READ MORE

For all of us, communication - both verbal and non-verbal - is an integral part of our daily world. And as the world moves faster, as our fingers do the talking, and as the sense of urgency drives our ability to knock out scores of brief, electronically transmitted messages daily, some of the valuable communication skills that our moms taught us run the risk of being overlooked. Earning an intangible Ph.D. from Mom's School of Communications, and then taking those well-honed skills out into the marketplace, can be the single most influential factor affecting a business relationship. READ MORE

Planning and executing a valuable meeting while adhering to a reasonable budget is the goal of every meeting planner. To accomplish this, many turn to Complete Meeting Packages (CMP), the conference center's niche total pricing structure which allows clients to budget an event with confidence, while offering options ranging from budget to upscale. However, today's meeting planners are savvier and striving to find unique venues or add-ins, such as an out-of-the-box team-building activity, when planning their upcoming events. READ MORE