High-Tech and Hands-On Strike A Balance At Spa Expo
Brandi Schlossberg

From Ayurveda and stone massage to the latest client-profiling software and laser technology, the booming spa industry revealed its breadth at the Spa & Resort and Medical Spa Expo and Conference, held in Miami, Florida, in December 2004.

About 3,700 people attended the event, which took place at the Miami Beach Convention Center and featured keynote speeches by Deepak Chopra, M.D., and medical-news reporter Max Gomez, Ph.D. Attendees included spa owners and employees; equipment and product salespeople; resort managers; individual practitioners; and a wide range of medical practitioners, such as general-practice physicians, dermatologists and plastic surgeons.

There were 32 spa-and-resort workshops offered throughout the three-day conference, as well as 24 medical-spa workshops. Reflecting the growing interest in opening new spas, especially medical spas, the bulk of the workshops focused on the nuts and bolts of starting, managing and marketing  a spa. These one-hour sessions tackled topics such as spa design, technology and budgeting; regulatory and compliance issues; legal and liability issues; creating a spa brand; and selling products in the spa environment.

A handful of healing techniques were addressed in workshops at the conference. These included Ayurveda, cupping, reiki, Quantum Touch, Ahsiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy and stone massage.

“Spas are very interested in stone [massage] therapy,” said Bruce Baltz, a massage therapist and educator based in Miami, who presented a one-day workshop on the technique during the conference. “It can be used with almost any modality.”

Baltz said about 20 people attended his workshop, including spa owners and employees, resort managers, individual practitioners and representatives from spa and massage supply companies.

Hands-on healing techniques, such as stone massage, fit well in the burgeoning medical-spa model, said Baltz, which includes clinical services such as Botox injections, laser hair removal and photo facials.

“You’re talking about treatments for an immediate external result, when you’re going in for Botox or laser hair removal, and [these services] often have to be reproduced,” said Baltz. “We’re talking about healing the body from the inside out. This might deal with emotional issues that cause physical problems.

“Instead of treating the end result,” he continued, “we’re dealing with the underlying cause of the problem.”

Workshop presenter Kelly Colbert Baynham agreed that hands-on healing techniques are integral to the spa experience, balancing out the increasingly clinical end of spa menus nationwide.

At the Miami spa conference, Baynham led a workshop on the “Maha Experience,” an herbal-hydrotherapy technique that incorporates “bandles,” steamed bundles of herbs with handles, into various bodywork sessions.

“It works wonderfully well as an adjunctive spa therapy,” said Baynham, who is director of the Maha division for Touch America, a manufacturer of massage and spa equipment in Hillsborough, North Carolina. “I have trained spas where estheticians using medical-grade laser equipment are using the maha bandles for neck-and-shoulder massage as part of a facial treatment.

“[It’s] a great natural complement to the more high-tech environment that can feel cold and sterile,” she added.

This sentiment was echoed at workshops throughout the Miami conference: Clinical procedures combined with comforting services, such as massage and aromatherapy, provided in a serene spa setting, form the “medispa,” an intensely profitable and rapidly growing entity.

“Medical spas will continue to thrive as consumers seek a nurturing, caring environment and more control over their health regimens,” according to a Spa Finder report presented by Spa Finder President Susie Ellis during the Miami conference. “Medical spas will also continue to earn the respect of the traditional medical community as mainstream physicians continue to embrace proven alternative therapies, insurers continue to recognize the value of preventative spa therapies, and cosmetic procedures become increasingly valuable annuities for elite doctors.”

The winning blend of high-tech and hands-on care goes beyond the session room, all the way up to the reception desk. ResortSuite SPA, a client-profiling and spa-management software program, was presented at the conference by representatives of the Toronto-based company ResortSuite, which developed the software five years ago.

“ResortSuite SPA allows a spa to create unique profiles about each guest to not only ensure that the delivery of services is consistent, but also target marketing initiatives on guests with similar profiles,” said Voula Monos, marketing manager for ResortSuite.

The spa software includes room to record details such as the type of tea a guest prefers; how often she visits the spa; what type of bodywork she gets; and whether she likes to speak or be silent in a session. The information may be used to generate personalized itineraries, confirmation letters, gift cards and other guest-specific services.

From the attendees and exhibitors to the workshop presenters, the message of the Miami Spa & Resort and Medical Spa Expo and Conference was clear: Spas are balancing clinical and high-tech services with hands-on care, and it’s a combination that consumers are craving.