This year, we’re investing even more in you: We’re pulling out all the stops to make Wellness Week®, presented by SpaFinder® Wellness, a great week for you and your business – with NO SIGN-UP and NO COST to you. And this Wellness Week (taking place in the UK, the U.S., and Canada, March 11-17), SpaFinder Wellness is presenting an unprecedented bonus eVoucher to motivate consumers to embrace a healthier lifestyle and bring more customers to you.

What is the deal?

We will be offering a free £25 Wellness Week bonus eVoucher with the purchase of a £25 SpaFinder Wellness Gift eVoucher; the bonus eVoucher offer will be available starting February 20 and will be valid during Wellness Week only at the 20,000 wellness businesses globally that accept SpaFinder Wellness Gift Cards and Vouchers.

How to maximise Wellness Week

• Tell your customers and local press about this bonus gift eVoucher offer
• Post an additional Wellness Week special on our deals tab: Click Here to post your deal. Remember to set your deal dates for March 11-17.

• Host a free Wellness Week event at your business: Host a free event at your spa or wellness location to spread the word about both your business and the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Post an event at the same time as your deals during Wellness Week: Contact Monika by email monika@spafindereurope.com to post your event.

To learn more about bonus eVoucher redemptions or to answer any additional questions, see our Wellness Week FAQs page.

• Share wellness tips and advice from our Wellness Week panel of experts and insightful features on our SpaFinder Wellness Blog.

If you have any questions, please email monika@spafindereurope.com or call +44 (0) 870 121 6066.

How do your marketing plans for 2013 stack up against what other spas are planning? According to SpaFinder® Wellness Research’s The State of Spa Marketing survey, budgets for traditional marketing will continue to decline, and more money will be allocated to Internet marketing, social media, and events. Over 42 percent of respondents plan to spend less on traditional advertising (newspaper, radio, TV), and 35 percent will budget less for direct mail. On the flip side, 66.4 percent plan to spend more on Internet marketing channels, such as email campaigns, partner marketing and gift voucher relationships, online booking solutions, etc.; 62.5 percent are budgeting more money for public relations; and 58.3 plan to spend more on events.

The study also asked respondents if deal sites are a good deal for spas and wellness businesses. Survey takers were conflicted about the ROI from “daily deal” sites such as Groupon and Living Social. Forty percent have now worked with an online “daily deal” site, and another four percent plan to (leaving the majority on the fence). Forty-one percent report they experienced “a significant improvement in customers and sales,” and over 36 percent reported customers spent more money than the value of the deal.

What does all this mean for you? Your peers are getting results from marketing that is personalized and spending more money on Internet channels, all types of social media, public relations, and events. It might be time for you to take a close look at where you are spending your marketing dollars. And if you’re looking to try “deals” marketing, take a look at the new yield management offerings that target unused inventory and help you offer deals only on what might not have been sold.

Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa Reopens Following $30-Million Makeover
Southern California’s only Relais & Chateaux property, Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, has reopened following a $30-million transformation. The San Diego-based, all-suite resort has updated several aspects of the property, including accommodations, a brand-new signature restaurant, 1,000-square-foot yoga pavilion and new spa menu comprising treatments that utilise Amala products. Read more.

Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, with Resence Spa, to Make 2013 Debut
Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City is scheduled to open in Accra, Ghana, in early 2013. The 269-room hotel will include a 2,000-square-metre spa appointed with 10 treatment rooms, a hammam, salon and fitness centre. Wellness activities also encompass an outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts and yoga studios. Read more.

Four Seasons Hotel Pudong, Shanghai, Opens Its Doors
Situated in Pudong’s Lujiazhui business district in the new 55-story 21st Century Tower, Four Seasons Hotel Pudong, Shanghai, has 187 guest accommodations and an exclusive spa and health club; FLARE Spa has partnered with renowned French brand Guerlain, offering guests a menu of facial and body treatments, including the signature Orchidee Imperiale Facial. The spa also has two VIP suites, a 24-hour fitness studio and indoor lap pool overlooking the city. Read more.

Second Shangri-La Changzhou Property Opens
Shangri La has opened a second resort in the city of Changzhou; housed within the Wujin Hi-Tech Industrial Park, the property welcomes guests with a 4,000-square-meter spa and health club, fitness centre, three restaurants and expansive meeting space.Read more.

More Industry News

Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Launches, Includes Essa Spa
Amsterdam’s Floating Spa to Open in 2014
InterContinental Hotel Group to Debut Wellness-Themed Hotel Brand
Massage Envy Launches 12-Room Indiana Location

Consumers love the convenience of SpaFinder Gift Vouchers and eGift Cards. They can choose to buy a classic paper Gift Voucher, a plastic Gift Card when they are out shopping or an eGift Card which they can print or email in an instant. What it means for you, our partner, is that there are three simple processes to redeem your SpaFinder paper vouchers, plastic gift cards and digital eGift cards.

We have three types of Gift Vouchers/Cards at SpaFinder:

1. Paper Gift Vouchers – these look similar to a bank note and have no expiry date, they are valid as long as the counterfoil is intact. The face value is printed on the gift voucher, after accepting it for payment from the customer, login online at http://www.spafinder.co.uk/sfpp/login.jsp to redeem.




2. Plastic Gift Cards – these look similar to a credit card and come from retailers, they expire after 12 months. Gift cards may be inactive if a balance was never loaded at the till or they have expired. Check the gift card is valid before taking it for payment by dialling 0800 0518 923 and entering the Gift Card number on the back. After accepting it for payment from the customer, login online at http://www.spafinder.co.uk/sfpp/login.jsp to redeem.




3. Instant eGift Cards – these are A4 paper print-outs and have no expiry date. Simply dial 0800 046 1373 and enter the GV number and your Spa ID – voila! the voucher is fully redeemed, there is no need to login online and redeem it again. Instant eGift Cards MUST be redeemed BEFORE providing a service.

We recommend you print your SpaFinder Gift Voucher and eGift Card redemption instructions. Please keep the instruction sheet handy at your front desk at all times, to ensure an easy and smooth redemption process. Plus, don’t forget to let any new staff members know about your partnership with SpaFinder.

View and print your SpaFinder Gift Voucher redemption instructions here.

View and print your SpaFinder eGift Card redemption instructions here.

Redeeming your SpaFinder Gift Vouchers and eGift Cards really is that simple, but also critical, because SpaFinder cannot issue payment if you do not follow the redemption policy correctly.

Still have a few questions? No problem – email us: info@spafindereurope.com

The 2012 Global Spa and Wellness Summit wrapped up at the beginning of June with a bang. Industry leaders gathered for four glorious days in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, at the world-renowned Aspen Institute to share ideas, reconnect with old friends, forge new connections and, most of all, learn new ways to innovate within the industry through the boundless limits of imagination.

As the spa and wellness industry come together as one throughout the world, this year’s Summit, which revolved around the theme of “Innovation through Imagination”, addressed the need to work together to create change, not only in the industry on a global level, but also for the good of the earth and the people. Sessions covered topics ranging from wellness gaming, the importance of health coaching and how to make technology work for you to the world’s water crisis and how hotels and spas can get involved and the globally growing obesity epidemic and health care issues.

Between thought-provoking discussions, engaging panels, delicious food and fun-filled nights, the feedback we’ve received from attendees has been tremendous. Many have commented on the top-notch speakers who presented at the Summit (which included the likes of innovation guru John Kao; Miraval CEO Philippe Bourguignon; the 17^th U.S. Surgeon General and CEO of Canyon Ranch Health Dr. Richard Carmona; spa pioneer and founder of Rancho La Puerta Deborah Szekely; former president of Costa Rica Jose Maria Figueres-Olsen; Google’s Head of Industry and Retail Ted Souder; Six Senses Hotels and Spas CEO Sonu Shivdasani; Academy-Award nominee Mariel Hemingway, and many more!) and stated that this year’s event was indeed a meeting of leaders from around the world who are open to innovation through imagination and discussion of serious global issues.

The 2012 GSWS was truly an event full of ideas, and there was a plethora of information and to-do’s to take away from it. Until next year (2013 GSWS: INDIA!), here’s to inspiration, innovation and imagination, and the courage to realise your ideas and implement them to better our industry!

By David Roddenberry

Many health clubs are increasingly adopting unconventional programmes to bolster their membership base and better motivate the marketplace to get fit, trim and healthy.

“Amid the growing rate of obesity, health clubs are continually challenged to drive new memberships and inspire current members to visit their facilities for workouts with some regularity to get, and keep, them on a healthy track,” notes Kelli Calabrese, international fitness, nutrition and lifestyle specialist twice named “Personal Trainer of the Year.” “I applaud the health club community for integrating new, exciting and innovative ways to attract and engage members to keep their fitness lifestyle fresh, fun and frequent…and even profitable!”

Here are a few cool new programmes now underway:

1. Whole-Life Training. Health club facilities are now looking beyond just the exercise component of fostering a healthy lifestyle. In addition to personal training staff, today’s progressive health clubs are boasting on-site nutritionists and other allied healthcare professionals like physical therapists and even psychologists. These value added services holistically address all areas of a member’s life that impact their overall wellbeing, health and happiness. Engaging and assisting members in this comprehensive way maximises member results, retention and referrals.

2. Kicking Members Out. For outdoor fitness, that is. Some health clubs are utilising their external real estate to promote fitness activities al fresco. Club owners are realising that many people get bored with the indoor offerings—even depressed or deterred—so they are offering running and cycling clubs, car park boot camps and spin classes, and more.

3. Weight Loss Wagering. Diet contests and weight loss betting programmes, like that offered by HealthyWage.com, are exploding in popularity accross the U.S. as both individuals and employee groups “diet for dollars.” More than 4,500 health clubs now serve as “weigh in locations” for HealthyWage.com contest participants, with many opting to also purchase a club membership as they shed pounds with their eye on the $10,000 team prize. This financial weight loss incentive approach is so effective, companies nationwide have integrated such a programme into their corporate wellness initiatives to benefit both employee groups and their own bottom line.

4. Clubs Go Retro. Nostalgia evokes emotion and emotion drives action. With this in mind throwback 80’s fitness classes, in which participants dress in period-inspired spandex and leg warmers and do aerobics to music by Michael Jackson, George Michael, and the like, are bringing the neon headband sporting, leotard-wearing enthusiasts to health clubs in droves. Originating in hipster ‘hoods like LA and NYC, this 80’s fitness craze is proving to be a fun, creative and, awesome way to attract new members – and keep current members coming back for more.

5. Social Media Stimulation. From small boutique gyms to large national chains, health clubs are tapping the social mediasphere in innovative ways to stay connected with current and prospective members. Informative and engaging Facebook fan pages rife with workout strategies, success stories and special product offers; up-to-the-minute Twitter announcements, training tips and topical tweet feeds; online virtual fitness coaching; un-lockable specials on Foursquare; VLOGs (video blogs) and a myriad of other social networking strategies are helping health club purveyors better connect with the marketplace—informing, motivating and helping them thwart those momentary chocolate cravings like never before.

6. Club Crawl. In an effort to get members integrated to all areas of the health club and its services, at the time of registration some clubs are giving new members a card with goals to complete for a prize. The goals can include trying fitness classes, completing a personal training session, meeting certain staff members and using specific areas of the fitness centre. This gives members the opportunity to experience all the club has to offer before getting pigeon-holed into only one or two areas like nautilus machines or heading right for the spin bike studio. The idea is that the more people the member meets and services they experience first hand, the more connected they will feel to the club and more likely they will be to try—or at least tell friends about—all of the club’s offerings.

7. Gamers Press Play! Video gamers take note: one private gym in Mountain View, California, Overtime Fitness Inc., has tailored its offerings to teenagers in a novel approach to address childhood obesity. This facility boasts an arcade filled with physical video games that require dancing, boxing, and jumping. Riders race against each other on stationary bikes networked to a server! Teen fitness has never been so fun – or effective at making health clubbing “cool!”

It’s time for fresh approaches, innovative thinking and even risk taking to trim waistlines. Novel health club programmes can tactically and effectively address obesity in new and compelling ways on the front line.

David Roddenberry is co-founder of HealthyWage, (www.HealthyWage.com), the only company that pays Americans cash to lose weight while offering social and expert-based support, tools and resources, and goal-setting and tracking technologies to address the obesity epidemic and improve collective health.

Nearly 82 percent of spas agree that the Internet has become the most important and results-producing marketing channel for the spa industry, according to the recent State of Spa Marketing Survey, conducted by SpaFinder Research.

A little more than 43 percent of survey responders say their marketing focus and budget plans for 2012 for traditional advertising (newspaper, radio, etc.) and direct mail will “stay the same,” while 45.8 percent say search marketing (pay-per-click and search engine optimisation) will “stay the same.” Marketing focus/budget plans for 2012 that will “increase somewhat” include other Internet channels (45.3 percent of survey takers), social media campaigns (44.1 percent) and public relations (37.1 percent).

Additional survey findings show:

• 91.2 percent of survey takers say they use Facebook (4.3 percent say they don’t use it as of yet, but plan to); nearly 57 percent use Twitter (13.1 percent: not yet, but plan to); 71 percent say they sell gift vouchers online (15.7 percent plan to); and 71.1 percent have partnerships with universal gift voucher companies (6.4 percent plan to). More than 65 percent say they use online reputation management, such as encouraging reviews (10 percent plan to).
• Social media campaigns (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) “resulted in a modest improvement in customers/sales,” reported 44.4 percent of respondents.
• 37.4 percent of those surveyed said their spa earmarks 1-3 percent of their yearly revenue for marketing, while 26.7 percent earmarks 4-6 percent.
• Specific to resort/hotel spas only: 37.8 percent of resort/hotel spas say they plan to “somewhat” increase campaigns to attract local (day-visit) customers in 2012; 33.7 percent plan to “significantly” increase campaigns.

This summer marks Rancho La Puerta’s return to an old tradition that was once a regular event at the Tecate, Mexico-based property: Family style spa and wellness. The destination spa will launch “Summer Camp” Family Weeks (August 4-11, 2012 and August 11-18, 2012; for children seven years of age and older), that encompass an action-packed itinerary evocative of “classic summer camp-style activities with unique learning experiences.”

“When I was a child growing up here there were kid’s programmes throughout the school holidays… Summers at the Ranch were spacious, informal and lots of fun. Many of the children returned year after year, and we became a community,” says Sarah Brightwood Szekely, Rancho La Puerta’s president and daughter of founders Edmond and Deborah Szekely. Though children have not been a presence in recent years at the Ranch, the destination spa plans to “welcome a new generation of families,” it says.

Rancho La Puerta’s Family Weeks initiative is an excellent example of the “Spas Become a Family Affair” trend, part of SpaFinder’s 2012 Spa Trend Report™. “There is a rapidly growing traveler demand to be able to bring teens, tweens and even tots along for the spa ride,” the report says. “Now that spas are broadly associated with wellness (rather than fussy ‘grown-up’ pampering), far more families, and many concerned about the growing childhood obesity epidemic, want to get their spa-on together… As more families travel with children to spas, the industry is evolving to accommodate the under-18 set – from opening kids-only spas to offering services focused on everything from childhood obesity to the development of lifelong wellness practices,” the report states.

We encourage your spa to take a cue from Rancho La Puerta’s Family Weeks or from the several family friendly spa examples found in the trend report, and strategise on how to expand your own offerings to accommodate spa-goers of all ages. Family spa-ing is the way to go! It teaches kids the importance of wellness at an early age, plus it motivates children and grownups alike kick start or maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We’re preparing for her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, June 2 – 5. and we want to showcase our SpaFinder partners across the UK.  We’ve got all bases covered – from wellbeing, spa, beauty, fitness and health – with email campaigns, blog articles and social media marketing.

ALL our partners can feature their exclusive Diamond Jubilee deals:

Post a Stay Deal >

Post a Day Deal >

Treat your loyal customers to some royal relaxation & wellbeing – and entice new consumers accross your threshold who will spend on spa and wellness! For more information email info@spafindereurope.com.

Plus, promote your Diamond Jubilee Event For Free!

Are you holding a special health & wellness event for the Diamond Jubilee? We want to know about it!
Being a SpaFinder partner means you can take advantage of this unique marketing opportunity.

Promote Your Event >