Trend #1: Healthy Feet Treatments
With the busy lives that people lead today (and with many women leading them in heels), tired and achy feet are ten a penny. Add the fact that the average person spends four hours a day on their feet, and it’s no wonder there is a national epidemic of foot problems like bunions, hammertoes, arthritis and worse. Reflexology is already offered at many spas and wellness centres, but even something as straightforward as a foot massage named in an interesting way to address the growing concerns of guests can play into this trend. Incorporate information and techniques that address more than just the relaxation factor – make it a wellness treatment to let guests know you’re caring for their wellbeing, and we’re sure their feet will thank you.

Trend #2: Cold and Ice Treatments
While not everyone is going to have the resources to build an Ice Fountain for guests to cool off after hot treatments, like The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, there are more economical ways to use this trend on your spa menu. If you already have hot stone massage, why not turn it into a hot-and-cold stone massage? To immediately incorporate the trend into your everyday business, start to offer ice-cold towels post-treatment to help invigorate guests and regulate their body temperature.

Trend #3: Wellness and Beauty Coaching
Wellness and beauty coaching is a serious trend right now, not just another passing fad. Clients are busy and need help figuring out a life routine that they can stick to, be it nutritional, skincare or just life coaching. While it is mostly destination spas that are offering these programmes, that doesn’t exclude the rest of the industry from including this service for its clients. Wellpeople.com in the U.S. offers certified on-site or online wellness coaching for spas, hospitals and businesses. Early registration for certification training is being offered now on the company’s website.

Trend #5: Spa, Wine and Dine Packages
Fine dining and spa-ing are being aggressively paired, packaged, curated, marketed and savoured together as never before. Hotel and resort spas are boasting their award-winning chefs by combining them with their five-star spas, giving pleasure-seeking foodies and spa enthusiasts an ultimate experience to remember. To take advantage of this trend, work with your chef to begin exploring the potential of merging spa and cuisine in a new and innovative way. Find out what your chef can commit to or take a look at the offerings on your restaurant’s menus and attempt to create a spa treatment around it, offering it as a part of a special and indulgent package. From matching ingredients like chocolate in a treatment with an imaginative chocolate dish to relish in after the spa, to incorporating cooking classes or specially curated meals into spa packages like girlfriends’ getaways or romantic couples’ retreats, foodies and spa enthusiasts alike will be satisfied in more ways than one.

Trend #7: The Glam Factor
The “lipstick effect” is certainly visible during this long economic downturn, showing that small beauty splurges are something women, and men alike, are willing to spend their money on. Take note from the trends and offer “quickie grooming and beauty.” If you already offer hair care, why not create a blow-dry happy hour for clients where they can indulge in a quick blowout with friends and a complimentary drink? Offer this service to new customers at a discount and watch the books fill up! For your male clientele, offer a private male grooming bar for eyebrow waxes, male mani/pedis and old-school shaves.

Trend #8: Spa Evidence
An empowering and game-changing new online resource is here for the spa and wellness industries: SpaEvidence.com. The site is the world’s first portal to the medical evidence – with thousands of clinical studies – that exist for 21 spa and wellness approaches. SpaEvidence.com represents a giant step forward for industry validation as it forges a new, common ground between the spa and medical worlds. But to unlock all this transformative potential, spas need to use the site! By spending just an initial 15-20 minutes at this easy-to-use portal, the entire fascinating world of Evidence-Based Medicine will open up to you. Bring this important and free resource to your customers by posting SpaEvidence to your site. You can add a direct link to your site or even display a SpaEvidence logo or banner, for free! Contact Dulcy Gregory at dulcy@globalspasummit.org for more information.

Trend #9: Spa Becomes a Family Affair
Our Trends Report notes that kid-specific spas are on the rise, and like wellness coaching, this trend is more commonly offered at getaways and resorts. Still, there are certainly ways that day spas can create revenue from this burgeoning trend. Mummy-and-Me (or Daddy-and-Me) services can be offered to busy mums who are looking to come in and enjoy a day of spa and wellness but cannot find a babysitter or have a tween looking to join. If you have free space in the spa, offer a class for youngsters who come to the spa with mum or dad ─ whether it’s a mini spa-party with mani/pedis for the kids or a fun kids’ yoga or wellness class, mums, dads and children alike will be thrilled at the added services.

Check out all 10 trends by scrolling through our dynamic new slideshow presentation that depicts many of the trailblazing spas who exemplify the trends we’ve identified and summarises each forecast. View the Trends Slideshow >

• SpaFinder.co.uk’s romantic deals page consistently lists special packages for two at sumptuous locations around the globe.
• Our Club Spa Blog and newsletters, give top treatment tips to your consumers, plus, feature the best romantic spa offers and Valentine’s spa product roundups.
• SpaFinder readers vote every year for their favourite spas, including best for romance, in the 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards The Langham London and Alexander House Hotel Utopia Spa took the top honours.

Here’s how to make the most of your Valentine’s Spa Deal on SpaFinder:

1) Include the discount or saving in the title

2) Give your promotion a sensually appealing name

3) Simply list all the elements of your Valentine deal

3) Submit your deal – it’s fast, easy and is designed to boost your Valentine’s bookings through SpaFinder!

• To post a Stay Spa Deal, fill in the form here.
• To post a Day Spa Deal, fill in the form here.

So keep those Loved-up Wellness Deals coming for your Professional Listing! And if you have any questions, please contact Monika at monika@spafindereurope.com.

• Cherie Lininger – Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago (Chicago, IL)
• Chris Bird – Mii Amo, a Destination Spa At Enchantment (Sedona, AZ)
• Deborah Zie – Cal-A-Vie Health Spa (Vista, CA)
• Jimmy Lesage – New Life Hiking Spa (Killington, VT)
• Joan Wolff – Deerfield Spa (East Stroudsburg, PA)
• Sharon Kolkka – Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat (Queensland, Australia)
• Tina Crawford – The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island (Amelia Island, FL)
• Todd Hewitt – Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica At Peninsula Papagayo (Guanacaste, Costa Rica)
• Verena Lavigne-Fox, Four Seasons Hotel George V (Paris, France)
• Wendy Woodward – Westglow Resort and Spa (Blowing Rock, NC)

Favourite Spa Professional:

• Bob Wright – Director of Education – Hilton Head Health (Hilton Head Island, SC)
• Catherine Slane-Carroll – Esthetician – The Elysian Spa and Health Club (Chicago, IL)
• Dr. Tim Frank – Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine – Miraval Arizona (Tuscon, AZ)
• Eric Kittay – Massage Therapist – Spa Gaucin at St. Regis Monarch Beach (Dana Point, CA)
• Gabriela Curry – Massage Therapist and Esthetician – La Quinta Resort & Club (La Quinta, CA)
• Heidi Gates – Massage Therapist – El Monte Sagrado Living Resort And Spa (Taos, NM)
• Ilona Dowgiallo – Naturopath – Spa Eastman (Eastman, Québec, Canada)
• Lisa Ferguson – Massage Therapist – Ste. Anne’s Spa (Grafton, Ontario, Canada)
• Lori Pavlack – Massage Therapist – Eau Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach (Palm Beach, FL)
• Lynn Ann Covell – Senior Fitness Specialist – Green Mountain At Fox Run (Ludlow, VT)

Best Medical Spa Programme
Canyon Ranch (Lenox, MA)

Canyon Ranch (Tuscon, AZ)

Chiva-Som (Hua Hin Thailand)

Cooper Aerobics Center (Dallas, TX)

The Greenbriar (White Sulphur Springs, WV)

Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa (Miami Beach, Florida)

Sanoviv Medical Institute (Rosarito, Mexico)

Terme di Saturnia Spa & Golf Resort (Grosseto, Italy)

WellMax Center for Preventive Medicine (La Quinta, CA)

Clinique La Prairie (Clarens-Montreux, Switzerland)

A complete list of winners can be accessed at 2011 Readers’ Choice Winners. Crystal and Country/Region award recipients will also be featured in the NewBeauty SpaFinder: Guide to Global Spa, Wellness & Beauty, arriving on newsstands now!

Here are a few other forward-thinking examples from SpaFinder’s 2011 Spa Trends Report:

• Fairmont’s Willow Stream Spas are adding an extensive muscle and joint programme promising pain relief. We’ve been seeing more spas featuring exercise physiologists, sports medicine professionals, chiropractors, orthopedics, naturopaths and physical therapists on staff (or on call).

• Spa bathing, known for pain-relief benefits, relaxation and at times, detox assistance, is experiencing a resurgence in general, and is a perfect fit for older clientele. Some examples of specialised bathing experiences include the Scandinave and Le Nordic models in Canada, the Hakone Kowakien Yunessun in Japan, or the lucrative Glen Ivy Hot Springs in Southern California. Prior research has concurred that the number-one reason people go to spas is to “relax and de-stress,” but in some regions of the world that may soon be replaced by to “relieve aches and pains.”

• Using the term “corrective” — “corrective” massage, “corrective” facials, etc., and for the already used-to-death term “anti-ageing” can help boomers pinpoint which treatments they may be interested in due to age.

• Integrating specialised offerings such as the Biofreeze Pain Management massage; infrared saunas, which function at far-less searing heat (but penetrate heat further into the body than a traditional sauna); and new chilled loungers that accomplish what cold plunge pools do, but are more comfortable and safer for older guests, can also bring in more silver spa-ers.

“SpaFinder was the first to offer people the opportunity to vote for their favourite spas in diverse categories, from cuisine to hiking to golf to romance, providing a fast, accessible way for spa-goers to make decisions based on what’s important to them,” said SpaFinder President Susie Ellis. “They have become a valuable consumer guide, as well as an industry accolade.”

The Awards were based on votes submitted by SpaFinder’s global consumer websites, including SpaFinder.co.uk and by readers of SpaFinder publications. Readers were asked to only vote for spas they have visited in the last three years.

In addition to the Crystal and Country/Region Awards, readers voted for their favourite spas in 32 different “Best For” categories, including Favourite Day Spa – check out the winners below:

Favourite Day Spa

Blu Water Day Spa (Rockville, MD)

Depasquale Spa (Morris Plains, NJ)

Eden Day Spa (Boca Raton, FL)

Elmwood Spa (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Glen Ivy Hot Springs (Corona, CA)

Great Jones Spa (New York, NY)

Sanctuary Spa (London, UK)

Soho Sanctuary (New York, NY)

Spa Gregorie’s (Newport Beach, CA)

The Spa Ritual (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

A complete list of winners can be accessed at 2011 Readers’ Choice Winners. Crystal and Country/Region award recipients will also be featured in the NewBeauty SpaFinder: Guide to Global Spa, Wellness & Beauty! You will be able to buy your new copy here, when it is published in the New Year.

“LAVIV is a first of its kind treatment that works by expanding a patient’s own collagen-producing fibroblast cells. This data confirms the effectiveness of this innovative cell therapy,” said Stacy Smith, M.D., the study investigator who presented the results to the ASDS, in a published report. “Since LAVIV is made from a patient’s own collagen-producing fibroblast cells, the safety profile is excellent.”

Developed by Fibrocell Science and named one of Allure Magazine’s 2011 Beauty Breakthroughs, Laviv is made up of collagen-producing cells called fibroblasts, which are isolated and grown from the patient’s skin cells, and a mixture of water, sugars, vitamins, amino acids and salts. Antibiotics, amphotericin and gentamicin, bovine serum and dimethyl sulfoxide are used during processing, and trace amounts of these ingredients may be present in LAVIV™, the company’s website says.

Since Laviv uses the body’s own resources to create a more youthful appearance, the body recognises the cells as its own and the chance of an allergic reaction greatly declines. There is less upkeep since results typically last longer than more conventional fillers; however when patients are ready for another treatment, a bank of their cells is available at the Fibrocell lab and can be overnighted to practitioners.

Safety data was presented at the Annual Meeting as well, with the most common negative side effects being mild to moderate reactions around the injection site. These side effects were reported by more than one percent of patients treated and included redness, swelling, bleeding, bruising, papules, pain and irritation. In all adverse effects reported, 94 percent were resolved within one week.