International SPA Association
2000 Annual Conference Breakout Sessions
by Julie Register, Your Guide to Spas

Four  Breakout Sessions were scheduled over two days of the ISPA conference. These were two-hour lectures followed by discussion sessions. The biggest problem was choosing which of the almost 30 sessions to go to. To make the choices easier, the sessions were categorized in two ways - by subject and by track. 

Tracks applied across all subjects and were assigned to each session. They addressed who might want to attend:

• Spa 101: introductory level information about the spa industry (101)
• Spa Visionary: for professionals who want to think outside the box (SV)
• Management Strategist: addresses daily operational issues (MS)
• All: all delegates will gain insight from these sessions (ALL)

Subjects included:

• Marketing and Communications: Everything you need to know to compete for the consumer in this fast-paced information age.
• Spa Operations: From step-by-step how-tos to big concept ideas on change, learn about management strategies from experts in the industry.
• The Spa Experience: What's hot, what's not and what's coming in spa service and where the current trends will take the industry.
• eSpa Technology: How do we go fast faster? Find out about the role of technology in the spa industry, covering topics from creating a technologically correct spa facility to treating techno-stress in the spa.
• Medicine + Spa: The spa of the future is a safe haven for medical practitioners seeking refuge from the world of managed care. Find out from the leading authorities on Spa Medicine how this trend is going to change the consumer's view of spa and how you can embrace this new venture.

I attended the following:

Profit Dynamics: Monitoring Your Spa for Bottom Line Success presented by Francis X. Acunzo, President of Sage Management & Development Group, LLC. A number of metrics were presented which would help a spa decide if it were at the proper staffing, utilization, and productivity levels and how to use the numbers to make adjustments if needed. Metrics were also given for customers such as the repeat rate and revenue per available client. Finally retail sales metrics were given. A discussion on how to analyze and use the metrics to increase profitability tied things together. 

Designing New Approaches to Complementary Healthcare presented by Mark Plotkin, PhD, President, Amazon Conservation Team, German Zuluaga, M.D., ACT Columbia Program Director. and Sr. Luciano Mutumbajoy, an Ingano shaman. This was a continuation of the keynote address by this group. It was a fascinating and moving discussion of the benefits for world medicine that could come from shamans and healers of the native Amazonian tribes - if their knowledge can be passed on to future generations and the land that holds the source of native cures can be saved from development.

How the Internet is Changing the Face of Spa Business presented by David Schraven, Vice President of Web Development, SpaElegance.com. This presentation covered website development and 3rd party services available on the Internet, particularly spa product procurement (B2B) and online appointment scheduling - services offered by SpaElegance.

A Spa Perspective ... Using Technology to Build Client Relationships, not Replace Human Contact presented by Cascades Spa. This presentation covered the web site of this spa - why it cost $45,000 to develop and $2,500/month to maintain and update - and why the spa thinks it is a great investment. The site is all about providing information to the customer. It contains a video virtual tour of the spa, videos of treatments, videos of therapists. The website has an online store to sell gift certificates and spa products. They used the web site to create a CD to include in local business publications in an effort to promote corporate clients. They use it in conjunction with print and billboard advertising to market the spa. It has only been live for a couple of months. They invited us to check back in a year to see if the marketing efforts have paid off.

Fortunately, audio tapes were made by Convention Tapes International (702-360-8666) of each session so you could purchase those that you missed or wanted to replay. However, at $20 per session, I chose only a couple. The entire set cost over $400. I purchased tapes for The Internet Meets the Spa Industry Head On presented by Mary Rector Gable, Founder, BehindtheChair.com and Spa Search and Spirituality in the Spa: Building Bodies and Shaping Souls presented by Rabbi Michael Zedek, CEO, The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and felt both were well worth the cost of the tapes.

To Keynote Speakers

To Roundtable Discussions

To the Silent Auction

ToISPA 2000 Overview

Exhibit Hall Displays










photos by Julie Register

Who is ISPA?

The International SPA Association is recognized worldwide as the professional association and voice of the spa industry, representing more than 1,300 health and wellness facilities and providers in 45 countries. Members encompass the entire arena of the spa experience, from club spas, cruise ship spas, day spas, destination spas, resort/hotel spas, medical spas and mineral springs spas to service providers such as physicians, wellness instructors, nutritionists, massage therapists and product suppliers -- fully representing the variety of wellness options in this exciting industry.

Founded in 1991, ISPA began as a grass roots movement to build a common network for member spas, their affiliates and the media. Since then, ISPA has grown dramatically in both membership and scope, representing a vast majority of domestic and international spas. The ISPA Annual Conference draws more and more participants from around the world each year. Geared toward education and business, the conference focuses on seminars by respected leaders in the medical, financial, and health fields, and exhibits of the latest products and services in the spa industry.

ISPA has created two strong international chapters to serve regional members better. Both the ISPA Europe and ISPA Asia chapters have grown exponentially since their inaugurations in 1997 and 1999. The ISPA Europe members blend Europe's rich wellness tradition - several spas are hundreds of years old - with American business techniques, while the ISPA Asian chapter in Singapore continues to further the East-West melding that has become the latest hallmark of the wellness experience.

ISPA is committed to forming and maintaining alliances that will educate, set standards, provide resources, influence policy and build coalitions for the industry. Professionals in the industry, consumers and the media look to ISPA to clarify and standardize the spa experience. ISPA promotes and defines the spa experience as "Your time to Relax, Reflect, Revitalize and Rejoice."

ISPA's mission is to raise awareness of the spa industry and educate the public and industry professionals about the lifelong benefits of the spa experience. In this way, ISPA helps to revitalize humanity through the promotion of spa wellness. As the voice of the spa industry, ISPA attracts and retains a diverse global membership, fulfilling the educational, informational, and networking needs of its many members worldwide. Using the tremendous potential within the spa industry, ISPA generates the financial, technological, and human resources necessary to serve and represent its members in the most comprehensive manner possible.