INTERVIEW
PERSONAL FILE Sharilyn Abbajay
Favourite fi lm: A Few Good Men Favourite way to relax: I take a hot bath… I’m a simple person! Favourite spa: Westglow Spa in the Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina, US Favourite spa treatment: Refl exology Who do you most admire? My father. He gave to life without prejudice. He was loving, trustful, kindly, quiet and giving, and a very special human being What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? It was from my father who was a baseball player. He taught me to “never take your eye off the ball”
– beauty services, body treatments, facials or retail etc. T e system is already partially in place: “I moved very swiſt ly in the fi rst four months to get information and we’re working with Marriott’s fi nancing depart- ment and asset managers to create a global fi nance recording of our profi t.” In addition, Abbajay holds monthly meet-
ings with her directors of spa operations in each continent to identify and set suitable benchmarks. “T is is part of the expertise that I really bring to Marriott. From day one I have been taught that spas are a business, just as if you’re running a restaurant or a manufacturing company. T ey’re independ- ent profi t centres and that’s the diff erence.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE So, where and what are the plans for rolling out Marriott’s spas? T e greatest amount of development will – unsurprisingly – take place in Asia and the Middle East, while the focus of brand expansion is on JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance. One of the challenges in developing and
running international spas, is that “strong leadership is essential,” says Abbajay. She certainly seems to have that characteristic, as well as a strong sense of passion for her job and industry. “I am driven by the knowl- edge that we all have the power to make a diff erence to people’s lives. Some may think that sounds self-serving, but I truly feel that I can help people to feel better about them- selves. I think that stems from how I was brought up – my dad was a very loving and caring individual and he taught me that we all have something to contribute to society, even if it’s only a gracious smile. “My overall mission, however, is to help
the spa industry to become more relevant in people’s lives – rather than to be thought of as just a pampering experience.” ●
T e Saray spa concept, with its signature coff ee and Dead Sea salt therapies, launched in Dubai in February and will be rolled out across the Middle East
28 Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital SPA BUSINESS 1 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
Marriott has teamed up with Studio 54 creator for the new boutique hotel chain EDITION T e fi rst EDITION property opened
The next EDITION
In 2007, Marriott International and hotelier Ian Schrager, announced a partnership in launching EDITION: a boutique hotel chain to rival brands such as Starwood’s W hotels. Schrager, the style icon most famous
for creating the Studio 54 nightclub in New York, assumed the role of crea- tive director, and promised the brand
“would be unlike anything you’ve seen before”. T e notion was that each hotel would be completely unique and authen- tic to its location and social milieu – a strategy that would make it stand out in the marketplace.
at the end of 2010 on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii and further properties are planned for Istanbul in the fi rst quar- ter of 2011, then Barcelona, Bangkok, Mexico City and Miami. T ere will be a spa element in each hotel. Sharilyn Abbajay, vice-president of
global spas and retail at Marriott Inter- national, says: “EDITION spas haven’t come onto my radar yet and even if they had I wouldn’t be able to say too much! I think that this may change in the next three to four years and there will be more involvement from head offi ce, in the meantime we’re here to fully support him [Schrager] and make any recom- mendations and suggestions.”
SHARILYN ABBAJAY
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