Eforea at Hilton on the Park Melbourne launched in April and the brand is poised to rollout in China
I’ve just launched a graduate certificate in management specialising in spa operations with the William Angliss Institute. This will roll out across Asia-Pacific and there’s every intention to make it available globally
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF DEVEL- OPING AND OPERATING SPAS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION? Out of the 58 pipe- line spas, the majority are in China and one of the main issues there is the sheer pace in which the country does business – we’ve recently had two projects that opened eight months early which is unheard of in devel- opment! So it’s key to ensure your team can move and adapt very quickly. Product regis- tration, licensing regulations and laws, such as hygiene and fire standards, change almost hourly in China. Being out of contact for five days is like being out of contact for a year, so we make a point of building strong relationships with people in the market who understand what’s happening and who we can work with to stay up to date. The Asia-Pacific region presents cul-
tural nuances that we need to be aware of and these influence both the way we design
SPA BUSINESS 3 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
our spas and the menus and treatments we deliver. In addition, each country – especially China and India – has its own traditional interpretation of spa which can differ greatly to westernised spas. We work closely with our owners to deliver spa concepts that are locally relevant and globally consistent.
WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN GOALS OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS? Education and train- ing. If you do the maths, I’m going to need 58 new spa managers and at least 176 more therapists in the next three to four years. I want to develop our talent internally, which is why I’ve worked with the William Angliss Institute – a specialist centre for tourism and hospitality with presence in Australia, Singapore and China. Te aim of this part- nership is to develop and deliver a graduate certificate in management specialising in spa operations that we’ve just launched. Over the
nine-month course, spa managers will com- plete two full weeks of face-to-face tuition and then set aside about five hours a week to work on assignments that cover six mod- ules including human resources, financial management, innovative business practices, business planning, sales and marketing and risk management. Te plan is to roll this out across Asia-Pacific, but I think there’s every intention to make it available globally. I don’t know of any other group that’s doing some- thing of this standard at this level.
WHAT IS YOUR OVERALL AMBITION? To show that if you focus on spas, they can be a real commercial driver to your business, rather than just providing a nice massage. While we are definitely growing very rap- idly, I think we are preparing for it well and I like working for such an innovative group that operates with integrity.
Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92