SUMMIT REVIEW
KATIE BARNES » MANAGING EDITOR » SPA BUSINESS
W
ith its strong wellness tradi- tions and thriving spa scene, Bali, Indonesia, was a fitting setting for the fifth Global
Spa Summit (GSS) – a conference and net- working event for leading spa and wellness professionals from around the world. Taking place on 15-18 May, the event
was held at the Westin and Laguna Resort & Spa hotels in Nusa Dua in south Bali. And at a gala dinner on the first night, spa delegates received a warm welcome from Jero Wacik – the minister of culture and tourism said: “I open many events in Indonesia, but this one is special because you all come to Bali with a special smile. Usually it’s about solving problems, but you bring happiness.” Similar sentiments were shared by Susie
Ellis, GSS board member, in her opening speech: “Te scenery may have changed, but our connection with each other feels so com- fortable and stronger than ever.” With a record number of 275 delegates – including student attendees – from 35-plus countries, there was certainly an air of anticipation as Ellis introduced her co-chairs for the three days: Anne McCall Wilson, vice-president of spas at Fairmont Raffles Hotels International; and Jeff Matthews, president and chief operating officer of Mandara Spas.
GET ENGAGED
‘Engage The Change: The Customer. The Money. The Future’ was the theme of the fifth annual Global
Spa Summit. We report on the highlights of this year’s event which was held in Asia for the first time
TANTALISING TRENDS
Tis year’s theme was ‘Engage the Change. Te Customer. Te Money. Te Future’ and these individual topics formed the basis of talks on timely issues over the three days. Day one kicked off with an inspirational
presentation by retail and trends forecaster Kate Ancketill, managing director of GDR Creative. Ancketill outlined how brands have innovatively used technology – mobile apps, iPads, social network sites and gaming – to increase their market share and explained how spas could get in on the act. She paid particu- lar attention to gaming – the playing of virtual games – which she considers “to be the new form of deep engagement, especially for mil- lennials [the future spa-going generation]... which is going to be huge in marketing”.
38 Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital Customers who shop through Facebook,
or ‘f-commerce’, are according to Ancketill more loyal and likely to recommend brands and 87 of the top 100 retailers are on Face- book. Spas should be listed on the website too she urged, and operators could take par- ticular advantage of Facebook Deals which can create tailored deals for individuals, friends or loyal clients. Her parting advice was for spa operators
“to get your services on video”. Video, she says, has a “phenomenal” return on invest- ment – sales went up by 26 per cent for Marks & Spencer when it featured a video for women’s clothing. Video marketing could also be an especially useful tool for selling lesser known, complementary ther- apies (see sb11/2 p14).
SPA BUSINESS 3 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
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