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Resistance to benchmarking in the UAE


CHRIS KIEFER General manager for Cedar Bridge’s partners: Dreamworks Spas and Zen Yoga Studios


L ocal ly we’re facing resi s -


tance to benchmarking and have not seen proper reports that could help us to know


where to position ourselves in the UAE. Te closer spas are located to each other,


managers are less inclined to share their numbers. Many owners, spa managers and directors are still not open to the idea of offering an insight into their business. What they are forgetting, how-


ever, is that by not sharing their data, they will not be able to establish if they are performing better than others. For example, let’s say you run a 10-treat-


ment room spa with six therapists and exceed your set budget of AED270,000 (US$73,508, €67,235, £49,405) in revenue every month by AED10,000 (US$2,723, €2,490, £1,831) to AED15,000 (US$4,084, €3,725, £2,745), is that good news? Well, it depends on your gross


operating profit first and foremost, but it also depends on what your competitors are doing revenue-wise. If a spa nearby is generating AED325,000 (US$88,482, €80,931, £59,506) every month, but has the same number of treat- ment rooms and the same number of therapists then obviously the first spa’s figures don’t look as good anymore. Tis is why we need transparency and the


will to share our individual profit and loss data. Benchmarking is key to success and we can only perform better in the industry if we all begin to communicate our great results. While no one has previously taken own-


ership of the mission to change the regional mindset and encourage data sharing, a new committee is being set up by industry leaders to analyse the KPIs of spas in the Middle Eastern region. First discussed at the Professional Spa & Wellness Conference Dubai, the initiative to collect and examine data is expected to launch before Q3 2015.


• Kiefer moved to Cedar Bridge from Starwood, where he was director of spa and leisure for the St Regis-branded prop- erties in the Middle East, in February.


6 Green Spa Network shares resources


The Green Spa Network (GSN) is extending its impact by creating regional spa associations to enable more spas


to access its


sustainability resources – part of its 2015 strategy to cause positive change in sustainability through spas. GSN provides informa-


tion, tools and resources to support the ‘greening’ of the spa industry. Regional associ- ation members – for example managers of facilities that are members of the Florida Spa Association (FSA) – will have access to the GSN’s resources at no charge. “Te open membership that GSN has intro-


GSN’s executive director Paul Schmidt was appointed in June 2014


duced to regional associations provides more opportunities for collaboration among organ- isations to raise the social consciousness of wellness and our environmental footprint,” said Ilana Moses, CEO and founder of FSA.


“Our goal at FSA is to strengthen our mes- sage about wellbeing by creating a greener and healthier lifestyle in our community.” In other news, GSN’s executive director Paul


Schmidt discussed spas and sustainability with representatives of the US Congress and Senate. Details: http://lei.sr?a=T6D4J_S


Thermal spa operation course starts


The School of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality of BKF University of Applied Sciences in Budapest, Hungary,


is


offering a new educational programme for individuals interested in health tour- ism and spa management based on natural resources. Te Termal Spa and Resort


Management course aims to teach students how to work in spas, hotels and resorts that use thermal or hot springs. Te course will be based on the well-established heritage of the thermal water manage- ment and thermal bathing culture of Hungary. Management and marketing techniques


for international markets will be taught to students, through a collaboration of sev- eral industry partners: the Hungarian Bath Association; the Tourism Observatory for Health, Wellness and Spa; Budapest Baths Corporation; and the Hungarian Association of Hotels & Restaurants. “We witness, in international markets,


the renaissance of the use of natural (heal- ing) resources – such as thermal water. It is understood that natural healing remedies and resources have been used by many cultures throughout the history of humankind,” said


Read Spa Opportunities online: www.spaopportunities.com/digital


Te course will be taught at the BKF University in Budapest, Hungary


Lazlo Puczko, head of the programme at BKF. “By this time and age, however, estab-


lishments face new challenges and need to adapt this traditional approach. Working closely together with industry partners, this unique programme will prepare students with the necessary skills and knowledge. As a result, they will be excellent resources for thermal / hot spring establishments.” Specialist subjects on the course will


include wellbeing studies, evidence-based therapies and healing resources, hotel and resort management, health tourism, thermal spa management and health industries. Details: http://lei.sr?a=a4V7h_S


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