Acknowlegements

SpaQuality LLC thanks the following people for taking time to review and provide feedback for The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM 2006. We value their input. Their efforts have improved The Standards and the SpaExcellence^SM certification process. It is our belief that Spa businesses and Spa Guests will profit from their wisdom.

John Brennan General Manager Park Hotel Kenmare SÁMAS Spa Kenmare, Co. Kerry, Ireland www.samaskenmare.com John W. Breslin Spa Director The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner McLean, Virginia   USA www.ritzcarlton.com Kay Cannon Master Certified Coach Lexington, Kentucky   USA www.diamondingenuity.com Steve Capellini Royal Treatment Enterprises, inc. Miami, Florida   USA www.royaltreatment.com Cary Collier Principal Blu Spas Inc; Collier & Collier Spas (Spa Design, Planning, Management) Designer of The Cary Collier Collection - Whirlpool Pipeless Hydrotherapy Tubs for the Sanijet Corporation Whitefish, Montana   USA www.bluspasinc.com Zahira J. Coll Founder & CEO of Resources & Development® Spa Operations, Training and Human Resources Consultant Henderson, Nevada   USA www.resourcesanddevelopment.com Elaine Fenard Vice President Spa Development & Operations Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. White Plains, New York   USA www.starwood.com Elizabeth Horton Director of Activities The Oaks at Ojai Employed at the Oaks at Ojai since 1981! Ojai, California   USA www.oaksspa.com Lenny LaCour Spa Author Glenview, Illinois   USA www.lennyslist.com

Hannelore R. Leavy Executive Director The Day Spa Association The International Medical Spa Association Union City, New Jersey   USA www.dayspaassociation.com www.medicalspaassociation.org Jack Morrison Managing Director Elmcrest College of Applied Health Sciences & Spa Management President, Leading Spas of Canada Founding Director, Premiere Spas of Ontario Recipient, 2005 ISPA Dedicated Contributor Award Member, USFR Committee - ISPA Foundation Member, Canadian Tourism Commission – Special Spa/Wellness Taskforce Toronto, Ontario   Canada www.elmcrestcollege.com Vivienne O’Keefe & Associates Inc International Spa Development, Consulting and Training Lions Bay, British Columbia   Canada www.spaprofits.com Bridget Phillips  Spa Director  Westin Maui Resort & Spa  Lahaina, Hawaii   USA www.westinmaui.com H. Laurence Reinhard 111 Partner/Director Heaven Spa(s) Jenkintown, Pennsylvania   USA www.heaven-spa.com Jim Root Spa Manager The Spa at Sea Island Resorts Sea Island, Georgia   USA www.seaisland.com Marion Schneider CEO Toskana Thermen Bad Sulza and Bad Schandau   Germany www.toskana-therme.de

Deborah A. Smith President Smith Club & Spa Specialists Full Service Spa Consulting Firm Basalt, Colorado   USA Elizabeth Snowdon Founder & President Nusta Spa Washington, DC   USA www.nustaspa.com Dana Stallings  Owner  Spa Velia  Chair of the ISPA Education Committee 2006 San Diego, California   USA www.spavelia.com Lisa Starr Business Consultant Preston Wynne Success Systems Swarthmore, Pennsylvania   USA www.prestonwynne.com/pwss Ella Stimpson Director The Spa at the Broadmoor Hotel Colorado Springs, Colorado   USA www.broadmoor.com Michael Stusser Founder Osmosis – The Enzyme Bath Spa Freestone, California   USA www.osmosis.com Estelle Tan Spa Manager Simply Spa   Singapore www.simplyspa.com.sg Mindy Terry President Creative Spa Concepts Inc. Bountiful, Utah   USA www.creativespaconcepts.com Kelli Trumble CEO Sundara Inn & Spa Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin   USA www.sundaraspa.com Marja Walker MarjaDesign Tucson,  AZ   USA

Here are a few comments by the reviewers:
• "This is a very useful document and one I wish I had in my hands 20 years ago when we started our spa. It would have spared us a lot of painful lessons and allowed us to reach the level of quality we aspire to much more quickly."
• "You have thought of everything, including a graduated program for spas to achieve an ever higher level of quality. Overall, I wish you the best of success with this certification program -- you're filling a much-needed niche in the market!"
• "I am incredibly impressed by The Standards. They are very well thought out and incredibly detailed."
• "Improving our standards and quality of service is paramount! I'm pleased to see this plan!"
• "I found the sections engaging, detailed and precise in its information on performance standards."
• "It is great to watch this significant project unfold – I wish you great success with everything."
• "I've reviewed the info several times and find it to be very thorough. I must say - these documents are impressive."

Introduction

Each Spa Guest is unique and arrives at the Spa with unique expectations and requirements. Successful Spas are those that accurately and thoroughly understand those expectations and requirements and have a reliable system in place to delight every Guest every time. This is no small task.

Each Spa is unique in its purpose, design, style, services, and goals. Yet successful Spas share common characteristics and practices. These include such things as effective hiring techniques, financial management, cleaning and safety practices, and these Spas take advantage of opportunities to improve.

SpaQuality LLC created The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM2006 based on best practices in high performance organizations and recommendations from Spa consultants, owners, directors and Guests.

The intent of The Standards is to describe the common elements of successful Spas in an organized framework. While The Standards describe what successful Spas do, they are not prescriptive. They do not describe exactly how the Spa must operate nor do they seek to make all Spas alike. A quality Guest experience is the result of a well managed, disciplined Spa.

Successful Spas demonstrate effective management in four key areas described in The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM:

• Spa Management - These processes communicate what is important to the Spa’s success, define roles and responsibilities and evaluate the Spa’s efficiency and effectiveness. Examples include setting the Spa’s mission and vision and goals, strategic planning, resourcing, leadership deployment and business review.
• Spa Guest Experiences – These processes are used to plan the Spa’s treatment menu and required facilities, equipment and supplies, control the delivery of Guest Service, and identify ways to improve the Guest experience. Examples include booking appointments, treatment delivery (SOPs / protocols), adding services to the Spa menu, expanding a Spa’s facility, and providing and displaying retail products.
• Spa Operations Support – These processes are the back-of-the-house processes used to ensure that the Spa can deliver consistent treatments and meet regulatory requirements in order to optimize the Spa business operations. Examples include training staff, cleaning the Spa facility and equipment, purchasing and receiving, product storage, and equipment and facility maintenance.
• Spa Improvement – These processes identify opportunities for the Spa to continually improve in all aspects of the Spa business and in Guest satisfaction. Examples include evaluating Guest feedback, root cause analysis (finding and correcting problems at their source), Spa self-examination, identifying and correcting sources of waste.

Spas that share these principles of effective management promote confidence and enhance the public image of the spa industry. 

For Spas that subscribe to the management principles outlined in The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM and value objective evaluation and feedback, SpaQuality LLC provides a comprehensive SpaExcellence^SM education, assessment and certification process. This process ultimately enables Guests to identify reliable, trustworthy Spas that meet high standards.

This booklet contains The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM 2006, information on the SpaExcellence^SM Certification process and other services offered by SpaQuality LLC.

Because of continual growth and changes in the Spa industry and ever-increasing Guest expectations, The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM are updated annually. As you read and apply these quality management principles, SpaQuality LLC recognizes that you may identify ways to improve The Standards and welcomes your feedback.

Julie Register Managing Director Operations Register@SpaQuality.com	Linda Bankoski Managing Director Education and Assessment Bankoski@SpaQuality.com

Table of Contents

The International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM2006

The complete International Standards of SpaExcellence^SM 2006 is now available.

To purchase a copy, send a check for $95* USD to:

SpaQuality LLC
1024 Oriente Avenue
Greenville, DE 19807

Be sure to include the shipping address.

*Includes shipping in the contiguous United States. Additional shipping charges apply for other locations.

If you prefer to pay by credit card, email your request to Julie.Register@dol.net, and you will be billed via PayPal. An additional $5 to cover PayPal's charges will be included, bringing the total to $100.

Copyright @ 2005 by SpaQuality LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher.

SpaQuality LLC
1024 Oriente Avenue
Greenville, DE 19807
Phone: 302-426-0274
Fax: 302-368-8169
www.SpaQuality.com