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Linda Harding-Bond

April 1, 2015

Why Aren’t Spas on TripAdvisor?

Tags: Asia, best, collective, consultant, consulting, customers, diversity, ethnic, experiences, fast, global, growing, guest, Harding-Bond, hotel, instruction, instructor, men, online, profitable, public, reservation, restaurant, reviews, senior management, service, spa, teacher, Thailand, therapists, tourism, trainer, training, treatment room, TripAdvisor, wellness, women, workshops Writing

Update: I was contacted by TripAdvisor’s Senior Manager of Public Relations who informed me that they do have a section on their website under the category of Spa & Wellness. There you can post your reviews for day spas. They do not have a platform specifically for hotel or resort spas. Thank you to TripAdvisor for their responsiveness to their social media audience and willingness to discuss this issue further.

I’m a huge fan of TripAdvisor. It would never cross my mind to make a reservation for a hotel or restaurant without first checking my favorite source of information. And I write reviews as well; I figure that’s the least I can do for my fellow travelers. I was informed by TripAdvisor that I’m in the top 4% of their reviewers with over 19,012 readers. That’s a lot of people.

n 2013 “global wellness tourism” generated 494 billion dollars and “spa” singularly generated 94 billion dollars in revenue. In the U.S. alone from 2008-2013, 124 million people visited a spa. It is one of the fastest growing and most profitable industries in the world. Why is the service paying public not being asked to weigh in on their collective experiences?….

This article was published on Huffington Post. Want to read more? Click here>>> http://huff.to/1NIGG25

Linda Harding-Bond

March 31, 2015

1st 10 Days of Spa Tips-Quick Review

Tags: Asia, best, Black, bottom line, budget, classes, coaching, communication, confidence, consultant, consulting, courses, easy, English, ethnic, guest, Harding-Bond, hotels, in-house, increase, instructor, intake form, intimidation, introvert, Linda, management, nervous, on-line, online, pain, performance, powerful, products, resorts, results, retail, revenue, sales, selling, skincare, spa, speaking, success, superstars, teacher, Thai, Thailand, therapist, therapists, tips, trainer, training, treatment room, workshops Training

Here is a recap from the 30 Days of Spa Tips Series on the Moontide YouTube Channel (hey, please subscribe while you’re there!). So far we’ve discussed … How to increase sales, customer engagement and therapist confidence in 30 easy to follow steps.

1. Retail Mantra- Tell Touch Smell Sell- Four little words to remember when recommending products.

2. Managers Set Your Expectations with Your Therapists- Begin each day letting your team know the previous day’s results and which products are the hot item of the day.

3. Following Your Retail Road Map- Begin your day by determining which services you’ll be performing, select your retail products based on those services and envision yourself selling.

4. Therapists-How to Deal with Your Fears and Intimidation- Control nervousness by remembering that your customer is semi-nude. They are probably more nervous than you are.

5.Therapist Communications with Guests and Intake Forms- If you don’t understand what the intake form says get clarity before you begin the service.

6. Can you Retail for the Stars?- What’s your global skin I.Q? Which products work best for multi-ethnic or different skin types?

7. Recommending vs. Selling- Hospitality means providing your client with suggestions for an appropriate product to take home with them.

8. Positive Thinking for Retail Stars- Don’t talk yourself out of success. Envision yourself making lots of retail sales.

9. Is Your Spa Prepared to Sell- For managers, receptionists and therapists’ proper preparation at the start of each day will help to bring success.

10. So You Know Your Personal Brand- Match your personal preferences to the products at your spa. They will be easier to sell.

Watch 30 Days of Spa Tips on YouTube on the Moontide Consulting Channel

Linda Harding-Bond

March 27, 2015

For Spa Therapists the Struggle Is Real

Tags: Asia, best, Black, Bond, budget, classes, communication, confidence, consultant, corporate, courses, easy, English, ethnic, Extrovert, guest, hotels, Huffington Post, in-house, increase, industry, insight, introvert, Linda Harding, management, manager, methods, new, old-school, online, overseas, performance, powerful, products, resorts, results, retail, revenue, sales, selling, senior, skincare, spa, speaking, successful, Thai, Thailand, traditional, training, treatment room, viewpoint, workshops Writing

Growing up as an introvert I learned to adapt to an extroverted world. It wasn’t easy; sometimes it was just plain difficult. But I discovered that the axiom is true; what doesn’t kill you does truly make you stronger. Acting like an extrovert has had its rewards; it was necessary to develop that muscle and flex it hard if I wanted to be successful.

And successful I was. But after 15 years in corporate America as a training manager, it became too exhausting to play that game every day so I decided to switch gears and work in the spa industry. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond

March 26, 2015

No Training Budget= Bad Business

Tags: Asia, best, Black, budget, classes, communication, confidence, consultant, courses, empowered, English, ethnic, guest, Harding-Bond, hotels, in-house, introvert, Linda, management, on-line Training, online, pain, performance, products, resorts, results, retail, revenue, sales, selling, shyness, skincare, Soi, spa, speaking, Thai, Thailand, therapist, therapists, time management, training, treatment room, workshops Training

I live in Bangkok on a soi (street) in a thriving business district. The soi is lined with vendors selling everything from mangoes to crickets. There are exactly 5 massage businesses and one spa. From time to time my husband and I get a foot massage that is quite good. The therapists are friendly and chatty. When we close our eyes to just enjoy the massage they are sensitive enough to stop talking. This service costs 400 THB or 15 U.S. dollars. Read More