Last week a beauty industry friend from Philadelphia arrived in Thailand. I’ve been here for several years now and even though there are still new sights, sounds and aromas to experience, the original wonderment of it all has passed. Read More
Linda Harding-Bond
September 29, 2015
I haven’t had an opportunity to post about anything related to increasing retail selling or spa training or therapists in the past two weeks because there’s been a lot going on. First we had to go to Laos to take care of our visa renewals. Read More
Linda Harding-Bond
July 22, 2015
By 2018 the spa industry is projected to grow by 40%. A new regime of employees with fresh skills and talents, but not necessarily experience will enter the workforce. Meanwhile many existing employees struggle with the initial skills they learned from school or knowledge gleaned from product training.
Is refresher training for employees overrated? Hakeem Adebiyi of V-Creative says there is a school of thought out there that doesn’t see the value of teaching employees concepts they have already been introduced to. There is a lot of value in the refresher course though. For starters, here are two benefits of the refresher course. Read More
Linda Harding-Bond
July 3, 2015
How the Consumer-Led Economy is Disrupting the Hotel Industry
Linda Harding-Bond
June 30, 2015
The Social Solution for Shabby Service
I’d never heard of GripeO. Then last week I received a direct message from @GripeO_Outreach on Twitter. They were following up on an article published on Huffington Post about my lousy spa experience. They wanted to know if I was interested in escalating my complaint to senior management. Because I constantly write about the impact of social media on the spa industry I wasn’t surprised. The fact that I had been tracked on Twitter by a consumer service company was prophetic and intriguing. I wanted to learn more about GripeO_Outreach so I spoke with the CEO, Mike Klanac.
Want to read more? Click Here>>>>http://linkd.in/1Nsss50
Linda Harding-Bond
June 30, 2015
Most therapists who work in the spa industry are introverts. It doesn’t matter if they are in Bangkok, Thailand or the United States, they tend to be shy. It makes sense; what other personality type would elect to work in a darkened room, one on one with a minimal need for conversation. But even introverts want to be part of the group. Here, Jeff Hayden gives 5 tips on how to fit in. Read More
Linda Harding-Bond
June 24, 2015
Once a month the CEO of a certain Five-Star resort company would return to the home office. A status meeting was always held. All vice presidents and middle management would attend either in person or via Skype.
On this particular day as we were waiting for the meeting to begin, he regaled us with a story of his visit to one of the company’s more remote locations. He said 18 hours on a plane had earned him an extremely stiff neck. Immediately upon arrival he’d booked a massage. In a luxurious hut with the ocean as a backdrop, he’d explained his problem to a therapist in detail. He opted for an add-on treatment of Thai herbal balls; heated poultices which are rhythmically applied to sore or stiff body points to promote blood flow. He’d also requested that a heated towel be placed around his neck for the first 10 minutes prior to treatment. >>>To read more click here>>huff.to/1GEycWV
Linda Harding-Bond
June 17, 2015
Why your New Spa Product Will Probably Fail
My friend Cheryl developed a beautiful line of organic body products. She sent me samples and I was thrilled to discover that her creations where some of the best I’d ever used.
When it won a best new product of the year award in New York City, she and I celebrated with a champagne lunch. I remember screaming in delight when it was later selected as one of the swag bag items for the Emmy Awards. A Five-Star hospitality group in Asia began carrying her line at their chain of spas. Her product was unstoppable. Read More
Linda Harding-Bond
June 2, 2015
Government Wants to Know Your Pain. Not Us ka.
Living in Bangkok, there are no lack of places to get body treatments. After several late night writing marathons which resulted in hunched painful neck and shoulders, I finally decided to get a massage.
I opted on a spa located in a Five-Star hotel. As part of an international luxury brand, it has a reputation for excellence so I felt safe with my choice. Read More
Linda Harding-Bond
May 29, 2015
It is really amazing how often training is conducted at spas without first seeking input from therapists on what they actually need. For many spas, training is delivered yearly (if that) without variation or assessment of the areas where the therapists fail to deliver.
Also training is often thought of as a disruption so the attitude of “lets just get through it” prevails. To get the best ROI, perform a needs analysis before investing time and money on training.
This article from enterpriseref.com speaks to this issue. Read More