Tag wellness

Tag wellness

Linda Harding-Bond
February 13, 2017

Spas, Training and the Trump Effect

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I’ve been in the U.S. now for longer than I anticipated. What started as a three week trip from my home in Bangkok has morphed into a prolonged visit. While I now have an unlimited opportunity to watch cable networks like CNN and MSNBC I feel that I am caught in the throes of a weird addiction to political news. I begin my day craving information on what havoc has been visited on our world overnight. I check Twitter trends and Huff Post headlines for my fix on the latest global backlash caused by our current administration. Because truth be told drama has happened everyday since January 20.  I find myself headachy before the day really begins.

I know that I am not alone.

I exist in a constant self imposed state of low level anxiety.

I recently read an article that discussed how Susie Ellis, CEO of Global Wellness Institute spoke of Trump as the leading influence of wellness trends for 2017. http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Market-Trends/The-Trump-Effect-is-already-altering-the-personal-care-and-beauty-market

“As things get more uncertain wellness gets more important.”

I totally agree with her viewpoint.

Last week I visited my favorite massage therapist. Nothing fancy, she works at Hand & Stone and she is fabulous! The time spent in a quiet environment with her was exactly what I needed. She knew exactly what to do and recommend and I can’t begin to express how much I appreciated her. In this time of turmoil and stress and uncertainly, the spa and wellness industry should be a safe haven. It is crucially  important for our therapists to be totally on point. Excellence in customer service is a teachable skill that should never be taken for granted by management.

Enabling therapists to listen well, respond authentically and recommend knowledgeably is what proper training can do.

Let’s get on it now.  The world needs it.

 

Linda Harding-Bond
February 6, 2017

A Nation of Consumers

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This past Christmas my husband and I spent a much anticipated holiday season with our family. We currently live in Bangkok and two years is wayyy too long to be separated from the people that you love.

As fate would have it, an opportunity to provide retail training in my hometown of Philadelphia came my way. Despite the cold weather (which I hate) I decided to stay on longer with my parents while my husband returned to Asia.

Like a lot of retired seniors my parents are active and opinionated. They love MSNBC, The View, CSI Miami and Judge Judy. As I huddle by the fireplace watching these shows with them, I am reminded and amazed at the plethora of commercials. They advertise everything from plaque psoriasis crème to buy-one-get-one-free non-stick cooking pans. The contrast of watching television in Thailand where marketing is at best lukewarm makes me more aware than ever that we are truly a nation of consumers and we love to buy.

We have a leg up compared to other countries because it is part of our culture. We are the nation that unapologetically spends 5.5 million on a 30 second Super Bowl ad.

In my mind we should be dominating retail in the spa, wellness and salon industry. We should be kicking butt big time.

As global markets compete for spa and wellness revenue it is important for the U.S. to recognize what we do well and build upon it. This is my focus for 2017.

Sometimes it takes a view from the outside to have a broader perspective.

Linda Harding-Bond
May 29, 2016

Spa Superstars: Hidden in Plain Sight

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Innovation is a hot buzzword. Senior executives in the hospitality industry are burning the midnight oil trying to find ways to innovatively one-up each other. Flying yoga, wellness strategies, sustainability campaigns, the list goes on with one thing in common. They’re all designed to target a larger portion of revenue from the upscale leisure consumer. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
April 27, 2016

Introverts in Sales-Infographic

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Certain customer service industries where one on one interaction is the norm disproportionately attracts introverts. Included in these would be the salon, spa, beauty and wellness. Unfortunately, however, training around the skill set of selling has not been modified to the way introverts learn.

If it seems counter-intuitive to think that introverts make the best salespeople this info-graphic might make you think again.

Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
January 7, 2016

Huffington Post Champions Wellness!

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Wellness is Hot!  It’s gained global momentum and with drivers at the forefront such as Global Wellness Summit, or ISPA Conference and Expo there’s no slowing down.

Today Huffington Post began WorkWell, a series of blogposts and information on Wellness. What had initially been planned for one week has been extended to the end of January because of mass interest.

I’m really pleased to have my article Connecting the Dots Between Workplace Wellness and Therapist Training featured.

To check out WorkWell click HERE

Linda Harding-Bond
September 9, 2015

Cannabis & Wellness: The Spa Connection

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Cannabis aka marijuana prohibition is entering its 78th year in the United States. But attitudes toward the plant are changing. Compared to 1968 when only 12% of the population supported legalizing marijuana, today the majority supports legalization.

Earlier this year I was very surprised to read that spa and wellness authority Spa Finder had listed “Cannabis: New spa and wellness connections” as their number two trend for 2015. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
April 1, 2015

Why Aren’t Spas on TripAdvisor?

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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>>>