A healing art you can offer online. By Vivienne O’Keeffe, CIBTAC, AAD, PEA. In my 26 years as a professional spa consultant I’ve encountered more kinds of healing practices than you can shake a massage stick at, from ayurveda to qiqong, chelation therapy, reflexology, hydrotherapy and dozens more. But there’s one I’ve always considered to be lurking on the sketchy fringes, like a fly-by-night airline or miracle hair growth tonic. Shaminism was...

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How to survive the pandemic and come back even stronger. By Vivienne O’Keeffe, CIBTAC, AAD, PEA I seem to remember March 17 as the day everything changed: NBA and NHL games suspended, movie theatres shuttered, international flights grounded. Certainly no St. Patrick’s Day parties. Across the country, spas ran for cover, closing their doors and ordering mass layoffs. Everyone was in shock. I get that it’s hard to retain staff while revenues are...

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Health advantages of water therapies – for spa clients and their therapists. And some water therapies you can do at home to continue the benefits. By Vivienne O’Keeffe, CIBTAC, AAD, PEA Water cures are steeped in legend. One example is the story of 19th century European peasant Vincent Priessnitz. Working in the forest, he observed a doe that would come to dip a wounded leg into a stream every day before heading back into the woods –...

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Misperceptions = missed opportunity. Wellness consumers who don’t understand your business or its treatments won’t become your clients. By Vivienne O’Keeffe, CIBTAC, AAD, PEA What’s the biggest reason that people come to spas? A soothing massage? Skin treatment? Nope. The biggest single reason people come to experiential spas, I believe, is to get away from the stresses of modern living and experience soothing relaxation for their bodies...

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Understanding their needs and expectations can turn reluctant men into loyal clients. By Vivienne O’Keeffe It’s not as if men are strangers to the spa experience. A PWC report for the International Spa Association (ISPA) found 47% of spa-goers in the U.S. are already male. They’re mostly aged 25-44 and from $66,000+ ($CDN) income households. They’re less cost-averse than women, and experience higher than average levels of stress. Roughly half...

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Eco awareness and other trends are reshaping consumer behaviour. Prepare now or be left behind. By Vivienne O’Keeffe Not all trends become permanent. But there is no better predictor of the future – nor better way to prepare your business for it – than identifying and understanding the most important and fastest-evolving trends in consumer behaviours today. With its broad range of services from pure aesthetics to skin care and rejuvenation...

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