The second panel discussion at the Spameeting conference yesterday afternoon (6 December) was focused on how to deliver the best spa service to travellers of all generations.

Panellists weighing in on the topic included Kent Richards of Six Senses, Esther Fieldgrass of EF Medispa, Philippe Attia of Chalet RoyAlp Hotel & Spa and Emma Darby of Resense Spa.

Richards highlighted how Six Senses has gone beyond shortening its treatment menus to actually getting rid of them, in favour of offering consultations before a treatment to determine the needs of a client.

Fieldgrass agreed that consultation is key to tailor-making services that meet client requirements.

Darby noted, however, that in order to provide the best treatment via the best consultation, it’s about service delivery and consistency across properties in order to retain guests for repeat visits.

Attia agreed that delivering impeccable and emotionally satisfying service means offering the right product and selecting the right staff.

Coulon lamented the lack of training and time going into delivering consistent quality. “The first thing that gets cut out of spa operation costs is the training budget,” said Coulon.

Richards and Darby said their focus is to grow funding for training and that already their companies have treatment trainers. Darby said Resense staff get training updates at least once a year and they are part of promotion and succession plans. Richards said staff at Six Senses have educators in retail sales going from property to property, teaching spa teams how to sell products to clients.

Fieldgrass said staff at EF Medispa are initially put on a three-month rolling training course before they are allowed to touch a client.

Attia highlighted, however, that before training can be considered, it’s about hiring the right people. Retaining those people is another challenge – to be solved by empowerment.