The Case for Spas

The benefits of spa treatments are even more apparent in tough times, when wellness takes on a whole new meaning.

In an economic climate where the government is bailing out some of the nation's most powerful companies while others are drowning, the topic of corporate incentive trips—and luxurious spa outings in particular—has become more sensitive. When insurer AIG spent $443,000 on an incentive trip, including $23,000 in spa treatments, following the announcement of its taxpayer-supported government bailout, the press had a field day.

This incident exacerbated the notion that spas are a frivolous luxury of the privileged, but experts believe such a perception overlooks the value that spa treatments offer in reducing stress levels as they skyrocket in response to the current economy. In addition to serving as preventative healthcare, spa treatments also remain an effective perk to motivate, recognize, and reward employees who have excelled.

"I would not cut these programs, and less so during the rough financial times," advises Dr. Gabriela Cora, MD, and president of the Executive Health & Wealth Institute. "It's going to be extremely important for people to remain sane, fit, and in great shape. People in particularly high positions who are managing other people and trying to lead the whole company will need to make sure they can exercise. If massage is what they want to have, [planners] need to make sure they can bring that to the schedule."

Brian Martenis, managing director of Boutique Incentive Travel, a division of Gil Travel adds: "I don't really think that people going on a program expect unlimited, unrestricted anything." Whether spa treatments are offered at the expense of the company or not, companies need to be able to manage perceptions in order to promote employee well-being without offending the public and shareholders. The ability to reconcile that spas are both a luxury and a preventative technique to alleviate soaring anxiety is paramount.

"As a strategy to de-stress, spa treatments could help many people," says Cora, who has worked as a wellness coach with clients such as Abbott Labs, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, the U.S. Air Force, and the University of Miami. "If someone has been working 20-hour days, the public may perceive that if they take a full day off to pamper themselves, it's something negative, but [the critics] are not seeing that the rest of the time [the individual is] working 24/7."

Cora believes that spas are a beneficial component in corporate incentive and motivation programs because they serve, in large part, to alleviate stress. But she is well aware of the dueling perspectives on spas.

"On the one end you want to make sure that the workforce is in the best of shape during rough times, and on the other hand, companies are faced with the obligation to make sure they don't overspend, or are not perceived to be overspending," she says. She adds that the difficulty in finding that happy medium arises because "people will perceive it as lavish anyway." Cora says one way for companies to tackle the issue is to sandwich spa sessions in between business sessions. For companies that incorporate spa treatments into their motivation programs, it is about pinpointing that delicate ratio of work to relaxation time.

"They can work the whole morning and then take a two-hour break to do a group relaxation session," Cora suggests. "Let's say they have a conference, so they do take some other time off—if the public knows that a company has used $100,000 in getting their workforce ready and all they can see is that they went horseback-riding, had some massage therapy sessions, and some golfing opportunities, it is going to be tough to justify what they are doing. But if, on the other hand, they had working time in which they were also able to mix and match, it will be a lot easier." Distractions, she adds, may help employees ultimately become more productive. "That break may allow them to feel more creative, more relaxed, and better focused, and continue to work hard."

SimpsonScarborough, a DC-based integrated marketing and branding consultant to higher education, has begun using spa treatments as part of its corporate retreats in the method described by Cora. "We began this practice in July with massages for all employees, before talking about strategic planning, including discussion of the economy," says Teresa Valerio Parrot, vice president of the firm.

At their retreat last October, the SimpsonScarborough staff visited a spa for manicures "to repair those nails chewed off in our discussion," before continuing their meetings. Valerio Parrot has noticed several benefits from including spa treatments in their retreats, such as "increased 'can do' participation and proactive rather than reactive mindsets in difficult discussions."

A Deserved Reward

Of course, companies using spa treatments as incentive, recognition, or reward tools say the notion that spas are the ultimate in luxury and relaxation is exactly what they want their employees to perceive. "Considering all the press that incentive trips and meetings have been receiving lately, while it is a perk, it is an earned trip and has to be meaningful to them," emphasizes Barry Wegener, senior director, marketing and communications for Minneapolis-based Carlson Marketing. Wegener says that his company's planners have not seen any reduction in requests for spas in the programs they arrange. In fact, when looking at hotels, they specifically look for a spa. The incentive trips usually feature a menu of spa treatments participants can select from, "but it is no carte blanche," Wegener says. "It's an offering, like golf, and people appreciate it."

Boutique Incentive Travel's Martenis says that a lack of a spa will not prevent him from using a property for an incentive trip, but "the addition of a spa these days is certainly a positive." He also finds that his clients are increasingly choosing spas for the relaxation aspect, and less for purely aesthetic purposes. "A spa treatment, or a spa itself can be looked upon as a luxury item, as beautification, but true spas are beneficial."

"My experience is that spa is important, but most people really limit it. On my programs I will take them to a property where there is a spa, but everyone pays for their own treatments because you couldn't possibly do it in any equitable way," Martenis says. In a recent trip to the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn in California, Martenis noticed that when organizers passed around the sign-up sheet for spa treatments, many people were choosing therapeutic treatments. "A lot of what people signed up for was pool tranquility programs, how to organize yourself, yoga, and how to eat healthy; really getting into the mind-body treatments."

Another factor that individuals and spas are becoming increasingly aware of is that well-being begins with the product ingredients used in a spa treatment.

Kyra Johnson, director of the Blue Marble Spa at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa & Marina in San Diego, CA, emphasizes that the relationship between spa and overall wellness has a lot to do with the products and the ingredients used for the treatments. "Wellness is made up of a lot of different and important things, one of which is what you put in your body and one of which is what you put on your body, and the two together can have a really positive effect on your health," says Johnson. The Blue Marble Spa offers several organic product lines, including Naturopathica, SpaRitual, PharmaAesthetics, and Ayuroma.

Lynn Domenici, spa director of Verde Spa at the Bellasera Hotel in Naples, FL, adds that with stress levels so high, "I certainly can see the physical as well as mental side effects in my clients this past year. More tension in the body, more prone to injury, weight loss, or weight gain, and lack of sleep due to worry. Unfortunately, the average person's income is feeling the effects of today's economy and people are cutting back on how frequently they get massages." And although those who can afford it are coming in more frequently, Domenici has noticed more requests for massages and treatments such as the ionic cleansing foot bath, which help detoxify the body of impurities, she says. "I think people are more concerned with trying to achieve wellness as opposed to services that beautify them."

The boutique-sized, eco-friendly spa accommodates small group buy-outs or executive retreats. The spa uses organic products for their menu of treatments including the application of formaldehyde-free, vegan nail polish from Miami-based SpaRitual; essential oils, soaps, and lotions from Bottled-Earth, an organic Naples-based company that makes 100-percent natural products; and an organic and all-natural Hungarian line called Eminence made of hand-picked fruits and vegetables. Instead of using paraffin in their treatments, Verde Spa relies on soy wax because it is biodegradable and less polluting than crude-oil-based paraffin. Verde Spa also focuses on the materials used for product applicators—even the cotton in their application cotton balls and spa robes is organic.

Time to Calm Down

Since New York City is at the core of the financial crisis, it is no surprise to hear Mandarin Oriental, New York Spa Director Denise Vitiello say that many clients are voicing their concerns about feeling more stressed as a result of the economy, and coming in more often because of it. She says it is important to "give yourself that time to rebalance and refuel, emotionally and everything else, to go back into the world with more of a level head and a balanced feeling." Vitiello says the spa continues to have a solid base of incentive and corporate groups that visit, as clients "have recognized the benefit of taking care of people's health in the workplace because it actually helps them perform better."

Originally published May 1, 2009

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