Spas to the Rescue

Incentive: Travel

Spas to the Rescue
December 11, 2008
These days, the big divide isn't mind and body, it's luxury and therapeutic necessity

By Alexandra Haake

In an economic climate where government is bailing out some of the most powerful companies in the nation, and others are drowning, the topic of corporate incentive trips—and luxurious spa outings in particular—has just become more sensitive. In the October issue of Incentive, we highlighted how insurer American International Group (AIG) spent $443,000 on an incentive trip, including $23,000 in spa treatments immediately following the announcement of its taxpayer-supported, government bailout. 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 spa treatments' utility as a preventative healthcare method, they also remain an effective perk to motivate, recognize and reward employees who have excelled in their work.

"I would not cut these programs, and less so during the rough financial times," advises Gabriela Corá, MD, president of the Executive Health & Wealth Institute in Miami. "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, they will need to make sure they can bring that to their schedule." Corá says that 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 their shareholders.

"As a strategy to de-stress, spa treatments could help many people," says Corá. "If someone has been working twenty-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." Corá's experience as a wellness coach includes working with clients such as Abbott Labs, Coca-Cola and Pfizer, among others.

Corá believes that spas are a beneficial component in corporate incentive and motivation programs and for many individuals' well-being, because they serve an integral role in stress alleviation. She is well aware of the dueling perspectives on spas, pointing out that while spas are a practical and therapeutic method for reducing stress, the public often perceives them as being a lavish expenditure—even when they are intended to boost productivity and morale or to reward hardworking employees.

"You want to make sure that the workforce is in the best of shapes 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. Corá adds that one way for companies to tackle the issue is to sandwich spa treatments in between "intense business sessions." For companies that incorporate spas into their motivation and rewards programs, it is about pinpointing that delicate ratio of work to relaxation time.

"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 and had some massage therapy sessions, it is going to be tough for them to justify what they are doing," says Corá. "But if they had working time in which they were also able to mix and match, it will be a lot easier. That break may allow them to feel more creative, more relaxed, and better focused and continue to work hard."

SimpsonScarborough, a D.C.-based integrated marketing and branding consultant to higher education has begun to use spa treatments as part of its corporate retreats in the method described by Corá. "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 last retreat in 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 using the spa treatments during their retreats, including "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 Carlson Marketing. "If you do this, you will receive this" is the message to employees, he says. Wegener says that his company's planners have not seen any downturn in requests for spas in the programs they arrange. In fact, when looking at hotels, they specifically look for a spa. The incentive trips they plan usually feature a menu of spa treatments participants can select, "but it is no carte blanche," he says. "It's an offering, like golf, and people appreciate it."

Brian Martenis, managing director of Boutique Incentive Travel, a division of Gil Travel, 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. I don't really think that people going on a program expect unlimited, unrestricted anything.

"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 also finds that his clients are increasingly choosing spas for the relaxation aspect, and less for their 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."

In a recent trip to the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn in California's Sonoma Valley, Martenis noticed that when organizers passed around the sign-up sheet for spa treatments, many people chose 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."

Throughout the country, planners, companies and spas are latching on to the idea of using spas to reward employees in addition to promoting well-being for its preventative benefits. Another factor that individuals and spas are increasingly more 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, Calif., says, "Wellness is made up of a lot of different things, what you put in your body and what you put on your body. The two together can have a really positive effect on your health if you are educated about what you are using and eating," says Johnson. The spa offers several organic product lines, including Naturopathica, Farmaesthetics, SpaRitual and Ayuroma, for "consumers that are interested in what's in the bottle and what's been left out."

Lynn Domenici, Spa Director of Verde Spa at the Bellasera Hotel in Naples, Fla., is also aware of the benefits of incorporating healthy ingredients. With stress levels so high and the subsequent health detriments, she says, "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 that can afford it are coming in more frequently, Domenici has noticed that there is a greater request 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 eco-friendly spa uses organic and natural products for its treatments, including vegan nail polish from SpaRitual and all-organic cotton for cotton balls and spa robes.

Spas like Verde and Blue Marble emphasize that well-being has never been more crucial than now, and they take a multifaceted approach to deliver the anti-stress remedies.

The Right Award for Stressful Times

At the core of the financial crisis is New York City. It is no surprise, then, when Mandarin Oriental New York's Spa Director Denise Vitiello says 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.

While the spa encourages clients to book longer massages to enable massage therapists to really target the individual needs of that client, she says it is important to "give yourself that time to rebalance, 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 "people have recognized the benefit of taking care of people's health in the workplace, because it actually helps them perform better."

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