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Top Team : Marriott International – Spa Global Leadership Team
The Spa Global Leadership Team at Marriott International talk to Katie Barnes about the group’s two new global spa concepts, how they work together to run one of the biggest hotel spa divisions in the world and what else we can expect from them in the future
John Hopp,
Senior Director,
Global Spa Development
What’s your main role?
I work on behalf of Marriott’s hotel brands to provide spa concepts that support their long-term vision of the brand experience. My major focus is to manage the creative spa concepting processes and monitor the progress of all our spa brands.
How do you work with other members of the Spa Global Leadership team?
Kenneth Ryan (see p40) and I support them by designing enhancement programmes and training to elevate either revenue, service standards or both. Much of my time is dedicated to overseeing quality, audits and standards.
What’s exciting about the new Ritz-Carlton Spa concept?
It will provide systems, training and support never seen in the industry before. Spa has always been a hallmark of the Ritz-Carlton portfolio, so working to elevate the offering in a group that’s already very successful has been an interesting and unique challenge.
What impact will it have on your role?
A significant one. We’ll be undergoing an 18-month conversion of all existing Ritz-Carlton spas and I expect much of my time in 2016 will be dedicated to supporting each property as we roll out.
Spa by JW was Marriott’s first global spa brand. What made it so significant? It was our first complete spa concept, meaning there are multiple treatment, service and design elements that cannot be left out of the concept (see p44).
It was significant because we started from scratch without any preconceived ideas about what our customer wanted. It’s also allowed the JW Marriott brand to squarely position itself in the wellbeing category.
What’s the key to spa development?
I still believe it’s getting the hotel owners on board. When we’re able to share our ideas, concepts and proposals, owners are able to see our connection to the overarching parent brand and are less likely to scale back the spa project or look at outside operators for solutions.
What’s new for 2016?
Part of my role at HQ is to enable communication for our global spa community through our internal websites and in 2016 we’ll be adding a compendium of guidance tools. We’ll provide examples of different scenarios and solutions that can be applied to a spa strategy, as well as tools to help enhance revenue streams and self-guided management tools to enhance associate satisfaction.
The other part of my role will be to support the tremendous growth of our spa discipline.
"What we’ve created will provide systems, training and support like never seen in the industry before"
Suzanne Holbrook,
Corporate Director Spa Operations,
The Americas
How important is the Americas spa division at Marriott?
The regions include the US, South America, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean where we have over 70 facilities. This is around 40 per cent of all Marriott-managed spas and it’s growing rapidly – we have 15-plus opening in the next two years.
Our guests’ needs can be different from those in other continents. It’s generally a results-driven culture and they want to see a difference quickly. However, healthy ageing and wellness is starting to become far more prominent.
What’s your main role?
Developing programmes and platforms to create profitable businesses and memorable wellness experiences. And being a support and resource for our regional spas.
How closely do you work with the Spa Global Leadership team?
The brand team and Kenneth, John and I speak and collaborate very frequently. We’re a close unit and support each other, even if we don’t always agree. Spending time with the other spa continent leaders happens less frequently, but it’s always impactful – Alison Ainsworth in Europe is an amazing talent who has a wealth of knowledge.
How important is the Ritz-Carlton Spa launch to you?
It’s taking the spa division to the next level of luxury with its spectacular, bespoke treatments. We have 35 Ritz-Carltons in the Americas and the concept has enough flexibility to enable us to capture the uniqueness of each location in the spa.
And what about Spa by JW?
We have one Spa by JW open and will introduce up to six more by 2018. It’s such a dynamic, fresh concept that’s held in high regard by property owners and spa-goers. The concept of fast and slow spa is also a solution that resonates with our guests.
How involved were you in both these concepts?
Continent leaders were asked for their input. We challenge but also listen to each other, which creates the very best outcomes.
What’s on your radar for 2016?
My immediate focus is the new spa that’s opening at Marriott Coronado Island, San Diego in February. It’s a beautiful location where the communities are very wellness focused. We’ve fully integrated the ‘art of living well’ throughout the hotel – from the arrival process, restaurants and lounges to the spa hotel rooms.
After that, we’ll be developing new spa concepts for Renaissance and Marriott in the Americas.
Financial growth is always key. Last year we rolled out a treatment enhancement [up-sell] programme in the Americas and this has increased the average sale without increasing treatment time. We’ll continue to develop platforms aimed at increasing overall utilisation and average spend.
Nurturing spa talent is also high on the list. Assisting career growth is extremely rewarding and a part of my role I’ve always truly loved.
"Continent leaders were asked for their input. We challenge but also listen to each other, which creates the very best outcomes "
Alison Ainsworth,
Senior Director of Golf, Leisure and Spa Operations,
Europe
How important is the European spa division at Marriott?
We have a wonderful mix of businesses from just over 20 full-service resort spas to health clubs which offer a core range of massages and facials. Combined, this gives us around 80 spas in 19 countries.
The distinct spa traditions in European countries make it an incredibly exciting continent to run. These help to guide the concepts – from a rasul and hammam to an ice or salt cave. Those subtle touchpoints give a unique, sense of place to the experience.
What are your main responsibilities?
I get involved with everything from initial concept and design, to taking full-blown operational and financial responsibility. It’s an ideal blend of being able to set the direction, coupled with the sense of achievement when your ideas come to fruition.
How closely do you work with the Spa GLT?
Although we’re all responsible for the performance of the spas in our region, a lot of global collaboration takes place to ensure all the Marriott brands and our spas are aligned.
The continent leaders are also good at sharing initiatives and solutions with each other – quite often the most lucrative ideas come from a piece of work by a spa manager on one of the continents.
What do the two new spa concepts mean for your region?
The new Ritz-Carlton Spa concept is an incredibly exciting development which will roll out across our nine Ritz-Carlton sites to reposition our portfolio in Europe.
The beauty is that it’s a full-rounded approach which is operationally easy to introduce. A team of spa ambassadors take hotels through the conversion process which is seamlessly linked to training, collateral production and design. It also empowers our managers and therapists a with new skills.
At the moment, the Spa by JW concept isn’t in Europe.
How did you influence the Ritz-Carlton Spa concept?
Prototype designs and facility ‘must haves’ were shared with the continent teams for input and feedback. I also worked with Kenneth and ESPA to check and validate their initial direction to ensure it was industry-leading and that it could be applied to spa operations globally.
What else can we expect from you in the future?
We’ll open seven more spas by 2020, with one in Macedonia in 2016. This is an exciting project which combines the best of contemporary, western spa traditions with the locale. We also have a series of new Ritz-Carlton hotels opening in superb, gateway European cities.
As part of a global initiative, I’m developing an online booking platform for our spas (see p48). In Europe, I’m also focusing on other digital elements such as social media and exploring new platforms to build business via communities and recommendations. Both are so fundamental to the way we build business these days that we can’t ignore them.
"The distinct spa traditions in European countries make it an incredibly exciting continent to run"
Jennie Toh,
Vice President, Rooms Operations,
Asia-Pacific
I started looking after spas for Marriott in Asia about four years ago along with my focus on bedrooms and general operations such as housekeeping. We have around 180 properties with more than 50 spas managed by us.
The new Ritz-Carlton and JW spa concepts with their high standards have given us an edge and they also enable us to add local flavour into the menu such as shiatsu, Thai massage, ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. We’re waiting to convert 11 Ritz-Carlton Spas and we have another 14 in the pipeline. There are already three Spa by JWs in Hanoi, Bangalore and Mumbai and there are plans to open more than 10 in the region by 2020. Unique to our region, we also have the Quan Spa brand (see SB09/1 p26) which draws on the restorative properties of water.
We’re going to double our hotel footprint in Asia and as every new luxury hotel we build will have a spa, this part of the business will grow concurrently. Our next openings will be in Sri Lanka, Langkawi, Perth and Sanya.
"The new Ritz-Carlton and JW spa concepts have given us an edge and also enable us to add local flavour"
John Rees,
Director of Operations,
MEA
I’ve been overseeing Marriott spas in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) since 2012 and we currently manage 15 facilities with another 15 due to open by 2020.
Most of our spas have a bespoke treatment or feature you’d only find in this region such as hammams which are a major draw for guests. We also embrace unique local market offerings – Dead Sea products are a signature in our Saray Spa concept in many of Marriott hotels for example.
Africa is definitely the hottest spa development spot for us. We’re currently working on four in Morocco, three with Ritz-Carlton and one with JW. We also have projects in Cairo and Rwanda and many in sub-Saharan countries following Marriott’s recent acquisition of the Protea portfolio.
"Africa is the hottest spa development spot for us. We have projects in Morocco, Cairo and Rwanda"
