Pulse Legacy Archive January / February 2011 | Page 19

ABOUT THE SPA
report, “skills requirement and service
delivery remains the most pressing issues
hindering [the Malaysian spa industry’s]
potential growth. This is also hampered
by immigration policies that severely
restrict the hiring of foreign semi-skilled
workers and the limited number of local
spa therapists.”
And Suleiman agrees. “Malaysia is
facing an acute shortage of local skilled
therapists and, therefore, still need to hire
a certain number of foreign therapists but
getting approvals for visas for foreign
workers are getting tougher to obtain.
Fortunately, the management foresaw this
problem and invested in its own Energy
Academy which is the first Malaysian spa
academy accredited by the government
and the Confederation of International
Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology
(CIBTAC). With this, we are better off

than many other spas.” To inculcate a
caring tradition, their Energy Academy
students are further required to render
specific hours of community service by
offering therapies to people in retirement
homes, hospices and hospitals.
“We are also very active in giving back
to the community. We have trained blind
therapists and single mothers, as well as
sponsored ‘sparties’ to the physicallychallenged,” she says. “I would never
forget one individual who came up to me
and said, “People have donated cash and
all kinds of things to us…but no one has
ever given us the gift of human touch.”
For Suleiman, who not only runs a
day spa but is devoted to growing
Malaysia’s spa scene through the vision
and mission of AMSPA, nothing makes
her day than the thought of touching
lives through a day of spa. ■

Spa type: Day spa
Total construction/investment cost:
About $400,000
Spa open date: December 2002
Renovation: With the spa’s appointment in
2006 as the Malaysian representative spa of a
Swiss cosmeceutical skin care, the spa spent
an additional $85,000 in renovations cost to
update their retail and reception area.
Space in square footage: 6,500 square feet
Number of treatment rooms: Nine
treatment rooms
Interior designer: Malaysian architect
Sacha Nordin
Unique interior feature: A 100-year-old
railway sleepers used as walkway from reception to treatment rooms
Signature treatment: The Energy Day Spa
Hot Stone Combo
Guest ratio (women vs. men): 60: 40
Contact details:
Energy Day Spa
Lot 4, Level 4, Great Eastern Mall
303 Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
energymindbodyspirit.com

ISPA INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT TRENDS

L

ooking into your crystal ball and forecasting
trends is essential for planning for the year
ahead. ISPA utilizes its industry and member
research to bring you factual evidence of the movements in the spa industry. The ISPA Industry Snapshot
gives you a look into what will be big in 2011 including
trends in:

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Employment
Diversity
Environmental Sustainability
Value
Results-Oriented Treatments
Technology
Health and Wellness Education

To read the full press release, visit the Media Room on
experienceispa.com. ■

January/February 2011

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PULSE 17