prices with no questions asked .“[ Higher pricing ] incentivizes the staff as well , as they ’ re making more on our price for basic Swedish massage , up from $ 165 to $ 185 .”
All panelists noted the highest demand service remains long-form massage , which Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Director of Spa Operations Deeba Haq-Androski referred to as “ the bread and butter ” of spa . Each panelist also noted that the intensive nature of 80 – 100-minute deep tissue massages has caused them to monitor therapist burnout . Shian Wing , spa director of The Spa at the Hotel Hershey and MeltSpa said ,“ We do limit the amount of deep tissue [ massages ] we book with any technician to a maximum of three per day . We try and blend in body treatments , scrubs , wraps , immersions and other services so everybody has a little bit more of a varied day to help prevent burnout .”
TAKING CARE OF THERAPISTS As many of the ISPA community ’ s sharpest talent experts have argued , the best way to manage the widespread talent shortage and keep as many therapists in the lineup as possible is to take every measure necessary to prioritize their teams ’ well-being .
Near the end of the March Town Hall , ISPA Chair Patrick Huey asked the panelists how they were looking to take care of their therapists in terms of inspiring self-care . At the Hotel Hershey in Pennsylvania , Shian Wing praised the experience of her team in managing therapists .“ My management team really takes care of the scheduling and balancing [ because ] 50 percent of them were technicians originally and actually started as technicians 20 years ago at the hotel spa . So , they really understand what it ’ s like to be in those positions and to be able to balance out everybody ’ s days with a combination [ of being able to ] really listen to the technicians and help to meet their requests . [ They ] definitely have a very , very caring nature toward their work and their general well-being …. There ’ s a very active employee appreciation committee at the hotel , and we have one at each destination throughout that really focuses on employee wellbeing and morale .”
At Las Vegas ’ Mandalay Bay , Deeba Haq-Androski noted , “ We do offer an employee gym here at the hotel , we provide meals for our staff and we really take time to meet with them . I think sometimes callouts happen when there ’ s frustration about something that may have happened , so we do have an open door policy so that they can come and chat with us and tell us what ’ s going on so they don ’ t feel so frustrated that they need to call off for the day .”
Over 2,500 miles away in South Beach , Stavnjak and her team are considering a different approach for maintaining staff morale .“[ Our ] people operations department is currently working with the employee assistance program to see if they can bring a coach onsite to be available on certain days and times for the staff if they need to speak to somebody in person and get some assistance …. There are a lot of general manager roundtables happening monthly for our hourly employees so they can share any feedback and concern , so there are a lot of ways that we try to engage our staff to be there to support them .” n
“ We try and blend in body treatments , scrubs , wraps , immersions and other services so everybody has a little bit more of a varied day to help prevent burnout .”
— SHIAN WING
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MAY / JUNE 2022 • PULSE 73