Pulse September 2016 | Page 28

ISPA Awards BY BRIANA LEE Celebrating Innovation EXPERIENCES Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat As our population faces an increasing life span, awareness and prevention are crucial in order to maintain a positive quality of life. Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat in Queensland, Australia offers a five-night specialty retreat for guests over the age of 50 which focuses on positive aging and preventative medicine. The retreat consists of key wellness seminars focusing on heart health, nutrition, emotional well-being and functional movement. Gwinganna’s positive aging program has been run three times and was fully booked on each occasion, resulting in a higher percentage of returning guests than any other program offered by the property. The combination of experts, seminars and carefully designed activities creates a unique experience which guides people toward positive aging. TRACY WILLIS Marketing and Public Relations Director SpaFinder Wellness 365 JOHN BEVAN Chief Operating Officer Spa Gregorie’s 26 PULSE ■ September 2016 According to a recent report from comScore, mobile represents 65 percent of all digital media time among consumers. In order to align with consumer behavior, SpaFinder Wellness 365 launched the first mobile application to unite the spa industry through a common payment platform. The Wellness App by SpaFinder Wellness 365 allows users to book, review and pay for spa services from their mobile phones as well as earn rewards with their purchases using the cross-brand and cross-location My365Rewards loyalty program. The app can be used at a network of more than 25,000 providers and is available for iOS and Android phones. By developing The Wellness App, SpaFinder Wellness allows its partners to take advantage of the platform without expending its own resources. Training a confident and knowledgeable spa team is a crucial facet in providing excellent service to guests. To achieve this, the team at Spa Gregorie’s in Newport Beach, California developed an interactive game to improve spa treatment knowledge among staff members. New employees are asked to watch a series of videos created by management and service technicians before playing a game similar to Tic-TacSHANNON LEIGH TAYLOR Toe, answering spa-related questions along the way. This unique Technical Director training model accelerates the learning curve by offering a visual method of learning. The traini ng game also builds the confidence needed for new employees to answer tricky questions from guests.