August 2021 - Spa Executive

Spa Executive 

For leaders in the business of wellness 

ISSUE # 29: AUGUST 2021 

Software: 

3 ways to increase 

revenue in your spa 

Wellness: 

Kool for Men: Carlos Calvo 

Rodriguez on his new 

venture with Todd Hewit 

Staffing: 

7 ways to increase employee 

productivity in your spa 

Shane Upson 

ON BEING A “PASSION TRANSFER SPECIALIST”

ISSUE # 29: AUGUST 2021 

In this month’s 

issue: 

3 

6 

11 

15 

20 

23 

26 

7 ways to increase employee 

productivity in your spa 

Kool for Men: Carlos Calvo 

Rodriguez on his new venture 

with Todd Hewitt 

Shane Upson on being a 

“passion transfer specialist” 

How spa management software 

makes your life easier 

Featured property: 

Nobu Hotel 

3 ways to increase 

revenue in your spa 

The world needs massages right 

now to fight touch deprivation

Letter from Publisher 

Dear readers, 

One thing most people in spa and wellness share is a passion for their 

industry. The love of all things that bring about wellbeing for themselves 

and others is apparent in everything you do. Shane Upson, Director of Spa 

Operations at San Manuel Casino in Highland, CA, embodies this quality. 

Upson calls himself a “passion transfer specialist,” and his enthusiasm for 

the things he loves is infectious. 

In our spotlight interview this month, we asked Upson about this term and 

how it helps with retail revenue and retail experiences. He said, “I believe 

in changing the narrative from sales to solutions. Don’t talk about retail 

products and items. You’re talking about solutions. You’re listening to the 

guests’ needs, wants, and concerns, and offering them solutions. People are 

open to solutions. They’re not open to being sold products.” 

To read more insights from Upson, read “Shane Upson on being a “passion 

transfer specialist.” 

Speaking of passion for wellness, Carlos Calvo Rodriguez, former Assistant 

Vice President, Training at Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, has teamed with 

former ISPA chair and Shangri-La head of wellness, Todd Hewitt to launch 

KOOL 4 Men, an innovative lifestyle brand. Calvo Rodriguez talked to us about 

the brand’s mission to improve men’s lives, give back to communities and do 

their part for the environment in “Kool for Men: Carlos Calvo Rodriguez on 

his new venture with Todd Hewitt.” 

Also this month: we look at the issue of touch deprivation and why the world 

needs massage more than ever; Book4Time Sales Director, Erica Martin, 

gives you three ways to increase revenue in your spa, we discuss seven ways 

to increase employee productivity in your spa; and we take a look inside the 

elegant Nobu Hotel London Portman Square. 

I hope you enjoy reading this month’s articles in Spa Executive and they 

provide valuable information to help you achieve success. 

About 

Spa Executive: 

Spa Executive is 

Book4Time’s magazine 

for leaders in the business 

of wellness. News, views, 

and interviews for those 

who want to attract top 

talent, increase customer 

retention, and offer the best 

possible guest experience. 

The Spa 

Executive 

Team 

Publisher 

Roger Sholanki 

Creative Director 

Emily Moxley 

Editor 

Elizabeth Bromstein 

Designer 

Andrea Fernández 

Hernández 

Roger Sholanki, 

CEO 

Book4Time

A happily engaged workforce is a 

productive one. Are you getting the 

best out of your team members? 

Try these strategies to increase 

employee productivity in your spa. 

7 WAYS TO INCREASE 

EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY 

IN YOUR SPA 

Employee productivity is a key element of business success. You want your team 

to work hard, be productive, and make the best use of their time. Sometimes 

this requires coaching and guidance. Not everyone instinctively knows what 

they should be doing at all times. This is where leadership comes in. It’s up to 

leaders to create an environment where people are encouraged to be at their 

most productive. 

This means engaging employees and ensuring that they have all the tools and 

resources they need to do and be their best. 

August 2021 Issue • p. 3

HERE ARE SEVEN WAYS TO INCREASE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY 

Communicate expectations 

Too many employers in all sectors are unclear 

about what they expect from their employees, and 

then they complain when they don’t get it. From the 

moment an employee is hired, there should never 

be a time that they don’t know what is expected of 

them. If you want to increase employee productivity, 

they should know what success means for their 

role and how that fits in with what success means 

for your business. Set clear goals and targets, 

communicate those goals from day one, and keep 

communicating. A lack of communication can 

leave employees confused and unmotivated, and 

one study reportedly found that businesses with 

good communication practices were more likely 

to have lower than average turnover. 

Track and analyze data 

Once goals are set and communicated, they must 

be tracked. Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 

tell you how your business is doing and how your 

team is doing. Your spa software should be able 

to tell you everything you need to know about your 

revenue performance, retail, occupancy, and more, 

in seconds with just the click of a button. Then we 

determine what role the employee plays in those 

KPIs and whether they are meeting expectations. 

Staff KPIs might include retail penetration (retail 

vs services), request rates, and repeat guests. How 

much is their average ticket and are they doing 

well at upselling? Are they frequently requested by 

guests or not at all? If goals are easily reached, 

move them, or your employees will have nothing 

to work towards. 

Respect your employees for the unique 

value they bring 

Analyze performance from more than one angle. 

It’s important to look at retail sales, but also at 

how much unique value a service provider brings 

overall. For example: maybe Lisa is a sales dynamo 

and many customers love her exuberant energy. 

Jeremy is more of a quiet and calming personality 

whose retail numbers are significantly lower than 

Lisa’s. But, upon further inspection, you learn that 

Jeremy has a much higher request rate and that 

Lisa and Jeremy bring equal value — or maybe 

Jeremy even brings more. Maybe this is because 

people enjoy his lower key energy and lack of sales 

pressure, and some of Jeremy’s clients would 

actually stop requesting and recommending him if 

he started pushing retail sales. Does it make sense 

to tell Jeremy he has to sell more retail? Maybe 

not. Be careful of working against your employee’s 

strengths and, ultimately, against your business. 

Offer feedback and coaching 

That said, people often need help. Be there to 

provide it and make sure that your team has all the 

resources they need to reach company goals. Give 

feedback in a constructive and productive way. Tell 

people when they’re doing well and don’t reserve 

feedback for when you have something negative to 

say. If there are areas that need improvement, offer 

support and solutions rather than just criticism. 

Be consistent, doing regular check-ins rather than 

once or twice yearly check ins. Everyone will be 

more productive if you communicate regularly. 

Recognize and reward performance and 

improvement 

Offering performance incentives is a great way 

to motivate employees. Employee incentive 

programs are great, but avoid only recognizing 

top performers. When companies do this they 

risk falling into a trap of always recognizing the 

same people: the A Players. This means that your 

B Players are consistently overlooked, and that is 

demotivating and demoralizing for them. It’s also 

unfair. Not everyone can be A Players, and, while 

your B Players don’t bring in the most revenue 

individually, as a group, they likely make up the 

bulk of your revenue. You don’t want to lose them. 

So, reward them too. Also, rewards are great but 

don’t underestimate the power of praise and a 

heartfelt “thank you.” 


Trust people to make decisions 

Make sure everyone has what they need 

to be great 

Your team members should not be spending time 

on tasks that could otherwise be automated and 

looking for information that should be readily 

available to them. What this means: 

• Making guest information available before 

an appointment so service providers 

know who they will be working with. Your 

software system should store your guests’ 

names, purchase and treatment history, 

personal preferences (sparkling water over 

tea, Brahms over Enya, favourite scent is 

rosemary-lime, etc.), details like robe and 

slipper size, and even past conversations, 

across multiple properties and make it 

readily viewable for those who need to see 

it. Then your team can access all of this 

before an appointment to prepare a highly 

personalized experience. 

An empowered team is a productive team. 

When people feel like they have to consult 

a superior before doing anything – whether 

it’s offering a small gift with a service to a 

loyal customer, moving an appointment, or 

reversing the charge on a service due to a 

complaint – that is exactly what they will 

do, and that eats up time and morale. When 

you step back and trust your team, rather 

than micromanaging their every move, they 

grow into the space offered to them and 

take responsibility. This makes everyone 

more productive and operations run 

more smoothly. 

It’s easy to motivate people with the right 

tools and resources. An engaged workforce 

is a productive one. 

• Optimizing schedules with no double booking 

and no long gaps between appointments for 

individual providers. 

• Making these schedules viewable from 

anywhere with a cloud-based system so 

your team can be prepared. 

• Properly managing inventory in your 

software system so everyone knows what is 

available and items that have run out can be 

immediately restocked. 

• Utilizing online and mobile booking, 

virtual intake, and contactless payment 

options to free up front desk staff time and 

allow them to productively focus on the 

guest experience. 


KOOL FOR MEN: 

CARLOS CALVO RODRIGUEZ 

ON HIS NEW VENTURE WITH 

TODD HEWITT 

Carlos Calvo Rodriguez and 

Todd Hewitt have teamed with 

two more friends to launch 

KOOL for Men, an innovative 

and exciting lifestyle brand. 

KOOL for Men is an innovative lifestyle 

brand for men featuring a collection of 

clean, conscious, sustainable grooming 

and wellness products designed to help 

active men look better, feel better, perform 

better, do better, and live better. 


and more; a grooming range; and a soon-to-launch 

skincare and makeup line. All of these were created 

by leading industry experts and meticulously 

formulated by doctors, nutritionists, and scientists 

from around the globe. 

KOOL for Men’s line is currently available for 

purchase in Hong Kong with a variety of payment 

options, while international transactions outside of 

Hong Kong can be made through Bitcoin, making 

the brand one of the first men’s lines in the world 

to offer cryptocurrency as a payment method. 

Also great is that a portion of the proceeds will 

support the children’s charity, GO Campaign, an 

organization with a mission to provide children 

around the world with access to education, 

medical care, shelter, food and clean water, 

and enrichment. 

What’s not to love? 

We spoke with Carlos Calvo Rodriguez (always a 

pleasure) about the KOOL for Men concept and 

the drive behind this amazing venture. 

Talk to me about the KOOL for Men concept 

The new global brand is led by four men who have 

made health, wellness, balance, and connection 

part of their lives. The co-founders include Todd 

Hewitt, former chair of the International Spa 

Association and head of wellness for Shangri- 

La Hotels and Resorts; Carlos Calvo Rodriguez, 

wellness expert and former Assistant Vice 

President, Training (Spa) at Shangri-La Hotels and 

Resorts; fitness expert and Hong Kong Crossfit 

gym owner Allen Cai; and popular Chinese 

influencer Berlin Tan. 

The unique, results-driven collection includes 

CBD tinctures, gummies, sprays, soft gels, and 

relief rubs; topical wellness patches to support 

immunity, energy, male endurance, joint mobility, 

When we decided to start this project, we had 

three things in mind: improve men’s lives, give 

back to the communities and do our part for the 

environment by having clean ingredients and 

being vegan friendly. 

There are a lot of hidden toxic chemicals in skincare 

products. They don’t even list them because they 

don’t have to if they are in a minimal amount. 

We wanted to be entirely natural, organic when 

possible, and to have all non-toxic ingredients, 

without parabens, sulphates, phthalates, etc. In 

small doses, you might think that these chemicals 

are okay, but you get to the point that you can harm 

yourself, just think how often you put them on your 

skin. And there are so many of those products on 

the market. We wanted to do something different 

in that area as well as being cruelty-free. 


Another key point for us is giving back to the community. We wanted to help kids, and we found the Go 

Campaign. The good thing with them is that 100% of the donations go to the projects. Sometimes with 

charities or foundations, 80% of it goes to the admin expenses and only a little to the actual projects. 

We’re happy because we’re able to choose the projects to which we donate. Kids are the future, and if 

we can contribute through Kool For Men, then we reach one of our dearest goals – contribution. 

You have launched CBD products and wellness patches and will be launching a skincare/ 

makeup line, correct? 

Yes. The idea was to start with skincare and makeup, but we encountered a few issues because of our 

specific requirements. It was hard to find a lab to work with that could meet all our needs. We eventually 

found one in New Zealand, and in the meantime, we decided to debut the CBD line and the wellness 

patches, which are coming out of different labs in the US and UK. We aim to launch the skincare and 

makeup line at the beginning of next year. We also have the grooming line, which are eyebrow and beard 

pencils that are pretty popular here in Asia. 


Tell us about the patches 

These patches are indeed the best. I liked the idea 

because I take a few supplements on a daily basis. 

I’m a vegetarian, and I take B12, iron, and some 

other things. So, you end up taking six or seven 

pills, plus your multivitamin. Plus, when you take 

a pill, they have to go through the stomach, and 

the absorption is not a hundred percent. But, with 

the patches, you put them on your skin and absorb 

them throughout the day. The advantages are that 

you don’t have to take any extra pills, and it doesn’t 

go through the digestive system. You stick it on 

and forget about it and get a higher absorption to 

your bloodstream. 

Talk about your decision to use 

cryptocurrency 

We always wanted to use Bitcoin, and currently, 

that is what is allowing us to sell globally. People 

might be a little scared of that, but cryptocurrencies 

are here to stay, whether we like it or not. People 

will get used to it. Twenty years ago, people were 

scared to use their credit cards online. It was like, 

“Oh no, I’m not going to put my credit card on the 

website because they’re going to steal it.” 

And now we don’t even look. We just type it in. 

So, it’s going to take time, but we want to be on 

that trend because our target audience is males 

between 25 and 45 years old, and those are the 

people who created cryptocurrency and the people 

who will start to use it daily. 

Did you start this business out of COVID 

necessity? 

Todd and I have known each other for 14 plus 

years, and we always wanted to create a side 

business. We had started working on it. Then 

COVID hit at the beginning of 2020, and things 

started to shut down. My last day of work was 

December 31, 2020. We knew that something 

was going to happen with our department. All the 

hotels were closed, all the spas were closed. It 

got to a point where we realized we need to push 

this through because it was going to be our next 

gig. We realized that COVID and its effects would 

not go away anytime soon and that we needed to 

dedicate 100% to the project. But I always wanted 

to do something entrepreneurial, and suddenly I 

had the time to focus on this opportunity. So, yes, 

we were pushed, but I think it’s more that COVID 

has allowed us to say, okay, let’s really do this. 

More of an opportunity than a necessity! 

And we have further plans. We own the rights to 

KOOL for Women, KOOL for Kids. KOOL for Pets, 

KOOL for All, and Kool Botanicals. So, we’re here 

for a while, for the long run. 


DISCOVER THE 

WORLD OF SOTHYS 

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, the SOTHYS 

family is organizing an International Summit on 

September 27th and 28th, 2021, accessible and free 

to all professionals in the SPA industry. 

The origins of the SOTHYS Summit take us to the 

United States. SOTHYS, a branch of SOTHYS Paris 

Group launched its first Summit back in 2020 and its 

second summit at the beginning of the year 2021 to 

help and support its partners during the Covid crisis. 

The SOTHYS USA Summit gathered more than 

1500 professionals online for 2 days of live classes 

during which attendees immersed themselves in the 

SOTHYS world and improved their training, sales, 

and marketing skills. 

Strong off its past Summit experiences, SOTHYS 

USA joined forces with SOTHYS Paris to organize 

and create the first online professional skincare 

Summit Worldwide. 

THE GOAL? 

Share SOTHYS knowledge with the world by 

creating one online event with its partners located in 

120 countries. 

At SOTHYS International Summit, attendees will 

have the opportunity to discover, participate and 

exchange with spa experts on training, well-being, 

business, and marketing topics. 

SOTHYS invites all the professionals in the spa 

industry to surf with them on this new digital 

wellness trend and discover its universe from 

another perspective. 

Many surprises, fun experiences, exciting new 

launches, and success story interviews are planned 

during this summit. 

To register and download the program, follow 

this link: 

https://sothys-summit.orbits.live/registration 

ABOUT 

SOTHYS: 

For 75 years, the Sothys brand has been known for its commitment to research 

and innovation and is recognized as an expert in avant-garde aesthetics for men 

and women.It developed Digi-Esthétique®, an exclusive massage method which 

is now poised to turn salon treatments into an unforgettable experience for the 

senses, with beauticians playing a key role. The brand owns more than 15,000 

salons and spas (including 1,000 salons and 50 hotel spas in France) and has long 

been present in the most prestigious hotels in 120 countries across the globe.

SHANE UPSON ON BEING 

A “PASSION TRANSFER 

SPECIALIST” 

Shane Upson talked with Spa 

Executive about why he calls 

himself a “passion transfer 

specialist,” why some spas 

struggle with retail, and what 

he’s excited about. 


Shane Upson is a luxury hospitality leader 

with a passion for the high-end spa/salon, 

beauty and retail industry. 

An eclectic career history began in culinary 

art and education and evolved into wellness 

and all things hospitality. On the way, Mr. 

Upson worked in the entertainment industry 

as a model and actor, and as a regional sales 

manager for Rock & Republic, with stints at 

Saks Fifth Avenue and some boutique beauty 

brands in between. His hospitality career 

includes positions at InterContinental Hotels 

& Resorts, W Hotels, and Hilton Hotels & 

Resorts. 

He recently took on a new role as Director 

of Spa Operations at San Manuel Casino 

in Highland, California. A bold personality, 

Mr. Upson takes a passionate and creative 

approach to leadership that motivates and 

begets positive results. 

We spoke to Shane Upson about why he calls 

himself a “passion transfer specialist,” why 

some spas struggle with retail, and what he’s 

excited about. 

I spent some time in the entertainment industry 

and fell in love with makeup artistry. I became 

passionate about it. There was something beautiful 

about empowering an individual by just making 

them a more glamorous version of themselves or 

showing them the way to embrace who they 

really are. 

I then managed salons and spas, moved on to Saks 

Fifth Avenue, then to smaller scale beauty brands 

and was a regional manager for Rock & Republic 

for three years. But, I wanted to work with small 

teams again, rather than having 1600 associates 

across the country or internationally. So I took a 

chance and went back to the spa industry. 

You call yourself a “passion transfer 

specialist.” Can you elaborate on that? 

When I talk about what I love I get so engaged in 

it and it comes across in a very authentic way. 

I’m very passionate about the things that I love. 

People tell me “You could sell me anything.” But I 

hate being called a salesperson. My perception of 

sales is of someone trying to earn a commission 

rather than doing what’s right for the other person. 

I just speak from a place of passion and try to 

transfer that passion, and this makes people want 

whatever it is I’m talking about. So, I started calling 

myself a passion transfer specialist. 

Can you talk about your career trajectory 

and how you came to be where you are 

today? 

My career started in food and beverage. I went to 

school for culinary arts, graduated when I was 17 

years old, and started cooking for Steve and Elaine 

Wynn, opening up hotels in Las Vegas at age 17. 

But I realized quickly that my personality was too 

strong for the confines of a small kitchen, so I 

decided to go to the front of the house and make 

some tips. 

Does that mindset help with your retail 

revenue and retail experiences? 

It does. People are resistant to sales. The minute 

you think you’re being sold to, your guard goes 

up and you cautiously listen to whatever is being 

said. I believe in changing the narrative from 

sales to solutions. Don’t talk about retail products 

and items. You’re talking about solutions. You’re 

listening to the guests’ needs, wants, and concerns, 

and offering them solutions. People are open to 

solutions. They’re not open to being sold products. 


Why do you think so many spas struggle 

with retail? 

Oftentimes it’s a lack of communication and a lack 

of accountability. It’s not part of the conversation 

and it’s not set as an expectation. If an expectation 

isn’t set, people will always fail to meet it. It’s not 

top of mind, it’s an afterthought. Making it part of 

your language and talking to your team about it on 

a consistent basis will change the environment. 

I like to make goals mandatory and hold people 

accountable. According to research on retail 

penetration to services, between 10-12% of service 

revenue should be represented by retail sales for 

massage therapists. For estheticians, it should be 

40-100%, and in the nail and hair space it should 

be 20-25%. I put that into my job descriptions and 

give people the tools to meet those expectations. 

We need to consistently be talking about it, giving 

our teams the tools and encouragement they 

need, and tracking progress so they know where 

they stand. 

One of my best practises is using the retail 

report card in the Book4Time system, which 

makes tracking very easy. I also have coaching 

conversations with my teams, and work with each 

of them individually to learn about their passion 

points and individualize their approach. 

You have said that you love Book4Time. 

Can you talk about some ways it’s made 

your life easier in places you’ve worked? 

In every way. It’s difficult to nail down how much 

easier everything is with the system. It’s just ease 

of use, being able to manipulate appointments, 

working with guests, having your marketing 

campaigns at your fingertips without having to 

partner with other departments. 

The fact that teams can see their appointments 

and changes in real time on their phones because 

it’s cloud based. If a system isn’t cloud based, 

you print appointments out at the end of the day 

and what happens if something changes? They 

don’t know about it. The team is more in tune with 

what’s going on and more connected. There are so 

many different ways that the system works well. 

In major corporations senior management wants 

to see reports and numbers before they will give 

you approval for something. With Book4Time 

you have everything that you need to show those 

reports and also to be able to run a successful 

operation and deliver a luxury level of service. It’s 

everything. It’s like a full service spa concierge at 

your fingertips. I love it. 


Thank you! What makes a great luxury guest 

experience? 

I think it’s the extra little touches that make a big difference. 

Having more than just the basics and going beyond. 

Remembering the guests name and previous conversation 

topics. They feel special when you remember their dog’s 

name or what they talked about during their last visit. 

That’s another way Book4Time is wonderful because you 

can enter this information into the guest’s profile. 

People want to know that they matter and that you’ve 

heard them and remember them. So, when Mrs. Jones’ 

profile pops up and reminds you that her husband had 

just been through knee surgery the last time you saw her, 

you can ask about it and maybe recommend a great CBD 

cream that might help with his pain. 

What are you excited about? 

I’m excited about the rise of interest in wellness and the 

love and admiration we’re seeing for the wellness industry. 

Rather than being an amenity, as it was for so many years, 

it’s become a requirement for a lot of travelers and it’s the 

main topic of conversation. 

That connection to wellness, spirit, and overall wellbeing 

is extremely exciting. Everything that we, as passionate 

wellness people, have been preaching has now come to 

the forefront and become part of the mainstream. Where 

we may have been lower down on the priorities list for 

some hotels or brands in the past, now we’re at the top of 

the list. Owners of these properties are demanding that 

there be a wellness component in their new builds. It’s a 

beautiful and exciting time. 


If you’re managing a spa, 

you’re pulled in a millions 

different directions at once. 

Spa management software can 

make your life a lot easier. 

HOW SPA MANAGEMENT 

SOFTWARE MAKES YOUR 

LIFE EASIER 


Running a spa means juggling a lot to keep things running smoothly. There’s so much to do, from 

booking appointments and looking after guests, to managing and supporting your staff, day-to-day 

administration, tracking KPIs, and keeping stakeholders happy – often while understaffed. There are 

ways to make this life easier with spa management software. 

Software is an incredible tool that can help you streamline operations, track data, understand your 

business operations, take care of admin work, maintain guest relationships, and more. 

Here’s how spa management software makes your life easier. 

Integrations are easy with spa management software 

If you’re using other systems, like a property 

management system, point of sale system, or 

access control system, you want to integrate all 

your systems for a seamless guest experience, to 

save time, and to make everything more efficient. 

In software, an integration is where two solutions 

exchange data. 

Say Company A is a retail POS solution and 

Company B is an eCommerce solution. A retail 

business that uses Company A’s solution for 

instore purchases and Company B’s solution for 

online purchases without an integration has to 

manually track stock levels every time a sale is 

made online or in store, to ensure they don’t sell 

something they don’t have. This is a tedious and 

time-consuming task that leaves plenty of room 

for error. 

An integration allows Company B to share 

transaction information with Company A and 

vice versa, and inventory levels are adjusted 

automatically. Easy. 

This is just one example of how software 

integrations make life easy. Integrations allow 

businesses to save time, improve customer 

experience, run smoothly and do things they would 

never be able to do otherwise. 


Understanding your business operations 

is easy 

A comprehensive reporting suite is the key to 

understanding what’s happening in your business, 

so you can see what’s working and what isn’t, 

optimize operations and set realistic projections 

for the future based on real-time data. 

Tracking your KPIs manually is a time-consuming 

nightmare and there is no excuse for doing it 

anymore. Data is king and you must be able to 

access and understand your own data if you want 

to be competitive in today’s market. Real-time 

intelligence and dashboards provide you with 

reports on occupancy, operational efficiency, sales 

performance, and other KPIs (service specific 

reports, for example, allow you to conduct analyses 

of the success/failure of special promotions) and 

are easy to export to Excel. All of this puts the 

power to improve your business into your 

own hands. 

Administrative tasks are easy 

The right software takes care of administrative 

tasks so that you can focus on the guest 

experience. For example, you can save hours 

of time with automated end-of-day reports and 

financial summaries, and calculation of pay 

rates and commissions earned on products and 

services sold. The information you need is 

easily extracted. 

Shane Bird, Director of Spa Operations at 

Turning Stone Resort Casino, told us that using 

Book4Time’s booking and payment systems 

allowed Turning Stone to reduce time spent on 

payroll from 6-7 hours a week to about 15 minutes. 

This is a 95% reduction in time spent, or 350 hours 

saved per year. 

Bird also said, “It was taking another 5-6 hours 

every day for someone in finance to sit and audit 

the transactions. Book4Time has eliminated 

all of that. We estimate that our time spent on 

administrative tasks overall was reduced by about 

92%, which is monstrous.” 

Software will also automatically track loyalty 

points and update balances on customer 

accounts. It easily integrates with a hotel PMS, 

processes room charges in real-time, and can 

transfer all spa revenue to your hotel system. Plus, 

inventory management is a breeze when you can 

centrally track and view balances across all of your 

locations in real time with a central, cloud-based 

online tool. Track purchase order progress in real 

time over the cloud, automatically update on-hand 

counts, easily record received products. 

Personalizing the guest experience is easy 

Centrally managed notes, guest profiling, and 

automatic alerts allow you to log all of your 

guest information, build customer profiles, and 

give your staff quick access to that information, 

across multiple locations. This makes it easy to 

personalize guest experience, no matter which of 

your spas they’re visiting. 

Build relationships and make emotional 

connections. Be ready before the guest arrives at 

your spa. Access purchase history and preferences 

collected across multiple points of contact. Keep 

notes of customers’ important dates, like birthdays 

and anniversaries, and records of conversation 

topics, so staff and therapists can pick up where 

they left off and ask about that recent trip to 

Europe or family member’s graduation. 

This level of personalization makes people feel 

seen and appreciated and there is no stronger 

relationship builder than making someone feel 

seen and appreciated. 

Justifying your needs is easy 

Hotel and resort spa directors may have to go 

through several layers of approval before being 

able to upgrade or make any changes. Spa and 

wellness has traditionally had a difficult time 

justifying costs and is often regarded as an 

afterthought. Stakeholders want to see that their 

investment will be returned, which is hard to 

demonstrate without evidence of past success. 


Comprehensive reporting dashboards are the 

answer. With these, it’s easy to pull up the numbers 

to show exactly how well your spa is doing, how it 

could be doing better, and what you need to make 

that happen. The proof is at your fingertips. 

Daisy Tepper, Spa Director at The Post Oak Hotel 

at Uptown Houston, a Forbes Five Star hotel and 

spa, is a great example. She used Book4Time’s 

reports to justify the cost of a new treatment room. 

She said, “The treatment room utilization shows 

us how much money our rooms are pulling in and 

what we can do better regarding occupancy. This 

report actually allowed me to justify the cost of a 

new treatment room for the spa. The owner of the 

Post Oak is all about performance and he needs to 

see justification before he can decide if he’s going 

to expand the spa and how. I ran the report and 

he could immediately see the benefit, so he gave 

me the money to build another one. I’m happy to 

report that we’re getting a beautiful new couples 

suite with a fireplace!” 

Vivian Villamizar, Spa Director at The Palms 

AVEDA Spa, Miami Beach, also told Spa Executive 

that Book4Time is “very user friendly.” She said, 

“I have therapists who didn’t even dare to use our 

system before, They now feel very confident about 

using the software system.” 

And Jane Fellows, Spa Manager at The Willow 

Stream Spa at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn 

& Spa, said, “I think the thing that I hear from most 

of the team is that they like the ease of actually 

reading the diary and the interface itself. If you’ve 

got a busy day, it’s easy to look at the screen and 

you can see the provider, the guest, the treatment, 

the room that will be used. It’s very straightforward. 

They don’t have to dig into anything to find any 

information. 

“It’s very simple and easy to read. I run a report and 

it’s got what I need.” 

ARE YOU READY TO MAKE YOUR 

LIFE EASIER? 

There are a number of different spa management 

software solutions on the market. One of the top 

platforms for hotels and spas today is Book4Time, 

which offers more than 200 reports and has the 

widest scope of integrations in the industry. There 

are many things our customers love about our 

software, but we think the one thing we hear most 

often is that they love how easy it is to use. 

Daisy Tepper, who we mentioned above, Spa 

Director at the Post Oak Hotel, said, “When you 

hire someone, the easier the system is for them to 

learn, the better for us. [Book4Time is] very userfriendly. 

That’s what I was looking for, and that’s 

what I got.” 



FEATURED PROPERTY: 

NOBU HOTEL LONDON 

PORTMAN SQUARE 

The Nobu Hotel London 

Portman Square is an elegant, 

contemporary new property 

defined by a unique aesthetic 

and exceptional culinary 

experiences.

Nobu Hotel London Portman Square is a stunning 249-room 

property in Marylebone, London, the 13th hotel from the 

iconic brand and third collaboration between L+R Hotels and 

Nobu Hospitality. 

The property features a signature Nobu Restaurant & Bar, 

year-round outdoor terrace, two-bedroom Nobu Penthouse, 

and Nobu Pilates studio. Drawing inspiration from Japanese 

architectural disciplines and minimalist design, and using a 

refined color palette influenced by heritage Japanese color 

combinations, Nobu employs a contemporary approach to 

aesthetics and hospitality. Central to the unique aesthetic is a 

focus on exceptional craftsmanship, from hand-blown glass 

chandeliers and bespoke lighting to large scale sculpture 

and original artworks. 


Elegantly appointed rooms 

The hotel boasts elegantly appointed rooms and four suite categories: One Bedroom 

Suite, Zen Suite, Saijoukai Suite and the two-bedroom, top-floor Nobu Penthouse offering 

unparalleled 360-degree views of London. Rooms and suites feature striking wall prints, 

bespoke lighting, an abundance of natural light and materials that create a calm, bright, 

warm environment. 

Exceptional culinary experiences 

The iconic Nobu Berkeley Street restaurant has moved into this new space, bringing with it 

the signature handcrafted approach to cuisine and continuing a 15-year legacy of exceptional 

culinary experiences. And in the Roku Japanese Gin Garden at Nobu Portman Square, 

guests can enjoy an authentic taste of Haru (Japanese spring) in the floral and sweet aroma 

of cherry blossom in the Roku Gin cocktails and the spring-like ambience of the ornately 

designed terrace. Signature dishes from the Nobu Restaurant menu include Nigiri & Sashimi, 

classic Bento Boxes and Nobu’s famous Black Cod Miso and Yellowtail Jalapeno. Based on 

the Japanese culinary concept of ‘shun’ – to enjoy food and drink in their proper season – 

cocktails in the Gin Garden feature ingredients harvested at the peak of their flavor, like the 

Sakura flower harvested in the spring and green tea in the summer. 

Fitness and wellness at Nobu Hotel London Portman Square 

Fitness and wellness offerings include a comprehensive range of both traditional and 

cutting-edge treatments, as well as a state-of-the-art gym, pilates studio, and juice bar. 

Nobu Hotel’s Wellness Centre features three beautiful treatment rooms offering an array of 

bespoke, luxury treatments specially curated to reflect the brand’s core beliefs. 

These include: 

N O B U Z E N 

“Our signature Nobu massage uses 

techniques from across the world and is 

tailored to each guest. No two bodies are 

alike and no one treatment will fit them all. 

Our talented therapists utilise a combination 

of several massage techniques along with 

your own chosen oil blend in a completely 

customised treatment. Feel stress and 

tension melt away.” 

N O B U N A G O M I R I T U A L 

“This ritual takes you on a journey to 

stimulate the senses. Beginning with a 

body exfoliation with our coconut shell 

cream body scrub the treatment follows 

with an Asian-inspired bespoke massage, 

combined with warm handmade coconut 

poultices. Finish with a soothing mini facial 

massage to release stress and rejuvenate 

the skin. Muscles are soothed, joint mobility 

is increased, and your mind is left feeling 

grounded.” 

Nobu Hotel London Portman Square also regularly hosts highly-regarded therapists at the Wellness Centre. 


3 WAYS TO INCREASE 

REVENUE IN YOUR SPA 

It’s not always easy to measure 

ROI but these three ways to 

increase revenue in your spa 

are effective and quantifiable. 

By Erica Martin, 

Sales Director at Book4Time 


There are many ways of increasing profitability 

in the wellness industry but it’s not always easy 

to measure their true impact on the bottom 

line. Focusing on enhancing the overall guest 

experience and improving staff efficiency are sure 

fire ways of increasing revenue but quantifying the 

ROI of these strategies isn’t straightforward. 

Today I’ll focus on some of the more direct, 

measurable ways of bringing in more money and 

ensuring a steady cash flow. Here are three ways 

to increase revenue in your spa. 

Focus on ease of booking 

It’s no secret that accessibility and ease of booking 

are important when it comes to maximizing 

occupancy. As things start to ramp up again, people 

are looking to fill their calendars and indulge in the 

favorite activities they’ve been deprived of for so 

long. Now, more than ever, people want quick and 

immediate access to their desired services and 

to secure a booking as quickly as possible. While 

most spas (thankfully) now offer online booking, 

in many cases there isn’t a clear path for guests 

to get there. Countless times we’ve come across 

websites where you need to search and scroll, 

sometimes through several pages, to find that tiny 

“Book Now” button. In these cases, guests are 

more likely to lose interest or get frustrated and 

move on to one of your competitors. Keep your 

booking button front and center on your main web 

page, or on the spa page on your hotel website. 

This doesn’t mean it has to be right in the middle 

but somewhere visible and easy to access is key. If 

you have your treatment menu directly laid out on 

your site you can add a link to book that specific 

service next to each description. Another option 

is to build the booking tool directly into your site 

which would allow you to customize even more of 

the booking experience and overall flow for 

your guests. 

Other ways you can direct guests to view your menu 

and book an appointment include QR codes. Hotel/ 

resort or casino spas can place advertisements 

for the spa with QR code at the hotel front desk 

and on posters throughout the property. Booking 

and menus should also be easily accessible from 

the guest room, either from a QR code or an inroom 

or IPTV style app. And hotel confirmation 

emails are a great way to prompt guests to book 

their spa appointments before they arrive. 

For local day spas or those looking to bring in 

more local guests, advertising on social media and 

ensuring your booking link is available through your 

bio on all of your social media pages is important. 

Search engines, like Google, also allow you to set 

up integrated booking right from your company 

profile. In your spa confirmation or follow up 

emails it’s helpful to include your booking link to 

either direct guests to invite a friend, perhaps with 

a referral incentive, or to simply book their next 

appointment. 

Enhancements and upselling 

Add-ons or spa enhancements are another way 

to directly increase your average ticket and bring 

in additional revenue. Look at offering a wide 

selection of add-on options and allow guests to 

select from a list of enhancements that can be 

added to their service without increasing the 

appointment time. Essential oils, scalp massage, 

eye or lip treatment and enhanced masks or 

exfoliation options, such as dry brushing, are all 

great options. Make these enhancements available 

on your online booking site, so the guest has the 

option to add to their service directly at the time 

of booking. In addition, this could be part of your 

intake process and something your therapist can 

offer the guest as part of a consultation before 

the start of their treatment. Give your therapists 

incentives when it comes to the number of addons 

or enhancements they sell, or their overall 

average ticket, and create an internal competition 

making it fun for everyone. 


Of course retail product upsells are a huge 

revenue driver for the spa. The way products are 

recommended to guests is key as it should be a 

smooth process internally for staff and should 

appear seamless and genuine to the guest. Make 

sure therapists are able to notify the front desk of 

which products are being recommended so that 

they can have them ready for the guest to physically 

see at checkout, and that both your therapists and 

front desk staff are well versed and trained on the 

benefits of each item and product line to ensure 

a continuous conversation, no matter where the 

guest is in the spa. Recommend a few select 

products and outline the reasons those would 

work well to create the best overall experience for 

your guest. 

Gifting and recurring revenue 

Spa services and self-care make great gifts. 

Offering spa gift certificates for treatments, 

packages and series, or set monetary amounts 

is essential to securing advanced revenue. In 

addition to offering gift cards or physical gift 

certificates in the spa, online gift certificates are 

a great option. Around the holidays people are 

always looking for quick gift ideas that they know 

their loved ones will appreciate. The same goes 

for personal celebratory milestones like birthdays, 

bridal showers, weddings, honeymoons, and even 

baby-moon gifts, which we’re seeing more and 

more of. Make the buying and delivery process 

quick and painless for your buyers which will allow 

you to accommodate last minute shoppers and 

buyers who may not live close to their intended 

recipient. If guests can purchase gift certificates 

online they can print it off themselves and send it 

as part of a card of gift, or just email it directly to 

the recipient. This also helps to improve your staff 

efficiency around holiday time and alleviate lines 

of holiday shoppers at your spa. 

Packages and series are also great for local guests 

to purchase for themselves and take advantage 

of discounted services when purchased in bulk. 

This helps to keep guests coming back and to 

fill up your downtime if you place restrictions on 

when they can be redeemed. Referrals and loyalty 

incentives are another way of incentivising guests 

to keep coming back and spreading the word 

about your spa. For example, a discount or spa 

credit incentive if they refer their friends and/or a 

discount or credit if they spend a certain amount 

on certain items. 


THE WORLD NEEDS 

MASSAGES RIGHT 

NOW TO FIGHT TOUCH 

DEPRIVATION 

Touch deprivation has 

become a rampant problem. 

Here’s how spas can support 

people suffering from it. 


As the world does its best to return to normal 

and people start travelling and visiting spas and 

wellness businesses again, there is an urgency for 

human touch. Touch is a human need and we’ve 

been missing it. 

Whether you’re accustomed to getting a lot of it 

may depend on where you live. People in some 

countries touch each other a lot more than others. 

In the 1960s, psychologist Sidney Jourard studied 

conversations between two friends sitting in cafes 

in different parts of the world and found that: In 

England, the friends didn’t touch each other at all. 

In the United States, they touched each other twice. 

In France, they touched each other 110 times per 

hour. In Puerto Rico, they touched each other 180 

times. So, maybe how much people miss it will 

depend on how accustomed they were to touch 

before the pandemic. But we can conclude that, 

no matter where you live, people are desperately 

missing touch and will be seeking it out. 

Touch deprivation increases negative 

health outcomes 

Touch deprivation goes by many names – touch 

starvation, touch depression, affection deprivation, 

touch hunger, or skin hunger — and has been 

discussed at length in the media recently, but the 

science isn’t new. Nor is it a trivial concern. In the 

1990s, scientists traveled to Romania to study 

sensory deprivation of children in understaffed 

orphanages. They reportedly found that the touchdeprived 

children showed significantly lower 

growth development than children who were not 

touch deprived. 

According to the Texas Medical Centre, “Touch 

starvation increases stress, depression and anxiety, 

triggering a cascade of negative physiological 

effects. The body releases the hormone cortisol as 

a response to stress, activating the body’s “flightor-fight” 

response. This can increase heart rate, 

blood pressure, respiration and muscle tension, 

and can suppress the digestive system and 

immune system—increasing the risk of infection.” 

The pandemic has brought an epidemic of touch 

starvation to the forefront. Spas are well positioned 

to meet that head on with massage therapy, body 

treatments, facials, and signature services. This 

is something to communicate to your guests: that 

it’s OK to need human touch and that your team 

members are there to provide it. 

Touch has multiple physical and mental 

health benefits 

Touch can even help people fight off infection and 

disease. As mentioned above, touch deprivation 

can increase risk of infection. And being touched 

can reduce that risk. A study of healthy adults 

examined the roles of perceived social support and 

received hugs in buffering against susceptibility to 

infectious disease. Participants were exposed to a 

virus that causes a common cold and monitored 

in quarantine to assess infection and illness signs. 

The researchers found that “Among infected 

participants, greater perceived support and more 

frequent hugs each predicted less severe illness 

signs. These data suggest that hugging may act 

as an effective means of conveying support.” 

Massage shows similar benefits against illness. 

Tiffany Field, director of University of Miami 

School of Medicine’s Touch Research Institute, told 

Greater Good Magazine, “We found that massage 

actually increases natural killer cells. Natural killer 

cells are the front lines of the immune system. 

They kill viral cells, bacteria cells. We found it 

first in men who had HIV, and then we studied 

adolescents who had HIV and found the same 

results. Then we studied breast cancer and again 

found an increase in natural killer cells. We think 

that the reason that happens is because we’re 

knocking down cortisol levels, the body’s culprit 

stress hormone. Cortisol kills natural killer cells, 

and so if we can reduce the stress hormones, we 

can save natural killer cells.” 

Touch has emotional and cognitive 

benefits 

But wait. There’s more. Touch also has emotional 

and cognitive benefits. 


In another study. Field examined two groups of 

elderly participants. One group received regular 

social visits that included only conversation and 

the other group received social visits that also 

included massage and conversation. The second 

group showed more emotional and cognitive 

benefits than the first. 

According to the New Yorker, “Field has found 

similar gains in both premature and full-term 

infants, pregnant women, children and adults with 

chronic pain conditions or emotional problems, 

and healthy adults.” Just 15 minutes of touch is 

connected to enhanced growth and weight gain 

in children as well as emotional, physical, and 

cognitive improvements in adults. 

The best kind of touch includes massage 

therapy 

The research on the benefits of touch goes 

on. Studies show that touch is associated with 

increased feelings of trust and safety, reduced 

heart rate and blood pressure, reduced pain, and 

release of oxytocin (“the love hormone”) and 

serotonin. 

Massage, obviously, can play a big role. 

Field told Greater Good that holding hands, 

hugging, and cuddling are all “pretty good” but that 

more pressure is associated with more benefits. 

She said, “Light stroking is a bit aversive to most 

people because they feel like they’re being tickled. 

… Heart rate decreases when you’re getting 

moderate pressure. Heart rate increases when 

you’re getting light pressure. Same with blood 

pressure.” 

Facials, manicures, and any spa treatment that 

includes touch may be beneficial. (Regular hand 

massage may help ease pain, increase hand 

strength, and reduce feelings of stress and 

anxiety.) 

Physical contact is a key element of a healthy life 

and promotes wellbeing. Let’s get the word out. 


Spa Executive 

FOR LEADERS IN THE BUSINESS OF WELLNESS 

ADVERTISE WITH US 

CONTACT SAL CAPIZZI FOR MORE INFORMATION 

SCAPIZZI@SPAEXECUTIVE.COM 

info@spaexecutive.com | www.spaexecutive.com

August 2021 - Spa Executive

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