spa management Workforce & education - Association québécoise ...

More
Senior
Less
Senior
Spa Management Workforce & Education: Addressing Market Gaps
Methodology
The analysis and recommendations presented in this report are based upon extensive primary
and secondary research conducted by SRI International from December 2011 to May 2012. In
addition to conducting a literature review and gathering existing information on spa
management/education, workforce development, and management issues in general, the
research team conducted the following primary research:
Three global online surveys were conducted during January-March 2012: 1) a survey of
current spa managers/directors; 2) a survey of spa industry executives and thought leaders;
and 3) a survey of spa management-related educational programs and private training
companies. 5
Over 45 telephone interviews were conducted with leading industry “thinkers” representing
different segments of the global spa industry, as well as with representatives of spa
management education programs and training providers.
The research conducted by SRI International was supported by additional research work
conducted by Charlett Kohlwes (a student of Tourism & Recreation Management with a major in
Spa Management at Saxion University in the Netherlands), who conducted an extensive
inventory to gather programmatic information from over 100 spa management educational
programs and training providers around the world.
Terminology
The job titles used for spa management positions vary considerably across different spa
companies. This phenomenon is common in nearly every industry and is not necessarily a
problem, but does make it essential to define the specific types of workers we are focusing on in
this report. When this report refers to “spa management personnel,” “spa management
workforce,” or “spa managers,” we are specifically
referring to the following positions in a spa: assistant
spa manager, spa manager, assistant spa director, spa
director, and group or regional spa manager/director
(as well as similar positions that may use slightly
different job titles – including the combination of
owner/manager in smaller, independent spas).
The most prevalent practice in the spa industry is to
Spa Manager
use the title “spa manager” for more junior
management positions and “spa director” for more
senior management positions; therefore, when this study makes distinctions across the two
5 A description of the survey methodology and number of responses is provided in Appendix E.
Most Prevalent Use of Job Titles for
Spa Management Positions
Group/Regional
Spa Director (or Manager)
Spa Director
2 © Global Spa & Wellness Summit LLC