Articles by Susie Ellis

“Hot” is the spa world’s age-old weapon to make people relax, sweat, detoxify and draw blood to the surface. But now spas are bravely stepping out into the cold.

2012 Spa and Wellness Trends preview.

Take a look at the bold design elements at the Atomic Spa Suisse, or “bubble spa,” in the Boscolo Milano hotel (Italy), where wild, LED-illuminated mirror bubbles rise to the top of the interiors of the treatment rooms, sauna and baths, like a frothing glass of champagne.

Another new study[10] finds that of the 41 million Americans that use mind-body therapies like yoga or tai chi, 6.4 million are now doing them because they were “prescribed” by their medical provider.

The coaching trend is a serious and welcome one for the global spa industry, and could ultimately prove the key to making the spa that true “third place” for many.

Kid-specific spas are on the rise, whether it’s the “Scoops Kids Spas” at ten Great Wolf resort locations, Florida’s “Nickelodeon Suites” and Keylime Cove, or numerous day spas like Connecticut’s “Sundae Spa”.

When I received the phone call telling me that I would be this year’s recipient of the ISPA Visionary Award, I was really moved. I hung up the phone and … tears came to my eyes.

Hi Everyone, Am sharing with you this Weekender that was sent out a while back. It is about the book, Imagine, that seemed a perfect fit with our focus on Innovation through Imagination. Indeed it was. Sadly however, the author, Jonah Lehrer, was discovered to have been guilty of plagiarism and attributing quotations inappropriately. He […]

Jonah Lehrer came under media scrutiny for including quotes in his book attributed to Bob Dylan that turned out not to be actual quotes.

In many ways, this 2012 Global Spa and Wellness Summit – our 6th – was the most important one to date.

Everyone is born creative. However, for many of us – whether it is from a fear of failure or from past criticisms – our innate creativity goes dormant.

Sandhya Chilpalkatti’s perspective on innovation and imagination as editor and publisher of Spa Mantra magazine has drawn our attention – “reward the wackiest, out-of-box ideas.”

True innovation, rather than progressive improvement, in spa/wellness has been stagnant since 1957 when Harold Zinkin patented his “Universal Equipment.”

Thomas Steinhauer of Four Seasons answers our questions on the state of Spa in the U.S. and around the world.

Question for the week:Is “incremental” innovation superior to “disruptive” innovation? The “debate” about “incremental” versus “disruptive” innovation in this issue of the Economist is an excellent read and well worth your time this weekend. Here are a few thoughts from the debates’ moderator, the person arguing that “incremental” innovation is superior and the person arguing […]

Shelley Berc and Alejandro Fogel are the founders and directors of the very popular Creativity Workshop, which is exactly what it sounds like: a workshop on creativity. They conduct these programs all over the world (the duo is currently in Prague, followed by Dubai). Last week, they were in New York, and I was fortunate […]

  In the last Weekender, we looked at two Top 10 lists of the most innovative COUNTRIES. There were some differences between the World Economic Forum’s and INSEAD’S lists, but there were also many similarities. In this Weekender, we’re taking a look at a few Top 10 lists for the other C word: COMPANIES. Because […]

Innovation: it’s just as important to countries as it is to businesses and organizations. For countries around the world, innovation can be a central driver of economic growth, development and jobs. Did you know each country has as an “innovation” score? The World Economic Forum’s 500+ page “Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012” ranks 142 countries according […]

This issue is all about TED. Spafinder attended the 2012 TED conference this past week in Long Beach – one of the most fertile grounds for discussion about imagination and innovation.

Ok, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.  Just what is innovation?  And is there any benefit to me personally or professionally for understanding the concept? There’s a lot, and I mean A LOT of information out there.  My head is spinning. So, I took a definition journey… First stop: The dictionary Second stop: Wikipedia […]