Have you been searching for a career in the spa industry, but
found that the educational opportunities in this fast-growing business
are limited at best? With an industry that is showing annual revenues of
nearly $10 billion in the United States alone, you'd think that there'd
be spa management programs available just about everywhere. While there
certainly are a lot of programs out there, finding ones that offer
quality, affordable, and accessible spa management training are far and
few between.
Today, there are nearly 14,000 spas operating in U.S., including day spas, resort spas, hotel spas, medical spas, club spas, mineral spring spas, and destination spas. These spas vary in size from small in-town day spa locations to the large, sprawling destination spas that exist in beautiful locales like the deserts of Arizona or the mountains of California. Surprisingly, there are only 124,000 full-time and 101,000 part-time spa employees working at all of these spas. This means there's an average of 9 full-time employees and just 7 part-time employees for each individual spa. While this might seem just about right for a small day spa location, when you think about the dozens or hundreds of employees that it takes to run a large destination or resort spa, you soon realize that there's a huge shortage of qualified spa professionals available to run these growing spa locations!
What does this mean for the millions of people who go to the spa to escape the everyday stresses of work, family, and the pressures of living in this fast-paced, modern world? It means that there just aren't enough spa professionals working in the spa industry to provide the kinds of services that their clients expect. Let's face it, spa treatments aren't cheap, but clients are willing to pay higher fees as long as they're getting the highest levels of service that they expect from a high-end spa. With so many quality spas available in just about every part of the world, clients demand quality because they know that if they don't get it at one spa they can certainly get it at another. In an industry that thrives on satisfying their customers on a physical, mental, and emotional level, it's essential that every spa has plenty of qualified and friendly staff members, therapists, and managers on hand to meet the needs of each and every spa client that walks through the door.
The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities for well-trained and well-educated spa professionals in the fun and exciting world of spa management. The bad news is that it's difficult to find quality professional training for a career in the spa industry. There are plenty of Hotel and Restaurant Management programs available that have now added "Spa Management" to the end of their program titles, but many of them don't really focus on the unique details that make owning or running a spa different from a hotel or restaurant. These programs have sort of squeezed in "spa management" as and addendum to their regular curriculum, but the overall focus is still heavy on general management skills rather than specifically on spa management skills. There are also loads of spa management seminars given around the country that are great to attend for additional training once you're already working as a spa professional, but these seminars will not prepare you for a career in the spa industry if you don't already know the ins and outs of running a spa. It simply comes down to the fact that the spa management training that is out there today is too limiting to properly prepare you for a successful career in the spa industry.
Another thing to keep in mind when looking for a spa management training program is the price. Because quality spa training programs are so limited, many charge exorbitant rates for their training courses. While this may turn out to be money well spent, you have to be careful that you're going to get what you paid for and will be able to earn that money spent on spa management training into a lucrative spa management career. You also need to consider how accessible these spa management training courses are to your physical location as well as to your time availability. While it would be great if schools paid you to take their courses, this just isn't the case in most instances and many of us still have to go to our current jobs while we're training for that new career, whether it be in the spa industry or not.
All of these factors need to be considered when looking for a quality spa management training program that will actually prepare you for a great new career in the spa management industry. The jobs are out there and every day more and more spas are opening up their doors for the first time at an industry rate of approximately 6 new spas every single day. With each new spa there are new spa management positions available and one of those positions could become yours! Just make sure you choose the right spa management training program that will provide you with a quality education that's affordable and easy for you to fit into your already busy schedule. Of course, once you're in the spa industry, you'll be able to take advantage of those relaxing and refreshing spa treatments too. Now that's a career worth training for!
Today, there are nearly 14,000 spas operating in U.S., including day spas, resort spas, hotel spas, medical spas, club spas, mineral spring spas, and destination spas. These spas vary in size from small in-town day spa locations to the large, sprawling destination spas that exist in beautiful locales like the deserts of Arizona or the mountains of California. Surprisingly, there are only 124,000 full-time and 101,000 part-time spa employees working at all of these spas. This means there's an average of 9 full-time employees and just 7 part-time employees for each individual spa. While this might seem just about right for a small day spa location, when you think about the dozens or hundreds of employees that it takes to run a large destination or resort spa, you soon realize that there's a huge shortage of qualified spa professionals available to run these growing spa locations!
What does this mean for the millions of people who go to the spa to escape the everyday stresses of work, family, and the pressures of living in this fast-paced, modern world? It means that there just aren't enough spa professionals working in the spa industry to provide the kinds of services that their clients expect. Let's face it, spa treatments aren't cheap, but clients are willing to pay higher fees as long as they're getting the highest levels of service that they expect from a high-end spa. With so many quality spas available in just about every part of the world, clients demand quality because they know that if they don't get it at one spa they can certainly get it at another. In an industry that thrives on satisfying their customers on a physical, mental, and emotional level, it's essential that every spa has plenty of qualified and friendly staff members, therapists, and managers on hand to meet the needs of each and every spa client that walks through the door.
The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities for well-trained and well-educated spa professionals in the fun and exciting world of spa management. The bad news is that it's difficult to find quality professional training for a career in the spa industry. There are plenty of Hotel and Restaurant Management programs available that have now added "Spa Management" to the end of their program titles, but many of them don't really focus on the unique details that make owning or running a spa different from a hotel or restaurant. These programs have sort of squeezed in "spa management" as and addendum to their regular curriculum, but the overall focus is still heavy on general management skills rather than specifically on spa management skills. There are also loads of spa management seminars given around the country that are great to attend for additional training once you're already working as a spa professional, but these seminars will not prepare you for a career in the spa industry if you don't already know the ins and outs of running a spa. It simply comes down to the fact that the spa management training that is out there today is too limiting to properly prepare you for a successful career in the spa industry.
Another thing to keep in mind when looking for a spa management training program is the price. Because quality spa training programs are so limited, many charge exorbitant rates for their training courses. While this may turn out to be money well spent, you have to be careful that you're going to get what you paid for and will be able to earn that money spent on spa management training into a lucrative spa management career. You also need to consider how accessible these spa management training courses are to your physical location as well as to your time availability. While it would be great if schools paid you to take their courses, this just isn't the case in most instances and many of us still have to go to our current jobs while we're training for that new career, whether it be in the spa industry or not.
All of these factors need to be considered when looking for a quality spa management training program that will actually prepare you for a great new career in the spa management industry. The jobs are out there and every day more and more spas are opening up their doors for the first time at an industry rate of approximately 6 new spas every single day. With each new spa there are new spa management positions available and one of those positions could become yours! Just make sure you choose the right spa management training program that will provide you with a quality education that's affordable and easy for you to fit into your already busy schedule. Of course, once you're in the spa industry, you'll be able to take advantage of those relaxing and refreshing spa treatments too. Now that's a career worth training for!
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