I just returned from the
SpaTec event
in Orlando, Florida where I was invited to give the keynote address on
“In Defense of Pampering.” For the past few years I have been arguing
that the spa industry, in its attempts to be more relevant in a down
economy has been turning its back on the one thing that sets spas apart
from other healing institutions in our society (you can read about this
positioning
here or see a
video of another version of this talk
here .)
My
position on this issue is somewhat controversial as many people in the
spa industry want to move away from pampering, for fear that it is not
perceived as relevant by consumers. They feel that spas should be more
focused on health and wellness so they rise in importance in our
consumers’ minds and the perceived value of the spa experience will be
greater.
I get these concerns. I really do. Wellness is
important. And I think spas do have a strong role to play in bringing
greater wellness options to consumers. But the spa industry does not
have to move away from pampering to offer wellness.
In an attempt
to be taken more seriously, spas that try to move away from pampering
and towards wellness find themselves competing with a variety of other
healing institutions that are focused on offering scientifically
validated “medical” healing interventions. But spas have an
opportunity, by embracing their pampering identity, to set themselves
apart from these other health institutions. Spas offer wellness that
feels good, that people look forward to, and that considers the
emotional and spiritual aspects of our wellbeing in addition to the
physical. Spas do not have to choose either pampering or wellness; they
can use pampering as a pathway to wellness.
Some of this is
semantics. Pampering, by definition, is an “excessive” indulgence. And
maybe my definition of pampering is different than yours. But it is
interesting what we think of as “excessive” in today’s culture. In
today’s world, time is a luxury. Silence is a luxury. Separation from
technology is a luxury. The things that we experience in the spa are
luxury indulgences because they are hard to come by in modern life.
Nurturing is scarce. Time is a commodity. And digital barriers are
diluting human contact at every turn.
In the spas that I operate,
we offer wellness and we offer pampering. We believe they go hand in
hand. I think of spas as places that people can go to heal themselves.
But it doesn’t work if it doesn’t feel good. People need a place to go
to slow down, to connect with and be touched by other human beings, to
have time for quiet reflection and contemplation, and to experience a
variety of positive emotions through a beautifully indulgent sensory
experience.
Although
the spa world is ashamed of its own identity, we are the leaders in
providing healing that feels good. We are the only healing institution
in our society that people look forward to visiting and that they enjoy
while they are there.
Hospitals are learning
that beautiful spa-like settings and higher levels of customer service
have a positive impact on the health of their patients. And a growing
body of scientific literature supports the links between feeling good
and being well.
So my message to the spa industry is to stand tall and be proud . . . pampering is not a dirty word.
by Jeremy McCarthy
