A few weeks ago, I was at the Global Spa and Wellness Summit at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. The theme of the conference was “Innovation through Imagination” and thought leaders from across the spa and wellness industries discussed the future intersection of spas and wellness. It is only natural in industry conferences such as […]
A great article by Andrea Petersen appeared in the Wall Street Journal Travel section last week outlining the “Hidden Ways Hotels Court Guests Faster.” The article focused on all the ways that different hotel brands are trying to dazzle their guests with an excellent first impression. Hotel industry executives (myself included) were likely to be […]
Before Twitter, before Facebook, before Google, and before Apple, there was Bell Labs: “From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs—officially, the research and development wing of AT&T—was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, from digital […]
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 […]
The Psychology of Wellbeing would not be what it is without the inspiration of other bloggers out there. These are the blogs that spark my creativity and make me want to become a part of the larger blogging community: “The Good Life” by Chris Peterson. Chris is just a great story teller. He talks about […]
I used to live in Hawaii, on the island of Maui. At least once a month, I would drive a few hours on the winding road around the island and spend a day or two hiking and camping in the rain forest. I would follow a trail, or make my own, weaving through bamboo forests […]
Every ten years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human services takes a collaborative approach to aligning health institutions from across the country on massive health goals. The initiative is called “Healthy People” and every decade they invite people from a broad variety of health institutions to collaborate on identifying the most important health goals […]
The Global Spa Summit has just launched a new website, http://www.spaevidence.com, which serves as a portal into databases of medical research on spa and wellness therapies. From my years in the spa industry, I can tell you that the people behind this industry passionately believe in the services they offer and their potential impact on […]
In a previous article, I wrote about “Science and Spirituality in the Spa.” I recognized the trend in the spa industry to become more scientific and evidence-based, but I cautioned that spas should perhaps move towards spirituality and not towards science. After all, we already have a massive health care industry that is looking at […]
Two weeks ago, I attended the Global Spa Summit in Bali, Indonesia, where spa and wellness leaders from around the world gathered together to discuss trends for the future of wellness. One surprising trend that came up again and again in multiple sessions during the summit was the concept of personal biological monitoring—people using technology […]
