Spa sensation

Chantelle Mason said she was

Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi’s director of spa Chantelle Mason was recognised at the 2009 Hotelier Middle East Awards, taking home the coveted Spa Person of the Year accolade

Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi director of spa Chantelle Mason was selected by judges for her achievements over the past year, which included the introduction of a guest loyalty programme and new staff rewards and incentives.This led to her being promoted twice in 12 months.

Judges also cited her hands-on spa management skills, enthusiastic attitude and all-round talent as reasons why she deserved to receive the coveted award.

Here, Mason talks to Spa Manager about her success at the awards and her flourishing career.

SM: Congratulations on taking home the coveted Spa Person of the Year Award. How did you feel about being recognised at this year’s awards?

I felt both proud and honoured to firstly be nominated and to then have won the award. It is great to be recognised and rewarded for my hard work and achievements.

The award is not only a personal achievement; it is a joint accomplishment for both Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi and Zen Spa, and all those who have contributed to the success of Zen Spa during the last two years.

SM: What skills did you pick up to be promoted twice within one year?

Being part of the pre-opening team was instrumental in my development as I had not worked on an opening before. I was able to be exposed to every aspect of the business and therefore developed many new skills as well as improving existing ones.

I’m a very hands-on person and make sure I am able to fill in as a receptionist, an attendant or a therapist whenever needed; therefore I need to be competent in all aspects of every role in the spa.

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It is important in order to keep staff motivated and challenged.

If we don’t offer these opportunities to our staff we run the risk of losing them and more often than not, the staff who want to progress and develop are the staff we need to keep.

SM: Some of the initiatives you imposed that were highlighted in your nomination include the spa e-newsletter and the Zen Spa Temptation card. How important is it for spa managers to be business minded and what key areas have you focused on?

It is important for spa managers to be business minded in order to view the business in terms of strengths versus weaknesses, profits versus losses, down-time versus peak time and to view the spa as a revenue-generating department — not just a relaxation zone.

The key areas I have focused on include repeat guests and re-bookings, supply and demand and guest feedback in terms of the treatments they would like to experience at Zen Spa. Staff satisfaction is important because happy staff leads to happy guests. I’ve also focused on the awareness of Zen Spa through projects such as the e-newsletter, press releases, networking events and sales calls.

SM: Why is it important for spa managers to focus on training and development of staff?

The spa industry is growing rapidly with many new products, treatments and techniques being launched every year.

Failure to train and further develop will mean that you are left behind and you stagnate.

It is important to keep up-to-date with the new trends in the market and to continue to offer training programmes and sessions for all staff.

SM: On average, how many hours training a month do spa employees undertake and how does this benefit them and the spa?

The training hours vary depending on the training being conducted. The training period prior to launching a new treatment is one month.

Refresher and product trainings are conducted in one-and-a-half sessions, twice a month, while free- or down-time in the spa is spent in ‘deep cleaning’ or ‘training’. Training has benefited the spa in many areas, namely guest satisfaction, retail sales figures, revenue figures and staff satisfaction.