Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne + BISA: a finger on the pulse of the spa industry and an eye on future innovations
Kimberly Setzermann, who is joining the BISA press and marketing team, reports on her reasons for joining BISA and the importance of education and innovation for the industry:
Since the emergence of the first day spa in 1910, the spa industry has been characterized by periods of intense innovation followed by stretches of dull repetition. With the last major breakthrough that affected spa practices around the world occurring with the onset of the “medi-spa” in 1997 (medical treatments offered within a spa facility), it is my personal belief that the spa industry is ready and capable of making groundbreaking advancements over the next few years.
What especially attracted me to join BISA is their emphasis on education and holistic spa practices. My background includes certifications in Nutritional Health Counselling, Yoga Instruction, and Neuromuscular Massage, which lends more of a whole body wellness approach to spa. Therefore, I am personally less concerned with creating the next luxury beauty treatment and more focused on bringing spa to the mainstream consumer’s mind and body on a regular basis.
My reasons for joining BISA are simple: we are at a critical point of change in our industry and must do everything in our power to stay current and fresh, in order to not be left behind. BISA offers its members the opportunity to keep a finger on the pulse of the spa industry through providing benchmarking standards, green certifications, and the latest in trainings and education.
In my quest for knowledge, I recently graduated from Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne’s (EHL) Master in Hospitality programme, a 13-month MBA-style programme focused on creating solutions for the hospitality industry. During studies, I participated as a speaker and contributing writer for the Global Spa Summit (GSS) in Istanbul, May 2010. After my graduation in August 2010, EHL asked me to stay on as an employee for a few months to continue to nurture the link between the school and the spa and wellness industry, in ways similar to my work with the GSS. Therefore, my membership with BISA is also on behalf of EHL, as a strategic move to foster opportunities for education and career placement within the spa industry for the students of EHL.
As a representative of EHL, I believe that BISA offers our institution a connection to an important practice in hospitality. As the student community increasingly shows interest in understanding spa and wellness operations, our BISA membership has the potential to lead to the opportunities our students seek.
Finally, I believe the yearly conferences presented by BISA will be a key component in creating a sustainable connection between the higher learning institutions that are training upcoming generations of hospitality employees and the spa and wellness industry. I look forward to exploring the ways EHL and BISA can work together to foster interest amongst future leaders in the hospitality sector to fuel new innovations in this dynamic and rewarding field.