CALLING ALL SPA PROFESSIONALS!

The World Spa & Wellness Convention 2023 takes place on 3 & 4 September 2023 at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, alongside the Professional Beauty Johannesburg Expo.

DAY ONE

Sunday, 3 September

9h00 Registration

9h30 Welcome by Professional Beauty Group CEO, Mark Moloney

9h45 Keynote: Ian Fuhr (CEO of The Hatch Institute; Founder, The Sorbet Group) The Relationship between Culture and Service and How to Navigate the Socio-Political Complexities of the South African Landscape. Running a business in this climate is not for the faint-hearted.

As the former CEO of the Sorbet Group, Ian spent many years developing a winning culture of service and belonging among his employees. Since leaving Sorbet, Ian has built onto his concept of ‘Cultureneering’, which he has successfully integrated into other business sectors, taking into account the challenging dynamics of the socio-political and economic realities that make up South Africa today.

10h35 Laws of Attraction

What sort of trending treatments and global wellness movements you can introduce into your spa to draw in new clients? Should you be looking at incorporating, for instance, CBD products and psilocybin mushrooms (i.e. medicinal magic mushrooms)? Are there elements of biohacking wellness that you could consider to improve the spa guest’s sleep, stress levels and mindfulness? How can you attract an older client demographic which may be in search of ‘ageing well’?

Sharon Barcock (Director Spa & Fitness Operations & Development MEA & Türkiye, Hilton) – participating via Zoom

Marisa Dimitriadis (Founder, The Spa Consultants)

Speaker TBC

11h25 Tea Break

11h45 Cementing Your Financial Foundation

From natural disasters to economic downturns to unexpected expenses, there are many risks that can threaten the financial health of a business. During this session, two spa business managers will share some insights into their financial challenges with practical tips and strategies for building a more resilient business.

Francisco Garcia (Jiva Spa Director, TAJ Cape Town)

Karen Morris (Founder, Cape Wellness Spas)

12h35 Lunch, Networking Break and Expo Floor Visit

14h30 Talent Magnet vs Drama Queen Magnet – Are You Attracting the Right Staff into Your Business?

This session will focus on tools that will help you attract the right people into your business from the word go and how to make sure they don’t leave you. Nobody wants to spend time, money and resources on people who are not going to stay the distance.

Claudia James (Spa Manager, Mowana Spa)

Angela Khosa (Recruitment Consultant, Spa Sense)

15h15 Tea Break

15h30 Online Onslaught Part 1 – Forget Instagram and Facebook, How Does Your Spa Rank in Cyberspace?

With so much focus on constantly creating new content for social media posts on Instagram and Facebook and on chasing ‘likes’ and ‘shares’, spa owners may be overlooking how their spa is doing in terms of rankings on the internet. When someone searches for the word ‘spa’ on the internet – how soon does your spa come up, if at all? Experts will reveal all-important tips on how to boost your ranking and make your spa instantly visible in online searches.

Richard Frank (CTO, Flow Communications)

Online Onslaught Part 2 – Is Your Website Design Attracting or Repelling Potential Guests Looking for Info?

This session will focus on the key qualities of a good website – one that is fully functional, informative, easy to use, booking friendly, optimized for mobile, social media & search engines, attractive, and which includes a call to action.

Speaker TBC

16h30 CLOSE DAY ONE

DAY TWO

Monday, 4 September

9h00 Registration

9h30 Troubleshooting Central – The Potential Pitfalls for Spa Managers and How to Avoid Them

Most jobs involve a plethora of potential complications but spa managers have to deal not only with guests, but with staff members and suppliers as well. This session will provide tips on identifying possible problem areas and what evasive action to take. As this session is meant to be as interactive as possible, delegates are encouraged to come armed with questions to pose to the panel.

Lerato Tlhame (Spa Manager, Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre JHB, O.R. Tambo)

Lauren Adams (Operations Manager, Camelot Spa)

Jared Hines (Spa Manager, Four Seasons Spa Westcliff)

10h20 The Balance Sheet of the Future: How Sustainable Initiatives Enhance Your Bottom Line

Spa owners not currently involved in sustainability measures might be daunted by the process of ‘going green’ and the perceived high cost of investment. This session will show how all spas can cost-effectively embark on a sustainability journey and how it may even contribute to the bottom line.

Charné le Roux (Sustainability Practitioner; Founder, GreenSpa. Africa) Tanya Lopes (Spa Manager, Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa)

11h10 Tea Break

11h30 Scheduling, Yielding and the ‘D’ Word (i.e Discounts) Is the way that you are scheduling appointments actually losing money for your spa? How effective are you at employing yielding tactics to fill up your therapists’ columns? What is the best policy with regards to offering discounts for treatments and retail? All these questions will be answered in this informative session. Speakers TBC

13h00 CONVENTION CLOSES – Lunch and Expo Floor Visit

*The organisers reserve the right to alter the speakers and the programme due to unforeseen circumstances.