“It will kill you if you don’t stay on top of your inven-
tory and have the fiscal discipline to order what you
need every month no matter what is going on. That can
be a challenge if you’re a small spa.”
— ELLA KENT, Director of Rooms, Sea Island Resort
The 2018 ISPA Spa Workforce Study
found that only 31 percent of spa
managers received internal manage-
ment training when they stepped into
the role; 24 percent received external
training; and 13 percent received no
training whatsoever. Even among
those who have received formal train-
ing, it would not be unusual to receive
little or no instruction in the art of
linen management.
“No one talks about it, and then
you run out of sheets,” quips Ella
Kent, director of rooms at Sea Island
Resort. Kent is a longtime spa director,
having previously served as spa direc-
tor at The Broadmoor Hotel, executive
director of spa at Wynn Las Vegas and
director of spa, fitness and racquet
sports at Sea Island; she also served
two terms as ISPA Chairman.
“It’s a trial by fire, more than any-
thing else,” Kent continues. “We talk
about treatments. Vendors talk about
retail and products. But no one will
come educate you about the laundry
process.”
But, as every spa director knows or
will soon learn, laundry is just as essen-
tial to the operation of a spa as treat-
ments, menu design and products.
Without sheets and towels, treatments
and services cannot be performed. And
without treatments and services…well,
let’s just say that your spa could find it-
self ‘sheet’-out-of-luck.
APRIL 2020
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