“This is a relative rarity for spas—in the most
recent ISPA Snapshot Survey on Environmental
Sustainability, only 8% of respondents had
obtained any LEED certification.”
praised by guests, according to Turner.
Additionally, Cavallo Point has eliminated all Styrofoam
containers from the resort; vendors are asked to reduce
unnecessary packaging; marketing materials for the spa are
printed on recycled paper; and Cavallo Point uses natural
cleaning products to clean its spa. The spa’s linens and
napkins are organic, as well. Most recently, Cavallo Point has
begun moving away from plastic straws, which is a change
made in response to guest feedback.
california greenin’
switching to reusuable metal cups in guest
rooms has been a hit at ojai valley inn & spa.
director at Cavallo Point. By working with the existing struc-
tures rather than building an entirely new spa facility, Cavallo
Point was able to minimize the use of new materials. Turner
noted that “nearly one hundred percent of the building shells
and approximately seventy-five percent of the interior
structure, such as walls and floors, were retained.”
Furthermore, the facility was designed to reduce long-term
energy consumption by taking advantage of the area’s climate.
Much of the resort is naturally ventilated, relying on ceiling
fans and breezes from the San Francisco Bay for summertime
cooling. That famous San Francisco fog even enhances the
spa experience by depositing salt in Cavallo Point’s outdoor
pools for a pseudo “salt pool” experience that has been
Ojai Valley Inn & Spa (Spa Ojai) has always been a leader in the
industry. “We were the first standalone spa village, and we feel
like it’s our responsibility to push the industry in the right
direction,” said Kate Morrison, spa director at Spa Ojai. The
Ojai, California, spa has been committed to environmental
sustainability for a long time, but has recently begun fast-
tracking new ideas for going green.
One such idea came as Spa Ojai was renovating its facility
in 2016 while Southern California was in the middle of an
extreme drought. With a brand-new nail salon in the works,
Spa Ojai worked with its nail partner, ISPA member Dazzle
Dry, to create a customized, waterless pedicure protocol.
“Traditional pedicures, with the foot soak, disinfectant and
cleaning, use a lot of water,” said Morrison. Spa Ojai and
Dazzle Dry, however, were able to completely eliminate foot
soaks from their pedicures by using reusable hot towels to
soften the skin, as well as products and scrubs to exfoliate.
This change also had the effect of adding more massage and
touch elements to the pedicure, resulting in a more person-
alized, guest-centric experience. It all comes together to create
“a really luxurious experience for our guests that just wows
them,” according to Morrison. Customer pushback hasn’t
been an issue either: once guests have had the rationale
behind the waterless pedicure explained to them, they have
universally supported the changes.
October 2018
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