BY JOSH CORMAN

FOR SO MUCH OF THE LAST FEW YEARS , leaders and professionals across the spa industry have been forced to focus on the here and now . The uncertainty and unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic made looking too far into the future nearly impossible . But , as the industry has stabilized , the industry has begun to firmly fix its eyes on where spa goes next in the new landscape shaped by recent events .

At the 2022 ISPA Conference in Las Vegas , leaders representing an array of perspectives joined ISPA Board Chair Patrick Huey to share their thoughts on what ’ s next for the spa industry .

TALENT AT THE TOP OF THE LIST To no one ’ s surprise , talent and staffing were among the most hotly discussed topics during the Town Hall . Emlyn

Brown , global VP of well-being for Accor , led off the discussion with what he described as a controversial opinion : trying to “ get back ” to the way things were in 2019 , before the pandemic , is a futile exercise .“ That barn door is well open , and the horses left . The Great Resignation happened ; people are not coming back , and I don ’ t really blame them . When COVID hit , the first thing we did was get rid of all of our people , right ?” Brown said , adding the industry must accept that some people simply won ’ t come back .

Rather than treating these circumstances as a defeat , however , Brown urged those in attendance to view them as an opportunity to “ future-proof ” the industry through technology .“ Pushing people toward non-phone-based reservations , using bot technology to answer simple questions , [ having ] self-check-in desks , [ having ] cashless payment

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