“When I started, fitness was related to physical
health, but now it incorporates mental health.
I love that it’s really getting some legs now.”
— BarBara stireWalt, general manager, mohonk mountain house
2005” than they are now. adds Stirewalt, “fitness was
related to physical health, but now it incorporates mental
health. i love that it’s really getting some legs now.”
accordingly, mohonk’s spa menu now includes more
mindfulness-based services, as well as aromatherapy and
men’s treatments, than it did in the early 2000s.
Steering the resort through the recession was a
challenge, says Stirewalt. “We’re close to metro new
york, whose economy is very stock-market associated. We
were really hit.” Stirewalt’s response was to double-down
on retail (“if guests are still traveling for a spa experience,
then they want to take something home”) by educating
and incentivizing her staff to sell. Stirewalt also turned to
mohonk’s vendors for assistance in training her team and
used guest studies, including iSPa research, to demon-
strate to staff that they weren’t “pushing products,” but
were actually giving guests what they wanted. Since the
recession, retail has continued to boom for mohonk, and
they’ve added new products to their retail and in their
services. Like many spas, mohonk mountain house has
transitioned to using multiple vendors and a wider
variety of products, rather than just one primary supplier.
how Stirewalt markets her spa has evolved signifi-
cantly over the years—when Stirewalt started at mohonk,
Twitter didn’t exist, facebook was limited to college
students and instagram was five years away from its
inception. although mohonk still does limited print adver-
tising, they’ve shifted towards a heavily digital-focused
marketing strategy with an emphasis on video. Stirewalt
noted that they tend to market the resort and spa
together more frequently than they used to. The
messaging of the spa is one thing that hasn’t evolved,
however, even as the method of delivery has: “our
marketing has always been based on a story here, based
on the recreation and renewal opportunities for people to
come and rebalance themselves.” Last, Stirewalt added
that the resort as a whole now pays attention to SEo and
marketing analytics.
mohonk mountain house’s spa has remained largely
unchanged since it opened, excepting a few minor
updates; however, the spa is planning a major renovation
in 2021 that will greatly expand treatment areas to help
allow for more revenue growth, according to Stirewalt.
mohonk mountain house has consistently been ahead of
major evolving trends over the past 15 years, such as
digital detox and the use of organic products. So, what
does Stirewalt anticipate coming next? “We’re on the
cusp of adaptogens, cBD…this is a really exciting time
for the spa industry. it’s coming and we can’t ignore it.”
as it’s often said, the only constant in life is change.
Whether you’ve been with a spa for five, ten or fifteen
years, evolution is necessary to survive in our fast-moving
industry. These three spa directors have all found ways to
adapt their spas to keep them fresh, relevant and
profitable no matter what trends are dominating the
world of spa.
it’s worth noting, though, that some things never
change, says Stirewalt: “therapies have come and gone,
but you can’t replace touch. you can’t replace the human
connection of spa.” n
f e at u r e d s o u r c e s
kara tefft erica korPi BarBara stireWalt
a la mode sPa and hyatt regency lake
tahoe resort – mohonk mountain
Co-Owner
salon
Spa Director
General Manager
house
stillWater sPa
jUnE
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