“ Salary is not my first concern . I really don ’ t care too much about the salary or the hours . What I care about is whether I am happy working here . I think that is a really important thing .”
— LUYI LIU , Student , Northern Arizona University
“ For the students , this is all new ,” says De Micco , an assertion corroborated by conversations with students who took the course .“ I ’ ve never been to a spa myself ,” says Luyi Liu , a senior at NAU . Liu , an international student , notes that her lack of prior interest in spa was informed by the “ still developing ” Chinese spa industry . Instead , Liu was drawn to the course , by a broader interest in hotel management : “ I ’ m interested in the resort industry , and now spas always come along with resorts . I thought [ the course ] would provide good insight about both the spa industry and the resort industry .” Liu ’ s line of thought is indicative of spa ’ s inarguable prominence in hospitality now : to the next generation of hospitality managers , spa comes with the territory of operating a hotel or resort .
For another senior at NAU , Stella Vargas , taking the course was a small choice that led to a profound change . Vargas intended to pursue a career path in sales revenue management upon graduating from NAU and took De Micco ’ s course on spa as an elective last fall .“ When I came across spa management ,” says Vargas ,“ I figured it would give me something new to learn in an industry I already enjoyed .” As the course progressed , however , Vargas found herself increasingly attracted to the spa industry , driven by “ a desire to work in a field that cared about mental and physical health .” As a result of the course , Vargas has decided to enroll in an esthetics program after graduation from NAU to gain additional skills beneficial to a career in spa . Vargas hopes to eventually lead a spa or resort at an executive level .
The key to appealing to Generation Z , then , is to emphasize the wellness , health , and life-changing aspects of a career in spa . Even though most Zoomers ( as they ’ re colloquially known ) have not yet been to spas themselves , they place a higher priority on physical and mental well-being , according to the BBC , than any generation before them .“ Our students tend to be very active ,” De Micco notes , “ and they like physical fitness , exercise and well-being .” Accordingly , they
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