to the challenges, demands and
rewards of being a spa director. at
my property, i often feel somewhat
isolated within the resort—like i’m
running an independent business
within a larger business. Since the
ojai Valley inn does not have any
sister spa locations, it’s been
important for me to develop relation-
ships with other spa directors who i
can look to for advice, connection or
to simply share ideas. the resource of
our Santa Barbara spa group has
been a great support over the past
year.”
the ritz-carlton Bacara’s Damien
craft has found a much-needed
reservoir of substantial professional
relationships in his involvement with
the Santa Barbara spa group. for him
as a spa director at a major resort,
the opportunity to speak to spa ears
and receive specific feedback is
invaluable.
“the old saying that iron sharpens
The group of spa directors includes Kate Morrison (far left), Damien Craft (center) and Jaana Roth
(second from right)
iron applies to this group,” says
Damien. “it is important to have good
relationships within your spa
community. When you don’t have
“The greatest benefit…has been
to have the chance to speak with
knowledgeable, like-minded
wellness professionals who can
truly relate to the challenges,
demands and rewards of being
a spa director.”
— KATE MORRISON, Spa Director, ojai valley Inn & Spa
relationships with others it can be
difficult to gather information that
may help your business in times of
need. at the end of the day, we are all
in the business of helping others. our
meetings are very informal—no
specific numbers are discussed—but
we do share challenges and exchange
ideas on how to improve all of our
operations. i find them to be very
helpful in connecting with like-minded
professionals and always take away a
few great ideas that may not have
come to mind if i operated alone.”
in addition to the benefits of such
a networking group, a common
question received by members of the
group is related to competition. to
Kate, the question of competition
being an issue comes down to a
matter of choice.
“i suppose we could look at each
other as competitors,” admits Kate,
“but rather, we choose to perceive
octobEr
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