the Beginning
The first ISPA U.S. Industry Study set
out to answer a question that
occupied the minds of many spa
leaders in the late 1990s: just how big
was the spa industry?
At the time, no one really knew.
Everyone agreed that the spa
industry was growing, but were
unsure by how much. “We had been
doing smaller studies with select
partners, such as Cornell,” says ISPA
President Lynne McNees, “but we
really wanted to establish the
economic scope of the industry.”
Doing so would help prove that the
spa industry was an economic force
to be taken seriously.
McNees and then-ISPA Chairman
Jane Segerberg, as well as other ISPA
leaders, knew that the key to
producing a serious, well-respected
study was choosing a serious, well-
respected research partner who
would elevate the integrity of the
research: PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC).
“It was in 1999,” recalls Colin
McIlheney, global director of research
for PwC, “and the original contact
was in New York with PwC’s global
colin mcilheney
“McNees and
then-ISPA Chairman
Jane Segerberg, as
well as other ISPA
leaders, knew that
the key to producing
a serious, well-
respected study was
choosing a serious,
well-respected
research partner.”
hospitality and leisure leader at the
time, Bjorn Hansen.” Although
Hansen took the initial lead,
McIlheney has been involved from
the start and has presented on the
Study’s results at every ISPA
Conference & Expo since the initial
study. “There was very little infor-
mation on key metrics in the
industry,” he adds, “and ISPA knew
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A yEAr IN
tHE LIFE
Each year’s study is the
result of 365 days of
planning, research and
analysis. Here’s how we
get from each survey’s
infancy to the completed
report.
l octoBer-novemBer:
PwC
works closely with ISPA to make
any changes for the next year’s
Industry Study questionnaire. At
this point, the list of spas to
contact is decided.
l decemBer-January: the online
survey tool is built to make
collecting the data as simple—and
accurate—as possible. No more
phone interviews!
l January-aPril: the online
survey is opened in late January
and closes, typically, in mid-April.
l may-July: with just a few
months to go, intensive analysis is
conducted, with final agreement
on the Study’s key metrics
occurring in early July.
l august: the ‘big Five’ metrics
are releasd at the annual ISPA
media Event, while PwC dots the
i’s and crosses the t’s on the
Study’s final report.
l sePtemBer: the PwC team,
including Colin mcIlheney, travels
to the U.S. to present that year’s
findings onstage at the ISPA
Conference & Expo. PwC and ISPA
will get to work on the next year’s
study almost immediately after
Conference closes.
SEPtEmbEr
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