Be Your Own Guest for Success.
Because excellence isn’t observed from an office; it’s experienced!
Over the years, I’ve met countless spa managers and directors around the world and one question I often ask them is: “When was the last time you had a treatment in your own spa?”
The answers still surprise me. Many pause for a long time before admitting they can’t remember. Some say, “Oh, it’s been months.” And, astonishingly, a few confess they have never had one.
For me, that’s truly shocking. Because if you’ve never been in your guest’s place, how can you know what they experience? How can you understand what they see, feel, and sense, from the first welcome to the final farewell? You’re leading an experience you’ve never lived. And in hospitality, that’s like trying to describe a sunset you’ve never watched.
When you don’t experience your spa from the guest’s point of view, you lose touch with what matters most: the small, sensory details that shape the emotional journey. You can’t anticipate discomforts, you can’t sense where the flow breaks, and you can’t relate authentically when a guest shares feedback or a complaint. Experiencing your own spa isn’t a luxury or an ego exercise; it’s a professional necessity.
Many spas operate under LQA or Forbes standards, striving for that next level of service excellence. But I often wonder how you can truly check and help your team improve if you never live a treatment yourself? You can’t have a true understanding of where your spa stands when you’ve never been in the treatment room. Quality check is not an external audit; it’s part of the everyday job of a spa leader. Experiencing your own spa gives context, meaning, and emotion to those standards. It turns checklists into awareness.
I understand that it might feel awkward to walk through your spa in a bathrobe. You might worry about what guests or team members will think. But every time I did, it turned into a moment of connection rather than discomfort. My team loved it, and guests would smile. When I shared with passion what I was doing, that I was testing a new treatment, evaluating the experience for quality, or checking details to ensure every touchpoint felt right, they appreciated it. It showed that we cared deeply about their journey, that leadership wasn’t distant, and that our spa wasn’t managed from an office but from the heart of the experience itself.
Some of my biggest insights have come from being “my own guest.”
One day, after a treatment, when I took a shower in the locker room just like a guest would, I understood more about our spa than any report or checklist ever could. The water pressure was disappointingly low, turning what should have been a refreshing post-treatment ritual into a frustrating experience. The shampoo dispenser was half broken. The grouting around the tiles had started to discolor in a way that no longer looked luxurious. Even the tap was loose.
Those small details might seem minor, but together they define how “perfect” or “imperfect” a guest’s moment feels. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it. My next engineering report was filled with practical notes, not as a critic, but as someone who had walked through the real experience. This is why I’ve always believed that weekly walkthroughs are mandatory and weekly treatments are a must.
It’s not indulgence. It’s leadership through awareness.
Think of a chef who never tastes their own food. You’d immediately question the quality of their cuisine. The same applies to spa leadership: if you’re not regularly experiencing the treatments, the facilities, and the flow, you’re managing in the dark.
So, here’s a message I’d like every hotel leader to hear:
If you’re a General Manager, Hotel Manager, or Rooms Division Manager, and you have a spa reporting to you, ask your spa leader when they last experienced a treatment. If they can’t recall, encourage them to make it a priority. Put it in their calendar. Better yet, schedule one for yourself. Experiencing your spa firsthand provides insights that no meeting or report can ever offer.
And to my fellow Spa Managers and Directors: please, take this to heart. Be your own guest more often. Make it part of your rhythm. Sit in your own lounge chair. Walk through your locker rooms. Lie down on your own treatment bed. Feel what your guests feel.
Because being your own guest is how you reconnect with the soul of your spa. It’s how you elevate every detail, every decision, every gesture. Ultimately, it’s about leading with authenticity, empathy, and success.