Scenes from Global Spa Summit

While there have already been some truly exciting pre-event activities here in Istanbul, the Global Spa Summit officially kicked off Monday night. But the day included a number of exciting Pre-Summit Bridge Building Sessions. I sat in on a session called Leveraging Technology for Greater Market Share, led by Lopo Champalimaud, co-founder of Wahanda. It was an interesting hour filled with tips and trends from several industry movers and shakers. My favorite cool idea to help build your spa’s world-of-mouth reputation? Invest in a PC and set it up near your reception desk. As guests depart, invite them to put a post about their experience on consumer review sites like Yelp.com or TripAdvisor.com. Potential clients are always trolling the web for spa reviews and recommendations, and this is a great way to get your spa to the top.

Post-session, I headed to the Welcome Cocktail Reception and Dinner at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski, the event’s host hotel. As you can tell by the photos, a wonderful time was had by all. Check back often. I’ll be blogging more about the amazing experience I’m having at this year’s event.