The Impact of Spa & Wellness on the Luxury Market
The Luxury Marketing Council
New York Chapter - Upcoming Event
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The Impact of Spa & Wellness on the Luxury Market
Date: Thursday, April 20th, 2006
Time: 6 p.m. to 7.30pm (with reception continuing after)
Location: Enter through the Chopra Center at 1710 Broadway (54th St.)
“Spa has become synonymous with luxury and is currently a $40 billion+ global industry. In the US alone, 33% of leisure travelers have "spa" as a primary decision maker in booking vacations, according to 2004 YPB&R research. Beyond travel and hospitality, the luxury spa lifestyle encompasses beauty, health, fashion, home design and real estate and opens exciting new venues for marketing to the luxury consumer.” Pete Ellis, CEO, Spa Finder, Inc.
In addition to the presentation, guests will also enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres courtesy of the Dream Hotel and experience the delight and pleasure of mini spa treatments courtesy of the new Chopra Center Spa.
Generously Hosted by Spa Finder and Dream Hotel New York, Chopra Center & Spa
Moderator:
Pete Ellis
CEO, Spa Finder, Inc.
Panelists:
Vikram Chatwal
President, Boutique Division, Hampshire Hotels and Resorts
Adriana Mnuchin
Owner, The Mayflower Inn & Spa, Washington, CT
Albert Herrera
Vice President, Hotels & Resorts, Virtuoso
Ed Burstell
Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager, Women's Non Apparel, Bergdorf Goodman
Attendance Limited to 100 on a 'first to reply' basis
As the world's largest spa marketing and media company, Spa Finder reaches millions of consumers via its award-winning website, Spafinder.com. The company publishes Luxury SpaFinder Magazine, the trusted authority on luxury spas and associated lifestyles; as well as its annual Spa Finder Worldwide Directory, the ultimate spa-goers’ resource. Spa Finder also operates the world's largest spa gift certificate and incentive programs as well as the Spa Distribution Network, the Internet's first online booking program for spa travel.
About the speakers:
Peter Ellis
Pete Ellis is Chairman and CEO of Spa Finder, Inc., the world's largest spa marketing company. Ellis has a background in building companies that dominate their arenas, and which use technology to redefine entire industries. He began to build this reputation as an automotive dealer with franchises throughout the western U.S. during the 70s and 80s, when he developed several innovative, pro-consumer sales and marketing programs that set a new course for automotive retailers across the nation.
In 1994-95 Ellis launched the first online car-buying web site, Autobytel.com, using the Internet to introduce a uniquely efficient automotive marketing and transaction platform – and, in turn, to revolutionize the world’s largest industry. Autobytel (Nasdaq: ABTL) went public in 1999 and remains the largest Internet automobile marketing and car-buying company, generating over a billion dollars in sales each month for dealers, while empowering consumers with objective vehicle and pricing information. Today, the company is hailed as a true ‘dot-com’ success.
Ellis left Autobytel after the company’s IPO to form Jubilee Investments. Jubilee’s mission was to invest in companies that needed help in crossing over to new technology models and more efficient business/marketing strategies. Spa Finder provided a perfect fit for Ellis’ background – as an industry aggregator that provides a window between the world’s largest audience of spa-seekers and the world’s largest and finest network of spas. Under Ellis’ leadership, Spa Finder has worked to connect the players that comprise the once-disjointed spa market – day and stay spas, spa merchandisers, consumers, marketing partners, travel agents – in creative, opportunistic ways that create new benefits and efficiencies for all parties.
Ellis has received numerous industry kudos for his marketing and business leadership, particularly for his pioneering in Internet marketing and commerce. He was honored by Advertising Age as one of the top marketers in the U.S. His innovations at Autobytel.com, meanwhile, have been made part of the Permanent Research Collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Ellis is a frequent, popular speaker at technology and business forums. Speaking highlights include presentations on technology and e-commerce at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland and at the first computer and Internet conference in Tokyo. He was the keynote speaker at the first Internet conference in Europe. Ellis has been featured in numerous media outlets, including NBC Nightline with Tom Brokaw, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CNN.
Vikram Chatwal
Hotel impresario, Vikram Chatwal is at it again with the opening of his latest project, Night Hotel, the third act in his series of stylish New York City inspired hotels. Following the success of his Dream and Time hotels, Night is a chic and intimate property opening this fall in Manhattan.
The globetrotting Chatwal was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in Montreal, London, and New York. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in finance degree from The Wharton School of Business and began his career as an analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York City.
Chatwal heads the Boutique hotel division of Hampshire Hotels and Resorts, with luxurious properties in New York, Canada and the United Kingdom. Chatwal’s commitment to building one-of-a kind hotels in New York is evident in the colorful Dream Hotel that opened in 2004. Dream Hotel combined his spiritual vision with the Chopra Center and Spa at Dream, an Ayurvedic healing center from renowned physician and icon Dr. Deepak Chopra. In 1999, the Time Hotel in the heart of Times Square was launched and was an immediate hit with tourists and locals alike. He also opened the Chateau in Montreal, which received a City Tourism award for Best Boutique Conversion in 2000. He then added Bush Hall to his collection, a sprawling 300-year old country estate located outside London that once belonged to Beatrix Potter and Henry the VIII.
In addition to boutique hotel properties, Chatwal is expanding the bar/lounge segment for Hampshire Hotels. He opened AVA Lounge in September 2002 to great acclaim, and now a new lounge is in the works on 48th Street and Eighth Avenue. Future projects include the Lamb’s Club, a 120-room luxury Landmark hotel in Times Square and a Bangkok location of Dream Hotel to open in summer of 2006.
Chatwal is a big believer in giving back to the community and is the founding member of AIF (America India Foundation) – a non-profit organization devoted to accelerating social and economic change in India – of which former President Bill Clinton is Chairman. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors for AMFAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and a co-founder of Youth Reach and Children’s Hope, two non-profit foundations that raise money and awareness for underprivileged children and women in India.
Adriana Mnuchin
As an entrepreneur, Adriana Mnuchin’s success started in the early 1970’s with an original concept - Tennis Lady, a retail business that consisted of 21 stores across the country. This was sold in the early 80’s at which time Adriana founded her second new concept business, Cashmere-Cashmere. This business consisted of 4 stores sold to the world’s largest cashmere manufacturing company in the late 80’s.
Her most recent business achievement is the Mayflower Inn - Washington, Connecticut. She and her husband Robert purchased the Inn in 1992 and have created a luxury country house hotel which has been a Five-Star, Five-Diamond and Relais & Chateau property for the last fourteen years. Adriana actively manages the Inn and has incorporated her love of the visual arts and literature into the décor and landscape. She is currently working in collaboration with her daughter, Lisa Hedley, to create the 20,000 sq. ft. Mayflower Destination Spa, located on the 58 acre campus of Mayflower.
In 1997, Adriana also co-founded The Shakespeare Society in New York City. It is a non-profit membership organization which produces 5-7 shows a year with well known Shakespearean actors and experts. The Shakespeare Society is planning a four hour first- ever Shakespeare Birthday Marathon – April 23, 2006 at Symphony Space, New York City.
Albert M. Herrera
Albert M Herrera joined Virtuoso in July 2004 as Vice President of the company’s Hotel & Resort Program. With a 20 year career working for some of the world’s leading hotel groups across several continents, Albert has an innate understanding of the luxury market, passion for travel and an enviable network of industry contacts built over the years. In his role with Virtuoso, Albert is responsible for developing new programs and markets essential to the changing needs of the network’s members and partners.
His experience in hotels & resorts is comprehensive, including creating sales and marketing strategies, launching successful public relations campaigns, identifying key market segments, recruiting and training strong sales and marketing teams and increasing the customer base for both resorts and city hotels.
Albert came to Virtuoso from The Carlyle, which he joined as Director of Sales & Marketing soon after Rosewood Hotels & Resorts acquired a significant ownership in this landmark property. Albert was responsible for implementing a successful sales and marketing strategy which, combined with an on-going restoration program, saw The Carlyle maintain its reputation as one of the world’s legendary hotels.
Albert had previously been in charge of Rosewood’s New York office but prior to joining the company in 1998, Albert served as Sales & Marketing Director at The Oriental in Singapore and as Director of Sales at The Regent, Singapore. Additionally, he has held sales posts with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in San Francisco and in New York during the successful launch of their New York property as well as at The Manila Peninsula in the Philippines.
Ed Burstell
Ed Burstell is Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager, Women’s Non Apparel for Bergdorf Goodman, New York’s premiere specialty retailer. Mr.Burstell is responsible for Cosmetics, Fine and Fashion Jewlery, Footwear, Handbags and Soft Accessories.
Prior to his position at Bergdorf Goodman, Ed Burstell held the position of Vice President, General Manager of Henri Bendel where he was responsible for all merchandising and store management functions for the 5th Avenue, flagship store. Mr.Burstell had also been a GMM, a DMM and a Cosmetics Buyer for Henri Bendel. Prior to Henri Bendel, Mr.Burstell was a Cosmetic and Lifestyle Accessory buyer at Bloomingdale’s.