The relationship between client and therapist is based on trust, good intentions and professionalism. Revelations about sexual abuse of guests by therapists threatens all these things in an existential way. It’s time for the industry to unite, find its moral compass and take control
By Liz Terry | Published in Spa Business 2017 issue 4
Our future prosperity and power to do good is at stake / shutterstock/Supavadee butradee
Operators involved in the emerging investigations into sexual misconduct in spas are shattered to find their businesses have been the setting for predatory sexual behaviour by staff against clients.
The Weinstein scandal has empowered people who’ve lacked the confidence to speak out, meaning we’re hearing the truth about the darker parts of our world.
Overlay the possibility that in more litigious countries, compensation is also a motivation for a few unethical individuals, and it stacks up to mean we’re highly exposed and facing what is arguably our first existential threat as an sector.
Massage and other one-to-one treatments are the engine room driving the industry and if customers lose faith in our ability to keep them safe when they’re naked and vulnerable, they will simply stay away.
Our future success, reputation, and prosperity will depend on how effectively we tackle this challenge.
For operators, covering up what has happened is an understandable reaction, because we’ll see business failures as a result of these revelations and people are frightened for their livelihoods.
But apart from being morally wrong and utterly unacceptable, the message from the courts of law dealing with these cases is coming through loud and clear – deny it, fail to report it or cover it up and that will be a major factor counting against you when it comes to determining the severity of the legal outcome.
At the heart of the solution is a need for more vigilance over our people. Just as doctors and other professionals need to be qualified and licenced and can be struck off for bad practice, so we must move to have this level of safeguarding for therapists. Customers will demand it and we must be able to prove our industry is well-governed to gain their trust.
This is a wealthy sector that could afford to implement this type of system, but greed means corners are being cut by many when it comes to hiring, and with no process in place for oversight, rogue therapists, once discovered, can simply move on and continue their abuse elsewhere.
Industry bodies and leading operators must come together to create a system which will place our industry on a professional footing to ensure there’s no way in for those who would abuse the trust our customers place in us.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Promotional feature: Anne Semonin
Katherine Connolly, newly appointed global
director of retail and spa operations at Anne
Semonin, discusses her plans for the brand
Promotional feature: Thalion
Thalion is the first company to develop highly
specialised mineral therapies for clients, says
training manager Sophie Alemany
Research: Finishing touch
A new study shows that massage can
help muscle re-growth after an injury –
even when applied to the opposite limb
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
The relationship between client and therapist is based on trust, good intentions and professionalism. Revelations about sexual abuse of guests by therapists threatens all these things in an existential way. It’s time for the industry to unite, find its moral compass and take control
By Liz Terry | Published in Spa Business 2017 issue 4
Our future prosperity and power to do good is at stake / shutterstock/Supavadee butradee
Operators involved in the emerging investigations into sexual misconduct in spas are shattered to find their businesses have been the setting for predatory sexual behaviour by staff against clients.
The Weinstein scandal has empowered people who’ve lacked the confidence to speak out, meaning we’re hearing the truth about the darker parts of our world.
Overlay the possibility that in more litigious countries, compensation is also a motivation for a few unethical individuals, and it stacks up to mean we’re highly exposed and facing what is arguably our first existential threat as an sector.
Massage and other one-to-one treatments are the engine room driving the industry and if customers lose faith in our ability to keep them safe when they’re naked and vulnerable, they will simply stay away.
Our future success, reputation, and prosperity will depend on how effectively we tackle this challenge.
For operators, covering up what has happened is an understandable reaction, because we’ll see business failures as a result of these revelations and people are frightened for their livelihoods.
But apart from being morally wrong and utterly unacceptable, the message from the courts of law dealing with these cases is coming through loud and clear – deny it, fail to report it or cover it up and that will be a major factor counting against you when it comes to determining the severity of the legal outcome.
At the heart of the solution is a need for more vigilance over our people. Just as doctors and other professionals need to be qualified and licenced and can be struck off for bad practice, so we must move to have this level of safeguarding for therapists. Customers will demand it and we must be able to prove our industry is well-governed to gain their trust.
This is a wealthy sector that could afford to implement this type of system, but greed means corners are being cut by many when it comes to hiring, and with no process in place for oversight, rogue therapists, once discovered, can simply move on and continue their abuse elsewhere.
Industry bodies and leading operators must come together to create a system which will place our industry on a professional footing to ensure there’s no way in for those who would abuse the trust our customers place in us.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Promotional feature: Anne Semonin
Katherine Connolly, newly appointed global
director of retail and spa operations at Anne
Semonin, discusses her plans for the brand
Promotional feature: Thalion
Thalion is the first company to develop highly
specialised mineral therapies for clients, says
training manager Sophie Alemany
Research: Finishing touch
A new study shows that massage can
help muscle re-growth after an injury –
even when applied to the opposite limb
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
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An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
