Jumeirah is set to start rolling out its Talise spa brand this year. Its creator, Anni Hood, tells Louise Oakley how the brand can adapt to fit the group's different properties.
This time last year, Jumeirah Group relaunched its former Six Senses spa at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai under its own brand - Talise Spa - a new global concept created by group director of spas and all-round wellness guru, Anni Hood.
From this year onwards, Jumeirah is set to introduce Talise, in various guises, to its other properties in the Middle East and beyond. Here, Hood reflects on the considerations taken in developing the brand and on its role in the future of the spa industry.
"I'd been with Six Senses a year and Jumeirah started to weigh up whether it should work with an existing spa brand or operate its own," says Hood.
"Jumeirah is still relatively small in terms of the actual number of properties, so it was the perfect time to create a spa brand, because it's not difficult then to put Talise into other properties," she continues.
"Of course there are pros to established brands, but we really felt as a company that with the strength of Jumeirah and its reputation for innovation, it would be foolish not to take that opportunity.
Madinat Jumeriah was chosen as the first location for Talise, as it would have been futile to create a brand and launch a new hotel, "only to compete against another spa brand within our own group", says Hood.
This meant, however, that there were only subtle changes to the design of the Six Senses spa, which features spacious treatment suites including facilities such as kneipp and watsu pools spread among beautiful banana tree-lined gardens.
"The rebranding was about the name, the treatment menu and spa rituals," says Hood.
Going forward, the essence of Talise and design signatures of everything we've created will be launched in the new properties coming up this year."
Creating the essence
Consumers and their changing needs were a key influence in developing Talise Spa.
Hood cites the following factors as being important in creating the brand: the growth of the baby boomer generation and its desire to defy the degenerative process; the fact that people are having children later in life and so want to invest in their health; the worldwide growth of the lifestyles of health and sustainability (LOHAS) consumer, who is concerned with the environment, organics, personal development and sustainable economies; and peoples' growing desire to not just feel better, but to know they have made a specific difference to their health.
Bearing in mind the needs of these consumer groups, Talise aims to appeal to everyone from the core wellness goer to the spa enthusiast down to spa dabblers.
"All these factors link into a different approach," says Hood. "Spa is evolving very quickly; it used to be just about massage and facial and instant gratification. It has become much more about lifestyle, habit and what you need to do to stay healthier.
"As I was putting Talise together, it was about integrating all of these aspects into a product so that you supply customer need almost in a one-stop-shop," she explains. "I wanted to make something that would work globally and would meet consumer lifestyle needs on all levels.
Also influential was the attitude in Dubai and the Middle East that "anything is possible", says Hood.
"There's a real desire to lead the world in whatever we do and that's a lovely inspiration to have, to know that the expectation of what you produce is that it doesn't exist, it's cutting edge, it's revolutionary. We couldn't create something that was one size fits all .
A scalable result
Talise is a brand that also needs to work within Jumeirah's various properties, whether hotel, resort or serviced residences. One of its key points, therefore, is that it is completely scalable.
There are four different spa types. Talise Wellness Boutique Spa is a smaller product, estimated at 417m² for a mini all-suite model - featuring mini spas within suites - and 447m² for a petite spa, which will have treatment rooms and changing and wet facilities, albeit on a small scale.
"The next model is a Talise Wellness Spa, which is an urban health suite," says Hood. "Within urban properties, you tend to find that the sleeper stays are much shorter, so the guests might only stay for 1.2 nights. People are flying in and flying out, so it's not a necessity to spend a fortune on lounging areas because people don't have time," she adds.
This all-suite model will be implemented at the new Jumeirah Han Tang Xintiandi in Shanghai, China, which is slated to open in August, making it the second Talise spa to launch and signalling the start of the rollout.
The third model is the Talise Wellness Retreat, similar to the spa at Madinat Jumeirah, while finally, the "pièce de résistance" is the Talise Wellness Resort - a purpose-designed Talise destination resort with the emphasis completely on wellness, spa, health and lifestyle. "Think Chiva Som and Canyon Ranch," says Hood.
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