Sandals Resorts Seeks To Pamper You In A Post-Pandemic Society

The physical and emotional toll of COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on countless lives. While vaccine rollouts are steadily making their way to everyone in the country, when looking at the prospect of being able to pack up one’s bags to travel for the purposes of relaxation and rejuvenation, there remains some expressed hesitation. Naturally, there are ethical considerations to make, however, once we are free to fly the friendly skies without worries once more, undoubtedly – it will be for wellness – especially considering how much our collective stress levels have skyrocketed over the last year.

In fact, in a pre-pandemic society, travel with spa and wellness in mind was being prioritized. The Global Wellness Economy was estimated to be a $4.5 trillion dollar market (2018 data) with wellness tourism accounting for $639 billion dollars.

As a result, all-inclusive luxury resorts such as Sandals are anticipating and prioritizing these needs. As a consequence of the pandemic, while an intensive wellness specific retreat could still be a consideration for some in the future, many are instead opting for practicality: seeking out deals and destinations that offer a range of activities that can accommodate numerous interests.

Considering the sad loss of the company’s founder, Gordon “Butch” Stewart earlier this year, it’s been a particularly heart-wrenching time for everyone. However the travel industry icon and his company perseveres. From the outset, his innovative endeavors put Sandals in a different category from other all-inclusives by being the first Caribbean hotel company to offer a signature included spa experience – and this was how the Red Lane Spa was subsequently born. But what does the future hold for the legacy luxury resort brand? I had an opportunity to speak with Kafi Samuels, Spa Manager at Sandals Grande Antigua Resort – the first property within the company’s family of 24 luxury resorts to cautiously re-open during the COVID-19 crisis.

In my conversation with Ms. Samuels, I asked how she and her Sandals Resorts team-at-large are navigating this “new normal” of travel. Additionally, she shares insights into how she’s been faring both professionally and personally – as staff safety and their wellbeing has been paramount to ensure that guests as well as employees are happy and healthy when interacting within the property and in intimate spa settings.

Travel in terms of vacationing for the purposes of wellness and beauty are on the rise. Additionally, these spheres are intersecting/overlapping more than ever, especially those seeking a form of escapism (from daily stresses and of course, from the pandemic). Can you speak to how Sandals is offering a secure and safe environment for people to do this?

Kafi Samuels (KS): Here at Sandals, our motto has always been “Where love is all you need, because the rest is taken care of” – and that rings true for all aspects of the vacation, including wellness and beauty. Our Red Lane Spa was created for couples to focus on connection, time, and love as part of their vacation experience and naturally serves as another place to escape, so they can leave feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. 

Surpassing health and safety standards have always been a number one priority for our team, but we took an even deeper look at how we can even further enhance our guests’ experience to give them complete and total peace of mind while they’re staying with us. This quickly led us to the development of our Sandals Platinum Protocols of Cleanliness at the onset of the pandemic early last year. It truly encompasses each and every guest touchpoint you could think of . . . right down to the light switches. This is in addition to our full-service medical stations staffed daily with a registered nurse and 24/7 on-call medical personnel – which we’ve always had – but we’ve since upgraded to include the appropriate equipment and supplies and things are continuously evaluated by our Quality Inspection Teams. 

Now more than ever, we know our guests are seeking the intersection of safety and privacy meets luxury. Our resorts are expansive; and even in pre-pandemic circumstances, they were purposely designed with natural distancing in mind to ensure couples have plenty of space for an intimate getaway. From suites with private pools, private beachside cabanas, to open-air restaurants and bars – it was all crafted to never feel crowded, which also suits the needs of all who visit us in a post-pandemic society. 

What kind of modified training, lessons, prep work was involved behind-the-scenes to ensure that not only guests were not sacrificing their spa/beauty experiences, but that the staff were also safe too?

KS: Our number one focus is to prioritize safety and comfort without imposing on our guests’ time at our spa. And safety does not simply extend to solely our guests, but every single Sandals Resort Team Member as well. 

We as a team underwent thorough training over the course of several weeks ahead of the reopening of our resorts, including extensive education on all the necessary new protocols and best practices led by science and data. To ensure we were hitting the mark while still providing award-winning services, we did everything from numerous guest simulations and training workshops to fittings for personal protective equipment. We also implemented extra time between services for our therapists to ensure they can properly address these new protocols, take a moment to breathe, and reconnect before taking care of their next guests to promote serenity and tranquility for all parties. It’s all been extremely well received, in my experience, and we haven’t had to sacrifice the quality of our many services. 

Tell me about how COVID-19 shook up not only the travel industry, but how you operate day-to-day when it comes to spa services, especially when this is perhaps the most hands-on and intimate kind of hospitality.

KS: We know that now, more than ever, couples are looking for a place they can go that is safe and relaxed; somewhere they can escape and not have to worry.

We added in enhancements to the practices we’ve always led the industry in – such as the way we store our spa linens and the handling of our products, encouraging more open air venues for treatments, and providing therapists with additional protective wear to carry out their services, allowing for both them and the guest to indulge with a deeper more peace of mind. 

Regarding day-to-day operations at Red Lane Spa itself to keep us all safe and healthy, my fellow team members and I underwent extensive training ahead of reopening, and we are equipped with the proper protective gear to make us – and our guests – feel as comfortable as possible. While we were already doing a lot of these things to promote a clean and safe environment, we added some enhancements along the way. Here are some examples to paint the picture of what this includes:

• High temperature washing and rinsing of glasses and utensils in a professional grade dishwasher.
• Air conditioner units and filters cleaned and sanitized daily.
• All equipment, surfaces and furniture cleaned and sanitized after every use and also every three hours – whether it has been used or not. 
• Spa linens stored and transported in sealed bags.
• Regular temperature checks for guests and team members. 
• Additional time between clients to ensure plenty of sanitation efforts and inspection of cleanliness. 
• Additional utilization of secluded outdoor areas (complete with ocean and mountain views!) for individual and couple’s treatments. 

We also pride ourselves on the exceptional wedding destination services. We launched personal use makeup kits and tools for brides and anyone who might be in their bridal party. It’s the attention to detail like this that is helping our guests stay safe while having peace-of-mind. The pandemic allowed us to creatively look at every single last detail of the Red Lane Spa journey even a little bit deeper than before – regardless of how small of a detail it may be. 

In light of the effects of COVID-19, can you highlight any observations and differences in regards to the booking habits of travelers seeking out your spa services?

KS: What I can tell you is that we are seeing an increase in the percentage of guests who book multiple Red Lane Spa treatments during their stay with us. This particularly includes our skincare offerings, i.e., facials. Quite frankly, I think a lot of that has to do with skin irritations and breakouts due to wearing masks for long periods of time – especially for those who are essential workers. Plus, there has also been some particularly cold weather (e.g. in the northern U.S. states and Canada) this year that can wreak havoc on your skin and really dry things out. 

Additionally, we’ve also seen a significant uptick in multiple Registered Massage Therapy (RMT) bookings – sometimes even once a day over a 6–7 day period. They’re also booking longer 90-min or two-hour treatments vs. pre-COVID-19. I’ve heard a ton of guest feedback that working from home without a proper office space has left them with sore backs and shoulders. It’s easy to quickly find yourself hunched down staring at a computer screen for hours on end. I’ve even heard stories of parents working from the living room floor while their children can do their schoolwork from the desk or kitchen table. 

Lastly, we’re also seeing a huge trend in guests utilizing our outdoor spaces as you can imagine, and it’s certainly something we encourage. If you prefer your treatments be in an open-air space, we will make it happen. If you prefer a secluded garden cabana or in-suite, that can also be arranged. We also see many guests utilizing this as a time to further connect with their partner in a way that isn’t easy to do at home combined with an overall reconnection with themselves. I believe all of these desires reaffirms the fact that our guests are putting self-care as a priority for mind, body and soul.

The emotional and mental toll on everyone in the pandemic has been palpable and nearly unbearable for some. Considering your interactions with guests are on an intimate level, how have you been prioritizing your own self-care and relaxation needs? Do you have any tips you can share?

KS: Below are a few tips I’ve learned along the way (when you aren’t able to be at a Sandals Resort!) that help me feel relaxed and keep my sanity!

• Practice Grounding. For me, I consider it a great and easy way to essentially help yourself connect with Earth through your senses. It can be as simple as lying in the grass while you read a book, dangling your feet in the water or going for a hike. It’s the perfect reset button and really helps get those stress hormones in check.
• Learn. With more of us staying home now more than ever, we can find ourselves with some extra time on our hands. Rather than turn on the TV or spend hours scrolling through social media, we can take control of learning something new to help rejuvenate the mind, body and soul. This can include a new massage technique to work through at home with your significant other or learning how to make a homemade body scrub. My favorite is coffee. Just mix together ½ cup of fresh ground coffee, ½ cup of brown sugar and a ½ cup of coconut oil into a mixture and then add a dash of vanilla extract. It smells amazing and is perfect in a pinch for removing dead skin cells. Of course, if you’re not into a homemade body scrub, you can always visit our Red Lane Online store to find a variety of your favorite Caribbean-inspired products which can be shipped directly to your home. 
• Daily Exercise. I realize this can be easier said than done (at least with me!) but even just 15-30 minutes of daily exercise goes a long way. Sometimes with me it is as simple as jumping jacks, walking outside while taking a call, or even dancing. If you don’t have access to a spa or a gym, there are plenty of ways you can get your blood pumping and endorphins up at home.