Hotel group Hyatt International is continuing with its investment in the spa market, announcing plans to operate a total of 74 spa facilities around the world by the end of 2008.

Hyatt, which operates three hotel brands – Park, Grand and Regency – has opened13 spas this year alone and plans to open eight in 2005 and a further 19 between 2006 and 2008.

Although the company declines to divulge how much it is investing in spa development, one of its most recent offerings, the Plateau at Hong Kong Grand Hyatt, represented an investment of US$10m (£5.6m, 8.2m euro).

The focus for new facilities is very much in the Chinese market, with 11 of the planned 22 new spas opening in the country.

Gordon Tareta, director of spa operations, said: “We’re very fortunate with the growth we’re enjoying now. When we build a Hyatt hotel, we add a Hyatt spa.

“We take a zero-based approach with each and every spa project, which quite often differs from other companies. Every spa is culturally authentic and integrated with where it is in the world. We use materials and products that are indigenous wherever possible.”

Speaking to Spa Business, Tareta also said that the spa industry needs to be more supportive of training and education. “It’s extremely important that there’s a move towards greater integration between employer and the trainer,” he said.

“There needs to be a reality check with some of the schools that turn out therapists; we have seen some newly-qualified clinical therapists straight out of college who we can’t work with because they haven’t been trained in service. Or they come out with expectations of a fast track to riches and when they discover the industry going rates it comes as a shock.”

See the full interview with Gordon Tareta in Spa Business Q3 2004. Call +44 (0)1462 471913 to subscribe or visit www.leisuresubs.com