Source: ISPA
A resort spa with on-site residences consists of multiple businesses: the spa, a hotel, a restaurant, privately-owned housing, and maintenance of common areas. A particular job may exist in only one of these businesses or may be available in more than one. Jobs may be full-time, part-time, or contracted on-call. Some jobs require weekend, off-shift, or on-call availability. Some jobs are seasonal. Many job titles are not standardized within the industry (this is acknowledged as a problem), making comparisons difficult.
Source: ISPA
In 2006, a typical year, 47% of the jobs were full time, 38% were part-time, and the remaining 15% were contract positions. Note that during a retrenchment in 2007, the bulk of the jobs lost were in the part-time sector.
Applying these percentages to the 300 jobs projected for the Williams Lake project results in the following:
Note that there can be no assurance that the project will follow the national statistics.
Total employment varies widely depending on the amenities offered. For example, Canyon Ranch in Tucson employs over 1,000 people. For a Jan 2008 job fair, they advertised positions available in Medical, Spa & Sports, Administrative, Hotel, Housekeeping, Reservations & Sales areas.
Below is a brief outline of common jobs:
Here are current job openings at selected spa resorts:
According to the 2007 ISPA Spa Industry report, the hardest jobs to fill were "nail technicians, massage therapists, estheticians and the front desk."
The job table shown in the next section lists a composite of: jobs (as of Jan 2008) being advertised by 8 of the spa resorts listed above and industry job banks, the researcher's observations at similar non-spa facilities, etc. No detail in it should be taken literally, however taken as a whole it probably presents an overall picture of the type of employment available at a spa resort.
Summary: Hourly job pay ranges from minimum wage to about $11 per hour, in some cases supplemented by tips. Salaried positions pay up to $60,000 annually, with most in the $20,000 - $40,000 range.
Most employment advertisements do not specify job wages. Those shown here come from a very small sample, mostly from Skana Spa at Turning Stone in New York state (which no longer displays this information), and may not be representative of a specific employer. Where '$' appears alone in the Wage column, no examples were found.
Benefits may include health & dental insurance, life insurance, pension, vacation, years-of-service rewards, bereavement leave, finder's fee for getting new employees, annual party, etc. Many benefits are contingent upon length of service (calendar duration or total hours worked); short-term employees may see few of them.
Turnover is characterized as high, or medium, depending on the number of times the job was encountered in the listings used as input.
DISCLAIMER: Jobs not appearing in help-wanted listings do not yet appear here; this probably includes most higher-wage positions. If you find a good source for this data, please let Chris Beall know.
| Job title | Business | Type | Skill level | Wage | Hours | Turnover | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts Receivable clerk | Common | Full time | Experience | $ | Normal work week | Medium | 1 |
| Aerobics / Cardio instructor | Spa | On-call contractor | Experience, CPR cert | $ per hour | On-call | Medium | 0 - 1 |
| Aesthetician | Spa | Full or part time | License & experience | $ per hour1 | Some evenings, weekends, and holidays | High | 1 per xx clients |
| Assistant Front Office manager | Hotel | Full time | Experience, HS/GED, pref BA | Depends on experience | Normal work week | Medium | 1 |
| Bartender | Hotel, Restaurant | Full & part time | Experience | $7.15 per hour1 | Swing, grave shift | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Bell captain / dispatcher | Hotel | Full time | Driver's license, manual transmission experience | $ per hour1 | incl nights and weekends | Medium | 2 - 3? |
| Bell person | Hotel | Full or part time | OJT | $6.75 per hour1 | Constant schedule changes | Medium | 1 per xx guests |
| Boat dock attendant | Hotel, Spa | Full time | OJT, CPR cert | $ per hour | Normal work week, seasonal | Medium | 1 - 2 |
| Busser | Restaurant | Full or part time | OJT | $ per hour | Normal work week | Medium | 1 per xx restaurant patrons |
| Cashier | Restaurant | Full & part time | Experience | $8.50 per hour | Swing, grave shift | Medium | ? |
| Chef (various sub-specialties and grades) | Restaurant | Full time | up to 5 yrs experience | $ per hour or $ | incl rotating weekends & holidays | High | Varies with kitchen size |
| Chief steward | Restaurant | Full time | Experience, sanitation certification | $ (per hour?) | incl evenings and weekends | Medium | 1 |
| Cook | Restaurant | Full & part time | OJT or experience | $8.81 per hour | Swing, grave shift | Medium | ? |
| Cosmetologist | Spa | Part time | Experience, NY license | $ per hour1 | Sunday | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Culinary extern | Restaurant | Temporary | Experience, grad of culinary program | $9 - 10 per hour | incl nights, weekends & holidays, seasonal | High | ? |
| Custodian / public area cleaner | Hotel, Restaurant, Spa | Full or part time | OJT | $8 per hour | Flexible shift | High | 1 - ? |
| Director | Spa | Full time | 4+ yrs experience | $60-80K | Normal work week | Low (but many positions open, mostly for new spas) | 1 |
| Driver | Hotel, Restaurant, Spa | Full time | Experience, incl manual transmission, may need CDL | $10 per hour1 | incl weekends & holidays | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Drummer / Chanter [New position] | Spa | Part time | Experience | $ per hour/td> | 2.5 hrs/day | Medium | 2 |
| EMT (may be combined with Security officer) | Common | Full or part time | Experience, cert | $ per hour | rotating shifts, weekends & holidays | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Equine facilitator | Spa | Full time | Experience | $ per hour1? | Normal work week | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Exercise physiologist | Spa | Full time | Masters in physiology, experience, may require other certs | $ | Normal work week | Medium | 0 - 1 |
| Financial manager | Hotel, Restaurant, Spa | Full time | CPA, pref Masters, 4 yrs mgmt, 7 yrs acctg | $ | Normal work week | Medium | 1 |
| Fitness instructor | Spa | Full time | Experience, fitness-related Degree preferred, CPR cert, fitness cert | $ per hour1 | Normal work week | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Floor attendant | Hotel, Restaurant, Spa | Full time | Lift and carry 75 pounds | $7.94 per hour | Normal work week | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Front Desk agent | Hotel | Full or part time | Experience, HS / GED | $9 per hour | incl weekends & holidays | High | 1 per shift |
| Front Desk Supervisor | Hotel | Full time | Experience | $11 per hour | Normal work week | Medium | 1 per shift |
| Front office supervisor | Hotel | Full time | HS/GED, adv degree pref | $ | Swing, grave shift | Medium | 2 |
| Guest advisor | Hotel, Spa | Full or part time | Experience | $ per hour | Normal work week, incl nights & weekends | Medium | 2 - ? |
| Guest service agent | Hotel, Spa | Full or part time | OJT | $ per hour | 1st or 2nd shift | Medium | 2 - ? |
| Hiking & Biking Guide | Spa | Part time & on-call contractor | Experience | $ per hour1 | As scheduled | Medium | 0 - 3? |
| Host / Hostess | Restaurant | Full & part time | OJT, experience preferred | $7.94 per hour | Swing, grave shift, incl weekends & holidays | Medium | 1 per dining area |
| Housekeeper / Room attendant | Hotel, Spa | Full time | OJT | $ per hour1 | Normal work week, incl weekends | High | 1 per xx hotel rooms plus 1 per xx spa treatment rooms |
| Housekeeping supervisor | Hotel | Full time | Experience, may require HS/GED | $9.78 per hour | flexible shift | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Laundry worker | Hotelt, Spa | Full or part time | OJT | $ per hour | shift, incl weekends and holidays | Medium | 2 - ? |
| Lead trainer | Spa | Full time | Experience, multiple certs | $ per hour | Normal work week | Medium | 2 - ? |
| Life Guard | Common | Full & part time | Lifesaving cert, CPR, first aid | $8.50 per hour | Day, swing shift | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Line cook | Restaurant | Full & part time | Experience | $9.78 - 10.22 per hour | available any day, any schedule | High | ? |
| Martial Arts instructor | Spa | Part time? | Experience, CPR cert | $ per hour | As scheduled | Medium | 0 - 1 |
| Massage Manager & Assistant | Spa | Full time | License | $ per hour | Normal work week | Medium | 2 |
| Massage therapist | Spa | Full & part time | AMTA-accredited massage, anatomy & physiology training, NY license | Commission or $ per hour1 | min 3 hrs /day, max 5 consecutive days, incl nights, weekends & holidays | High | Many |
| Nail technician | Spa | Full or part time | Experience, NY license | $4.75 per hour1 | Normal work week | High | 1 - ? |
| Nurse educator | Spa | Full time | RN plus 3-5 yrs experience | $ | Normal work week incl alternate weekends | Medium | 2 |
| Painter | Hotel, Restaurant, Spa | Full time | Experience | $ per hour | Normal work week | Medium | 1 |
| PBX operator | Hotel | Full time | Experience | $9 per hour | Swing, grave shift | Medium | 1 |
| Pilates instructor | Spa | On-call contractor | Experience, CPR cert | $ per hour | On-call | Medium | 0 - 1 |
| Physical therapist | Spa | Full time | 3 yrs experience | $ | Normal work week, some weekends | Medium | ? |
| Recruiter / Employee relations coordinator | Common | Full time | Experience | $ per hour | Normal work week, some overnight travel | Medium | 0 - 1 |
| Reservation agent | Hotel, Spa | Full time | Experience | $ | shifts, incl weekends & holidays | Medium | 2 - 3 |
| Restaurant manager | Restaurant | Full time | 4 yr food-mgmt degree plus 5 yrs experience, wine selection knowledge | $ | ? | Medium | 1 |
| Restaurant supervisor | Restaurant | Full time | Experience | $ | Any shift, weekends, holidays | Medium | 1 per shift |
| Rooms inspector | Hotel, Spa | Full time | Experience | $ per hour | Normal work week, incl weekends & holidays | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Room service attendant | Hotel | Part time | OJT | $ per hour1 | incl weekends & holidays | Medium | 1 per xx hotel rooms |
| Security officer (may be combined with EMT) | Common | Full or part time | Experience, cert | $ per hour | rotating shifts, weekends & holidays | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Server / Waiter | Restaurant | Full or part time | Experience | $4.75 per hour1 | incl weekends & holidays | High | Many |
| Server assistant | Restaurant | Part time | OJT | $ per hour | split shift | Medium | 1 per xx servers |
| Shop attendant | Restaurant | Full & part time | HS/GED, experience | $8.50 per hour | Swing shift | Medium | 1 - ? |
| Skin Care manager | Spa | Full time | Mgmt experience, aesthetician license | $ | Normal work week | Medium | None or one |
| Spa / floor attendant | Spa | Full or part time or on-call contractor | CPR cert | $ per hour | on-call | High | 1 per xx treatment rooms |
| Spa coordinator | Spa | Full time | Experience | $ | Normal work week | Medium | 1 |
| Spa desk receptionist | Spa | Full & part time | HS/GED, type 30wpm, pref experience | $9 per hour | incl nights & weekends | High | 2 - 3 |
| Spa services assistant | Spa | Full time | OJT | $ per hour | Normal work week | Medium | 1 |
| Spinning instructor | Spa | On-call contractor | Experience, CPR cert | $ per hour | on-call | Medium | 0 - 1 |
| Steward / Dishwasher | Restaurant | Full & Part time | OJT | $7.94 per hour | incl weekends and evenings | High | 1 - ? |
| Sustainability administrator [New position] | Common | Part time | OJT | $ per hour | 10 hrs/wk | Medium | 1 |
| Training and Development Director | Common, Hotel, Housing, Restaurant, Spa | Full time | Experience, pref BA/BS | Depends on experience | incl days, nights, weekends, holidays | Medium | 1 |
| Turndown supervisor | Hotel | Full time | OJT | $ per hour | incl evenings & weekends | Medium | 1 per xx hotel rooms |
| Valet parking attendant | Hotel | Full time | HS/GED, experience, incl manual shift, NY license | $6.75 per hour1 | all shifts | Medium | 0 - ? |
| Yoga instructor | Spa | On-call contractor | Experience, CPR cert | $ per hour | On-call | Medium | 0 - 2 |
According to the NY State Department of Labor, unemployment in the Hudson Valley region was 4.4% in Feb, 2016. In the Kingston Metropolitan statistical area the rate was 4.7%.
Job-seeker statistics are maintained by county. Job-seekers may be unemployed or may simply be looking for a different job. Below is some data on Ulster County job-seekers as of 17 Apr 2016.
| Job title | Number looking |
|---|---|
| Bartender | 106 |
| Cashier | 713 |
| Chef / head cook | 106 |
| Cook, restaurant | 129 |
| Food preparation | 254 |
| General and operations manager | 290 |
| Human resources assistant | 30 |
| Janitor / cleaner | 210 |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping | 270 |
| Lifeguard, ski patrol, etc. | 40 |
| Maid / housekeeper | 227 |
| Receptionist / information clerk | 287 |
| Retail sales | 375 |
| Security guard | 138 |
| Supervisor / manager of food prep and serving | 138 |
| Waiter / waitress | 332 |
It's hard to say. NY job-seeker statistics provided data only on years of schooling up to "16 years or more" and experience up to "one year or more". Most spa jobs that require education or experience specify a particular degree or multiple years of experience.
Note that most spa jobs involve a significant amount of personal contact with the clients, so appearance and personality are often as important as specific job skills.
Full-time jobs could attract employees from neighboring towns, provided they have the necessary skills. Part-time jobs could also draw employees from Kingston and New Paltz, particularly if inexpensive transportation was made available for those without cars. Contract jobs would likely fall into two categories:
Last updated 17 Apr 2016 2015.