Spas Cater For Time-starved Execs

(Tuesday, August 24, 2004) - Being short of time is a common complaint among executive travelers and finding ways to relax before or after a meeting can be difficult.

Spas are springing up in cities, air terminals and on-board flights around the world to answer this need.

They are geared towards executives who cannot make their escape for a longer stretch of time, or have little more than an hour to spare.

In many day spas mobile phones must be switched off and clients are asked to arrive 20 minutes prior to their appointments to chill-out in a relaxation room.

"It is essential to create a balance in your life but it is not always that easy," Lucy Wakefield from the All Calmia spa told CNN.

"People have to learn to say 'no', to let go and realize that if they invest some time in themselves they will actually be more productive, more healthy and relaxed."

But when travelling, many executives barely have fifteen minutes to spare. A number of pampering services at airports have sprung up to meet this need.

Various airlines now offer spa services to those business travelers who have a few hours to spare before their flight.

"A lot of the seats on various airlines are different. I get headaches at the lower back of my head and spa services relieve this tension," says Mike Galyean who flew Virgin Atlantic from London to Orlando, Florida.

American Airlines purser Steven Yates is a travel veteran and uses airport services like the "walk-in back rub" whenever he can.

"The job is very physical, you stoop and you bend and you lift and you push and you twist, and you do a lot of things in order to accomplish the service," says Yates who has been in the job for 29 years.

But if you are a workaholic and cannot resist checking messages and e-mails in the business lounge, relaxation services are offered in the air, when you do have time to relax.

"When (business travelers) get on (the flight) they tend to be quite stressed because they have either just come from a meeting or they are traveling to a meeting," says Helen Cain from Virgin Atlantic.

"They are people that generally do not have any time to make time for treatments or luxuries such as this, so (in-flight) is an ideal situation."

Whether it is airport-based, or a city sanctuary, a quick fix or a longer treatment -- the point is to take a little time to keep your body and mind in top shape.

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