Today’s world is evolving much faster than a decade ago and even much faster than two years ago. Two years ago we had social networking but did not have daily coupons. In today’s work social networking is classic marketing campaign.  Studies suggest that the mobile app market was $4B at the end of 2009 and is expected exceed $17B by 2012. These are astonishing numbers! So do you still think last year’s budget/strategy plus/minus a percentage is the right answer? Didn’t think so!  The real challenge is that our customers are exposed to so much and are getting more sophisticated every day. So we can look at more banner ads, social networking pages, keyword purchases, etc. But are they going to meet the needs of our sophisticated consumer? …

Today’s sophisticated consumer is looking at how well you know them and how well you deliver value-add products and services to them that addresses their needs. How much effort are you affording to capture your guest’s preferences and needs – from their preferred room to the type of pillow to the number of blankets to activities, objectives, and limitations. This is all done through investigative work and left to the operational practices and overworked low-level staff.  Wouldn’t it be easier and more reliable to simply ask the guests to share a lot more about themselves and tell you exactly what they like. The problem is no guest is going to fill out a questionnaire just to tell you what they like. Aha – unless you are delivering real value to them and providing them with personalized recommendations and guidance to take better care of themselves and lead them to healthier and more enjoyable lifestyle – all under your brand and through your programs and services. With this type of offering they will gladly share their preferences, objectives, challenges, etc. This level of personal engagement invites guests to interact with the resort’s programs at a much deeper level and provides an environment for them to interact with your brand as a part of their daily lives.

The new era of guest engagement has arrived. The era in which your brand is delivering value to your guests even when they are not at your resort. The era in which the guests visit your online presence as part of their daily life to lead a happier and healthier lives.  The era in which your guests come back to your resort more frequently and tell all their friends how wonderful they look and feel because they practice what they learned at your resort in their daily lives.  Isn’t this what you really would like to accomplish with your guests? This is our belief and mission. It is the vision behind our innovative Guest Experience Management Systems (GEMS). GEMS is a comprehensive online system that seamlessly integrates with your web site and provides a new level of guest engagement and personal touch through evidence based education on spa therapies. Through an engaging and interactive health assessment it provides personalized guidance on which therapies and programs best match their needs. It allows users to set goals (in the areas of nutrition, exercise, weight management, etc.) and track their progress toward achieving the desired objective. It enables users to create an online support team to help them in meeting the challenging goals they set for themselves. Through the use of this system, a wealth of data is collected and through its powerful analytics this data is turned into meaningful information enabling resort business decision makers to make better informed decisions on how to improve and take their business to much higher level.

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The two companies are offering a complete end-to-end solution for managing all aspects of guest relationship at destination spas and wellness resorts. They are developing a tight integration between their respective platforms to deliver unmatched operations and marketing power to their clients. SelfOptima’s GEMS (Guest Experience Management System), provides an integrated online wellness environment for guests to stay connected with the resort, long after their stay. Guests can learn about the evidence behind resort therapies, receive personalized recommendations and activity plans through an engaging and interactive optimum health assessment. GEMS also provides goal setting, tracking and purposeful social networking functionality where guests are able to setup support groups needed to reach their wellness goals. Finally, guests are able to stay connected with the health experts at the resort and truly make the resort experience an integral part of their lives.

“We are excited to partner with ResortSuite and deliver a highly integrated solution for our clients,” said Nader Vasseghi, SelfOptima Founder and CEO. “Our clients will now be able to take guest relationship management to levels unattainable in the past,” continued Vasseghi.

“We now can deliver a new dimension of knowledge about guests’ wellness goals, wellbeing and level of engagement,” stated Frank Pitsikalis, ResortSuite Founder & CEO. “Combining the wealth of data in our property and spa management system and the in-depth guest data in SelfOptima’s system enables our clients to truly deliver unmatched personalized experiences to their guests.” continued Pitsikalis.

About SelfOptima: SelfOptima is the leader in providing an intelligent platform for optimizing health and wellbeing. SelfOptima’s Health Platform is the world’s first comprehensive system providing the individualized guidance and tools needed to optimize health and improve quality of life. SelfOptima’s focus is on practical, evidence-based information and research on integrative and preventative medicine. www.selfoptima.com

About ResortSuite: ResortSuite is a sophisticated and fully integrated guest-centric hospitality management software solution developed specifically for hotels and resorts, boutique hotels, spas, clubs and leisure operations, and their multi-faceted business areas. The ResortSuite solution is built on an Oracle database and includes the following specialized modules: PMS, SPA, CATERING, F&B, GOLF, SKI, CLUB, RETAIL, CONCIERGE, CONNECT, DASHBOARD, WEB, SOCIAL and MOBILE. All modules oversee the areas of an operation in parallel but share common core capabilities, creating a guest-centric integrated hospitality management solution. ResortSuite prides itself on delivering exceptional support and forging strong business relationships with its clients and partners and was awarded Hotelier Magazine’s Supplier of the Year Award. For more information on the ResortSuite solution, please visit www.resortsuite.com.

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Rancho La Puerta’s GM, Roberto Arjona, explains how the ranch and their guests will benefit from our Guest Experience Management System. You can view the full article from the December issue of Pulse here.

Topics and Activities

• Achieve your peak performance with simple Mind-Body healing techniques
• Discover your path to stress free living
• Learn about the most advanced testing/diagnostic tools to thrive as you age
• Receive tips on sound sleep and optimal diet for full rejuvenation
• Learn how to prevent most chronic illnesses before they start
• Enjoy morning nature walk/hike
• Experience Yoga, Qi Gong and Meditation sessions
• Participate in Q&A with panel of experts

The Presenters:

Ravin Agah, MD, PhD – Stanford University, Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Dr. Ravin Agah, M.D., PhD is a practicing internist immunologist-infectious disease specialist at Palo Alto Medical Foundation. He is also an assistant clinical professor at Stanford University Medical Center. He has been in the forefront of practicing alternative complementary medicine for the past 15 years.

He was instrumental in setting up complimentary alternative program at Tufts University School of Medicine where he was an assistant professor. He practices alternative complimentary medicine in his practice every day at Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
He has over 80 publications in his name. He is the recipient of the NIH Research and Peabody awards. He has done fellowship in immunology at Pasteur Institute in Paris, France and USC School of Medicine in California.

Rachel Abrams, MD – Dir. Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine & Chi Center

Dr. Abrams received her Medical Degree from the UC San Francisco and a Master’s Degree in Holistic Health and Medical Sciences from the UC Berkeley.

Dr. Abrams has a cutting edge Optimal Health and Longevity Program working with many of the world’s most influential people, from CEOs to Nobel Peace laureates. She teaches workshops regularly at the Chi Center in Santa Cruz, at Salem Institute in Big Sur, California and at UC Santa Cruz.

In 2008 she opened the award-winning Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine & Chi Center where she manages and works with 15 practitioners and 7 instructors to provide the highest level of care from conventional and holistic medicine. Dr. Abrams spends time with her patients exploring the important connections between health and vitality, relationships, lifestyle choices, work, and environment.

To view Dr. Abrams Tax Santa Cruz lecture please visit the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUP0yt-6ba4&feature=youtube

Lee Holden, Leach. – Dir. Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine & Chi Center

Lee Holden is an internationally known instructor in meditation, tai chi, and Qi Gong, as well as a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and author (7 Minutes of Magic, Penguin 2007). He is a regular fixture on American Public Television and over 105 PBS stations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Lee is a graduate of U.C., Berkeley, with a BA in Psychology. Lee, a “Doctor of Chinese Medicine,” is a graduate of Five Branches Institute in Santa Cruz, a leading acupuncture college in the U.S.

Lee’s expertise and down-to-earth teaching style have made him a popular speaker and workshop facilitator. To learn more about Lee’s online articles, interviews, and watch some of his video clips please visit the following:

http://www.leeholden.com/about-lee-holden.html

Yvonne Nienstadt – Nutrition director at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico

Yvonne was featured in a segment of the series on aging well called Beating Time on the Discovery Health Channel as well as appearing on the Today Show and NBC News on the need to shift the focus in health care to prevention rather than on expensive medical interventions for degenerative disease that could easily be prevented with lifestyle and dietary changes. Yvonne brings her many years of experience to bear, inspiring others to move beyond mere prevention, towards conscious self renewal and transformation.

Yvonne came to Rancho La Puerta from another well known destination spa, Cal-a-Vie, where she had worked since 1989. An avid cook, Yvonne authored Cal-a-Vie’s Gourmet Spa Cookery. Yvonne has contributed to several other cookbooks, including the Ranch’s newest “Cooking with the Seasons” Additionally, she wrote the foreword for Roger Ebert’s rice cooker recipe book The Pot and How to Use It. A long time devotee of the science of yoga, a practitioner of Kriya yoga and a certified yoga instructor, Yvonne also teaches classes on meditation, guided imagery, fasting and cleansing for physical and spiritual health, better sleep and stress management.

Early bird registration

Until Jan 15, 2012:
$550 Shared Room
$700 Single Room
$350 Commuter (no overnight stay)

Please note:

-Space is limited, please register now to guarantee your spot
-After January 15, 2012 there will be a price increase for all categories
-Includes 2 nights stay, meals, and all sessions for shared and single room categories

Click below to register

Shared Room
Single Room
Commuter

You DO NOT need a PayPal account to register. To pay with a credit card, click on “Don’t have a PayPal account” in the PayPal popup window. We process all payments (even credit card payments) through PayPal for security purposes and to support a variety of world currencies.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations made more than 2 weeks prior to the event will receive a full refund minus an $80 processing fee. Cancellations made 14-7 days prior to the event will receive a 50% refund, and within 7 days of the retreat 25% will be refunded. There is no refund for cancellations made within 2 days of the event.

For more information

Please contact sima@selfoptima.com or call 408-829-7462

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SelfOptima Announces a Partnership with The Healing Hotels of the World

Cupertino, CA, October 31, 2011 – SelfOptima, a technology company known as the leader in personalized integrative health and wellness, recently revealed its new flagship product, WellO. This ‘Personalized Guest Engagement System’ has been specifically designed for healing resorts and destination spas. The company signed an agreement with Rancho La Puerta, a repetitive winner of the prestigious “World’s Best Destination Spa” – Travel + Leisure magazine’s Readers’ Poll” award. The resort will soon offer SelfOptima’s WellO to its guests.

SelfOptima’s focus on evidence-based integrative health fits well with the industries mission to bring the spa and medical worlds closer together. “We are tremendously excited about partnering with the Healing Hotels of The World and being able to offer this platform to all of their partner hotels,” said SelfOptima’s CEO Nader Vasseghi, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur. “We view the Healing Hotels of the World as a new genre of healing centers where the whole person is taken into account, across physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. These resorts really understand and practice this new paradigm of holisic and integrative medicine.”

WellO introduces a new generation of personalized guest experience. Guests can learn about the evidence behind spa therapies, get personalized recommendations and guidance on resort programs and services, as well as stay connected and engaged with the resort offerings even after their stay. An initial guided and interactive health assessment will help determine the best choice of spa treatments, wellness programs, fitness routines and integrative health therapies. Amongst many other features, guests will be guided through goal-setting and progress-tracking sessions, create support groups using the latest purposeful social networking concepts, and conduct online coaching sessions with therapists and experts.

Anne Biging, CEO of Healing Hotels commented, “we are very pleased to have this unique technology company as our preferred partner. Their concept includes not only the promotion of the healing resorts programs and therapies but also provides education and guidance for the guests in their journey towards optimum health. It allows for an enriched and intimate guest experience.”

In addition, SelfOptima, in partnership with the Global Spa Summit, recently launched www.SpaEvidence.com, the first website dedicated to providing objective and medical evidence behind spa & wellness therapies. Guests, as well as medical professionals and spa therapists can now explore the thousands of studies evaluating the benefits of approaches like massage and meditation. This online portal’s rich content and functionality will continue to expand and grow over time. The site can be branded and integrated into any particular resort’s website to enhance their own web presence.

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About SelfOptima:

SelfOptima is the leader in providing an intelligent platform for optimizing health and well-being. SelfOptima’s Health Platform is the world’s first comprehensive system providing the individualized guidance and tools needed to optimize health and improve quality of life. SelfOptima’s focus is on practical, evidence-based information and research on integrative and preventative medicine.
http://www.selfoptima.com/spa

About Healing Hotels of The World:

Healing Hotels of the World is the only global brand for the finest hotels and resorts with focus on holistic health and wellbeing. All of the nearly 70 partner hotels on five continents share a passion to facilitate the human quest for the enhancement of life itself.
http://www.healinghotelsoftheworld.com/

Contact:  Kathrin Nikolussi
Phone: (408) 912-1908×16
Email: kathrin@selfoptima.com

SelfOptima going to unveil WellO guest engagement platform at ISPA

Cupertino, CA October 21, 2011 – SelfOptima will exhibit at the 2011 ISPA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is being held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center November 7th through to the 10th, 2011. The company will unveil its new flagship product WellO, a product tailored to transform the spa and wellness industry through cutting-edge technology.

WellO is a guest engagement platform that provides an online wellness environment for guests to stay connected with the resort, even long after their departure. Guests will be guided through interactive health assements, progress charting, staying in touch with the experts features and meaningful social networking technologies to finding the daily inspiration they need to reach their wellness goals.

“SelfOptima’s WellO takes personalization, guest engagement and satisfaction to a whole new level” says SelfOptima CEO Nader Vasseghi. “Our vision is to empower the guests to take the spa experience home,” he continued.

Rancho la Puerta, repetitively awarded the “World’s Best Destination Spa” in Travel + Leisure magazine’s Readers’ Poll award, has already adopted SelfOptima’s WellO platform. Visit SelfOptima at booth #837 and experience their game-changing product WellO and to pick up your own “grow your business” kit.

SelfOptima will also be showing Spa Evidence.com, a site the company developed in partnership with the Global Spa Summit. It is the world’s first portal designed to help people explore the medical evidence that exists for spa and wellness therapies.

The International SPA Association has been recognized worldwide as the professional organization and voice of the spa industry, representing health and wellness facilities and providers in more than 70 countries. Members encompass the entire arena of the spa experience, from resort/hotel, destination, mineral springs, medical, cruise ship, club and day spas to service providers such as physicians, wellness instructors, nutritionists, massage therapists and product suppliers. The organization represents more than 3,200 spa professionals in 83 countries.

The 2011 Show is expecting 2300 attendees. The ISPA Conference & Expo brings professionals from all spa industry sectors and countries throughout the world together in one place. The majority of attendees are leaders who make purchasing decisions.

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SelfOptima is the leader in providing an intelligent platform for optimizing health and well-being. SelfOptima’s Health Optimization Platform is the world’s first comprehensive system providing the individualized guidance and tools needed to optimize health and improve quality of life. SelfOptima’s focus is on practical, evidence-based information and research on integrative and preventative medicine.
http://www.selfoptima.com

Contact:  Kathrin Nikolussi
Phone: (408) 912-1908×16
Email: kathrin@selfoptima.com

SelfOptima To Develop First-Ever Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Portal for Spa and Wellness Modalities

San Jose, CA March 22, 2011 - The Global Spa Summit (GSS), the leading annual event for the global spa and wellness industries, has chosen SelfOptima, Inc. to develop the first Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Portal for spa and wellness modalities.  For this project SelfOptima will tailor their technology platform to act as a content aggregator and will curate the growing archive of medical data about the efficacy of spas’ wellness approaches into a transparent and easy-to-use format, accessible to all. The portal will be unveiled at the fifth annual Global Spa Summit on May 18th, 2011, in Bali, Indonesia.

The medical industry defines Evidence-Based Medicine as “the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.”[1] And this new evidence-based database will be available as a free resource to anyone interested in accessing the hard, clinical data about whether some of the most common spa and wellness offerings are scientifically proven to work.  Several well-known medical doctors will help curate the existing evidence from a wide variety of reputable databases, and it will be a “living, breathing” project, offering users the opportunity to contribute studies and information from other resources.

“This much-needed database will be a crucial tool in helping global consumers not only investigate the benefits of spa and wellness approaches, but to believe in them. It’s likely to impact doctors who prescribe, public officials who legislate, and insurers who reimburse – and the project could ultimately prove the bedrock for future, perhaps unimagined, industry growth,” is how Susie Ellis, Global Spa Summit Board Member and President of SpaFinder, Inc. explains the vision for this innovative project.

At the 2010 Global Spa Summit in Istanbul, Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier, renowned expert in the field of Integrative Medicine, planted the seed for this undertaking when he noted in his keynote address that, “The spa industry has been too quiet in trumpeting the evidenced-based data that supports many spa modalities. While there are thousands of studies that favor the use of approaches such as massage, yoga, meditation, and acupuncture, the data has not been easily accessible. We do not need to wait for research to happen. What we do need to do for starters is to find the research that already exists and broadcast it.”

SelfOptima CEO Nader Vasseghi notes, “Our vision is to help people optimize their health through an integrative approach. We do this through a combination of technology as well as evidenced-based knowledge and guidance to help our users attain optimal health in body, mind and spirit.  We are excited to join forces with the Global Spa Summit to help shape the spa industry by capturing evidence–based claims about the efficacy of spa treatments.

Susie Ellis further notes that the project will not only provide the industry with an invaluable, accessible resource, it will give spa professionals greater confidence in what they do, it will educate the consumer, and it will become a media resource. “We’re very pleased to have SelfOptima as a partner.  Our missions are complementary: supporting people in all aspects of health and wellness. And we’re excited to leverage cutting-edge Silicon Valley technology to help us build this online resource, given that the vast majority of consumers now turn to the Internet in their quest for health and wellness information.”

[1] Sackett DL, Straus SE, Richardson WS, Rosenberg W, Haynes RB. “Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM”  London: Churchill Livingstone; 2000.

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About Global Spa Summit (GSS):

The Global Spa Summit is an annual event that attracts top-level executives and leaders from around the world with an interest in the spa and wellness industries. Delegates from diverse sectors including hospitality, tourism, finance, medicine, real estate, manufacturing, technology, consulting, product and other related industries attend this high-level gathering focused on advancing the spa and wellness sectors. The Summit has been responsible for some of the most important recent spa industry research, including the landmark “Global Spa Economy Report” and “Spas and the Global Wellness Market: Synergies and Opportunities” (both conducted by SRI International). The Summit was honored as the “Spa Event of the Year” for both 2009 and 2010 by AsiaSpa magazine. The 2010 conference in Istanbul, Turkey attracted a record number of delegates from 40 different countries.
http://www.globalspasummit.org

About SelfOptima:

SelfOptima is the leader in providing an intelligent platform for optimizing health and well-being. SelfOptima’s Health Optimization Platform is the world’s first comprehensive system providing the individualized guidance and tools needed to optimize health and improve quality of life. SelfOptima’s focus is on practical, evidence-based information and research on integrative and preventative medicine.
http://www.selfoptima.com

Contact:  Kathrin Nikolussi
Phone: (408) 912-1908×16
Email: kathrin@selfoptima.com

SelfOptima Introduces WellO – A Guest Engagement Platform

Cupertino, CA October 19, 2011 – SelfOptima, a Silicon Valley software technology company with a focus on health and wellness, announces WellO, an online guest engagment platform that acts as an integrative health coach.

The company has signed an agreement with Rancho La Puerta, recently voted the “World’s Best Destination Spa” in Travel + Leisure magazine’s Readers’ Poll for the second year in a row. The resort will soon offer SelfOptima’s WellO to their guests.

CEO Nader Vasseghi notes, “Our system introduces a new era of personalized guest experience. Guests can learn about the evidence behind spa therapies, get personalized recommendations on resort programs and services, as well as stay connected and engaged with the resort offerings after their stay.”

In addition, Vasseghi continues, “guests can enjoy a rich personalized online experince which guides their journey to optimum health, both during their visit and after. We are truly transforming the spa and wellness industry through cutting edge technology.”

“We view SelfOptima’s ‘Guest Engagement System’ as a unique and integral component of what we call our ‘Ranch Circle’—a guest program dedicated to honoring and better serving our many loyal guests who return year after year,” said Roberto Arjona, CEO for Rancho La Puerta.

“Ours and SelfOptima’s missions are complementary,” added Arjona. “We both help healthy, active people live what we refer to as ‘the longer, healthier life.’ We do it in good part by introducing them to dozens of different aspects of health and wellness during their stay. One-week at Rancho La Puerta has been known to change lives, and SelfOptima’s technology is a tool to help our guests get the most out of their Ranch experience as well as stay engaged with us long after their departure – assessing their health, charting their progress, staying in touch with our experts, and finding the daily inspiration they need to reach their wellness goals.”

“A stay at the spa resort can be the catalyst for a healthy lifestyle change,” Vasseghi continued. “We believe our technology platform will magnify this experience and introduce a high-touch, personalized, and guided experience for each individual guest to stay in touch with the resort year-round.”

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About SelfOptima:

SelfOptima is the leader in providing an intelligent platform for optimizing health and well-being. SelfOptima’s Health Optimization Platform is the world’s first comprehensive system providing the individualized guidance and tools needed to optimize health and improve quality of life. SelfOptima’s focus is on practical, evidence-based information and research on integrative and preventative medicine.
http://www.selfoptima.com

Contact: Kathrin Nikolussi
Phone: (408) 912-1908×16
Email: kathrin@selfoptima.com

We believe in healthy diet practices as a preventative health measure, and are always talking to clients about ways to incorporate fresh, seasonal foods into a fast-paced lifestyle. In our culinary classes, we strive to teach clients how to create meals that do not compromise between flavor and nutritional value. With itʼs vibrantly colored produce, as well as fresh herbs and spices, the Mediterranean diet will surely maintain your health and please your palate.

Here is the menu from our Mediterranean Culinary Class. We hope that you will enjoy these recipes on their own, or use multiple in your own heart-healthy Mediterranean dinner party.

Appetizers:

Whole Wheat Pita served with Parsley Tabbouleh
Recipe

(Though less traditional, you can substitute protein powerhouse quinoa for bulgur in this recipe)

Lima Bean Spread with Cumin and Herbs
Recipe

Salad:

Figs with Goat Cheese, Honey, and Rosemary
Recipe

Main:

Minted Orzo Pilaf
Recipe

(You can add a protein of your choice, as this recipe is very versatile. We recommend: shrimp, white fish, chicken, or seitan)

Dessert:

Greek Yogurt with Honey, Pistachios, and Rosewater

Rosewater is key, as it gives this dish a unique flavor profile. Rosewater is what is used to provide sweet flavoring to the Middle Eastern candy, Turkish Delight as well as complements honey in baklava. You can buy rosewater at specialty stores, or make your own: Instructions.

Add 6 teaspoons of rosewater to 4 cups of plain Greek yogurt, stir to incorporate. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle 1/4 cup of pistachios for an added crunch. Enjoy!

Let us know if you try these recipes! We would love to hear how you are celebrating Healthy Eating Month at studio@mishapatelstudio.com.

All our best from MPS.