Australia’s Peninsula Hot Springs (PHS) is planning a major expansion focused on story- driven experiences including an open-air amphitheatre with seven pools and seating for 700 people, Spa Opportunities can reveal. [read more]

Entrepreneur Angela Derks has launched The Australasian Sustainable Wellness Academy (ASWA), with enrolments now open for the first-ever Australian course of its type. [read more]

UK-based independent hotel group Macdonald Hotels & Resorts is continuing the investment in its wellness offering with the launch of a career pathway for its spa staff. [read more]

International beauty and spa therapy standard setter CIDESCO has deemed Saturday, 9 September International Beauty Day and aims to celebrate inner and outer beauty around the world and raise awareness for the importance of the beauty industry as a whole. [read more]

Spa Business Education (SBE), part of spa consultancy Raison d'Etre, has secured an educational partnership with the Joanneum University of Applied Sciences in Austria. [read more]

The Cornell Institute for Health Futures (CIHF) – an academic centre within New York’s Cornell University – has received a grant to support the creation of an undergraduate minor in Health, Hospitality and Design. The programme is reported to be the first university programme in the US to combine those three disciplines. [read more]

Spa Business Education – the educational arm of the Raison d’Etre Group – has launched five new training courses for professionals in the spa, beauty and fitness sector. [read more]

Urban Oasis, a new urban spa with a focus on healing, has opened within the Hilton Manchester Deansgate Hotel in Manchester UK. [read more]

Leading and empowering teams is a complex effort, but effective communication, flexibility, trust and simply showing up are some of the most important aspects, according to a panel of spa leaders at the World Spa & Wellness Conference in London. [read more]

The digital space is creating massive change and new challenges in the spa industry, according to Michael Tompkins, executive recruiter for Hutchinson Consulting and past chair of ISPA, who spoke on a panel yesterday at the World Spa & Wellness Convention in London. [read more]

Offering a selection of new courses to develop and nurture the next generation of beauty talent, Champneys Beauty College in Holborn, central London, is now open. [read more]

Seasoned spa and wellness professional Stephanie Rest has been appointed Spa & Wellness Director for Argentta at The iconic Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. [read more]

London’s The Lanesborough hotel, part of the luxury Oetker Collection, is set to open its new 18,000sq ft (1,672sq m) exclusive spa and wellness centre – billed as ‘a lifestyle club for the modern Londoner’ – on 13 March, and has partnered with experts across the fitness, beauty, spa and wellness communities to offer a holistic approach to wellbeing. [read more]

Spa industry intelligence researcher Intelligent Spas has teamed up with international spa consultant Maggie Gunning to create the Professional Spa Treatments Manual, which outlines its method for "highly consistent" spa treatments. [read more]

Industry tradeshow and conference Spa Life will host a two-day event in Ireland in 2017 – marking the third country for the event. [read more]

The International SPA Association (ISPA) is collaborating with international beauty tradeshow Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna. [read more]

US massage and skincare education provider Steiner Education Group and Hand and Stone Franchise Corp., a spa franchise company with 300 US locations, have announced an agreement to provide the opportunity for Steiner students to interview for a job with Hand & Stone franchises in their areas. [read more]

The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has released the second edition of the Guide to Hydrothermal Spa & Wellness Development Standards. [read more]

The Vocational Charitable Trust (VTCT), a UK-based organisation that offers vocational qualifications, has acquired London-based ITEC, which awards qualifications in beauty, complementary therapy, sport and fitness and hairdressing sectors. [read more]

Training and recruitment company Spa Connectors have entered a management agreement with the Jamu Traditions in Bali, and will manage both Jamu Production House and Jamu Traditional Spa. [read more]