Castle Hot Springs
Castle Hot Springs sits in the Bradshaw ountains, in a lush desert oasis northwest of Phoenix, Arizona.
The place boasts a colorful history that begins as a destination for indigenous people to seek out healing waters and includes becoming the first Arizona wellness resort in the 1800s, hosting celebrities and dignitaries hrough the early 20th Century, use as a WWII military ehabilitation center, and estruction by fire in 1976 after which it sat unused for more than 40 years before reopening in 2019.
“Much like the mythical Phoenix that emerges to start a
new long life, Castle Hot Springs has returned to deliver
wellness and privacy with attentive service, in a verdant
desert oasis” says the website.
Today Castle Hot Springs houses a lodge, an award
winning restaurant, and a gathering bar with an
expansive outdoor terrace. The guest experience
takes you on a memorable all-inclusive journey that
includes access to mineral rich, geothermal waters,
farm-to-table meals, and activities like yoga and
meditation, guided hikes, and archery.
The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
The Forbes Five-Star Spa at Four Seasons Hotel
Toronto spans 30,000 square feet, making it one of the biggest spas in the company. There are 19 treatment rooms, four manicure stations, four
pedicure stations, and two hair stations. A retail space offers a curated selection of products – many from local vendors.
Full spa and wellness services include massage, facials, body treatments, and the Wellness & Bio Bar, short for
biohacking, which features a menu of service offerings catering to specific goals centered around four pillars of
mental, physical, spiritual and sexual wellness
Senior Spa Director at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto,
Carlos Calvo Rodríguez, originally from San José, Costa
Rica, began as a Spa Therapist at Four Seasons Resort
Costa Rica in 2007. By 2012, he was spearheading the
opening of the Spa at Four Seasons Toronto, establishing
it as a city landmark. His work took him to global
destinations like Doha and Bali, and he boasts a tenure at
Shangri-La Hotels in Hong Kong. Recently, Carlos
returned to Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, enriching it with
his vast cross-cultural wellness expertise.
The large spa employs about 75 team members and averages between 90 – 100 appointments per-day during the week and 120 – 150 appointments per-day on the weekends. The Spa at Four Seasons Toronto has been using the Book4Time software system since it opened in 2012, and was one of the earliest adopters.
The Spa at Castle Hot Springs
The spa at Castle Hot Springs draws inspiration from
the land and the healing waters, rich in lithium,
magnesium, and bicarbonates. These minerals, along
with herbs and plants from the farm, inspire a focus
on joy, serenity, and renewal.
The rejuvenated Castle Hot Springs needed a
software system for the new, modern era. And, so
they chose Book4Time.
Prior to implementing the software, says Spa
Director, Teri Ocheltree, the team was scheduling
everything in a Google Excel Document “with limited
employee access to minimize accidental changes.”
This meant that any schedule changes were a hassle.
Ocheltree explains: “Our Pre-Arrival Team would be
the owners of this document and all changes would
need to go through them. When they weren’t in
the office, we would have to email them to adjust the
document.”
The team was understandably “excited to move away
from the Google Doc and into a more streamlined
process and program.”
Castle Hot Springs uses Book4Time’s scheduler and
online booking system for both spa & wellness and
resort activities, as well as the inventory management
function, Yield Management, and Book4Time Pay for
retail.
The property has enjoyed improved operational
efficiencies and productivity with these features,
including:
- Maximizing the number of treatments the spa does in a day.
- Ability to see and fill gaps in adventure and activity scheduling.
- Facilitating updating guest itineraries.
- Improved financial reporting.
Ocheltree says, “We can maximize the number of body
treatments we do in a day. It has also allowed us to see
gaps in our adventures and activities schedules and fill
those. Updating guest itineraries is much easier and it is
great that it updates almost instantly for other
departments to see.
“We anticipated [Book4Time] providing financial info as
well as reporting and Book4Time delivered.”
Overall, says Ocheltree, “Book4Time is a great software
for teams to utilize in order to streamline your bookings,
address any gaps, or seamlessly update itineraries.”
“Book4Time is a great software for teams to
utilize in order to streamline your bookings,
address any gaps, or seamlessly update
itineraries.”