3. 54 | SpaChina • 2015
N
estled in the Swiss Alps at 1,274
meters above sealevel in the small
village of Bluche, Les Roches Inter-
national School of Hotel Management offers
programs in the fields of hospitality, tourism,
event and entertainment management. Last
July, Les Roches launched a new specialization
in Spa and Health Management focused on
the business and operational aspects of spa and
health management, health and aesthetics, spa
medicine and hotel spa services. The specializa-
tion is designed to prepare students to enter
an industry which is experiencing double-digit
growth worldwide. Sonia Tatar, CEO of Les
Roches International School of Hotel Manage-
ment Worldwide, talks to SpaChina about this
new specialization and the collaboration with
Genolier Swiss Medical Network and ESPA,
two recognized industry leaders.
Please tell us about Les Roches International
School of Hotel Management.
Les Roches International School of Hotel
Management is a private Swiss institution
which offers undergraduate, graduate and
post-graduate programs in Hospitality, Tour-
ism and Event Management. Les Roches
was ranked among the top three hospitality
schools for preparing students for an inter-
national career in hospitality management in
a 2013 survey conducted by Taylor Nelson
Sofres (TNS) Travel & Tourism (U.K.), the
world’s largest provider of custom research
and analysis. Les Roches is accredited by the
New England Association of Schools & Col-
leges (NEASC), a testament to the quality and
rigor of its academic programs.
Education at Les Roches follows the trans-
formative education model and consists of
developing students’ full personal and profes-
sional potential through programs that feature
hands-on learning, professional internships,
and progressive learning principles, and that
address a global mindset, interpersonal skills,
and employability. With emphasis on both
didactic and craft-based learning, Les Roches is
European in its outlook, Swiss in its work ethos,
American in its educational approach, and
multinational in its student body. All programs
Interview with Sonia Tatar, CEO of Les Roches International School
of Hotel Management Worldwide
Filling the Talent Gap
People Interview | 人物专访
emphasize developing critical thinking skills,
understanding contemporary management the-
ory, and integrating theory and practice.
How many branch campuses and affiliated
campuses does Les Roches have worldwide?
Please tell us something about the one in
China, Les Roches Jin Jiang International
Hotel Management College.
Les Roches has campuses in Bluche, Switzer-
land, Marbella in Spain, Shanghai in China,
and Amman in Jordan. This global foot-
print allows students to immerse themselves
in a truly international and multicultural
environment in some of the world’s most
exciting destinations, preparing them for an
industry that is as diverse and global as the
student body representing an average of 85
different nationalities.
Les Roches Jin Jiang International Hotel
Management College (LRJJ), founded in 2004,
is a private college located in Shanghai, China.
It is a joint venture between Les Roches and Jin
Jiang International Hotels, the leading hotel
management company that owns and operates
more than 1,460 hotels in China.
LRJJ offers undergraduate and postgradu-
ate diploma programs in international hotel
management to a diverse and multicultural
community of more than 800 students from
over 45 countries.
What programs are available at Les Roches
Jin Jiang International Hotel Management
College? What is the cost of the course and
how long does it take to graduate?
LRJJ addresses the growing demand for skilled
hotel and hospitality executives both in China
and internationally. The college offers under-
graduate and postgraduate diploma programs in
international hotel management. The curricu-
lum, taught in English, provides students with
a strong academic and theoretical basis in hos-
pitality business management, combined with a
4. SpaChina • 2015 | 55
hands-on learning experience, both on campus,
and through an internship program. Internship
opportunities are available internationally and
within China in one of the most dynamic and
fast-growing markets in the industry.
The undergraduate Diploma in Internation-
al Hotel Management consists of three taught
semesters and two semester-long internships,
whereas the postgraduate diploma spans two
taught semesters and one mandatory internship.
The tuition fee per taught semester is usually
CNY 116,500. Students who complete an under-
graduate diploma have the unique opportunity
to attend the two final taught semesters of the
bachelor’s program at Les Roches’ campuses in
Switzerland or Spain to gain a full Bachelor in
Business Administration (BBA) degree in Inter-
national Hotel Management.
Les Roches launched a new specialization
in Spa and Health Management last year.
What inspired you to make this decision?
The Spa & Health Management specialization
is part of the Bachelor of Business Administra-
tion (BBA) in International Hotel Manage-
ment and is designed to prepare students to
enter an industry that is experiencing double-
digit growth worldwide. The collaboration with
Genolier Swiss Medical Network (GSMN) and
ESPA, two recognized industry leaders, will
allow students to apply everything they learn
at Les Roches through hands-on experience
and internships. This sector is currently lack-
ing highly-trained people who are qualified to
work in an international environment and are
familiar with both the hospitality industry and
the specificities of the spa and health indus-
tries. This is what has inspired us to create this
specialization.
It has been almost a year since the launch.
How have the results been so far? What is
the main focus of this program in terms of
curricula and future career path?
The spa program attracts students who are
interested in this growing and interesting field
within the hospitality industry, and who are
already enrolled in the BBA in Internation-
al Hotel Management program. For our first
intake, we had 17 students registered for this
specialization, and their feedback, as well as the
experiences from our partners Genolier and
ESPA, has been very positive. We have range
of visiting lecturers and industry experts who
joined our faculty to share their experience
in the health and wellness industry with our
students to prepare them for employment in
this highly dynamic sector. Several alumni and
recent graduates have already accepted posi-
tions with our partners, and others have found
employment with third companies.
In terms of future career path, according to
the Global Wellness Tourism Economy 2013
report, during the next five years the spa sec-
tor is predicted to grow at almost double the
rate of global tourism, totaling USD678.5 bil-
lion in 2017. As a result of this rapid growth,
the spa industry is facing major challenges in
recruiting enough talent to meet the increasing
demand for qualified spa managers. The Spa
Management Workforce & Education Research
Report, presented in 2012, identified this short-
age as the fundamental challenge of the spa
industry, with 95 percent of spa industry lead-
ers stating that they were facing problems in
hiring spa managers/directors with the right
combination of qualifications and experience.
Les Roches’ Spa & Health Management special-
ization seeks to close the talent gap by training
students through a tailored program focused
on the special characteristics of the industry,
delivered through dedicated courses during the
last semester of studies.
The spa and health industries both place a
strong emphasis on hospitality and high qual-
ity service, which our students acquire during
their hotel management training. Other areas
such as nutrition are similar to the theoretical
food and beverage courses taught at Les Roch-
es. Additionally, spa and health companies
require knowledge of treatments and products,
which our students acquire during their spe-
cialization courses.
In what way can both the college and stu-
dents benefit from the collaboration with
Genolier Swiss Medical Network and ESPA?
The program specialization was developed in
collaboration with ESPA and Genolier Swiss
Medical Network to make sure that the cours-
es, internships, and overall curricula is totally
aligned with the industry needs for specialized
knowledge on spa and health management.
This ensures that our academic content is
relevant and increases the employability of
our students. Our students will bring their
in-depth knowledge of hospitality and luxury
experience management, business thinking,
and hotel operations and customer service
expertise to the industry, combined with spe-
cific spa and health management skills. Their
theoretical knowledge will be complemented
by practical experience gained through intern-
ships, and training with two leading brands
in the world for spa and health. This combi-
nation of a solid theoretical framework and
real-world experience uniquely prepares our
students to create a winning collaboration
between hotel management, spa operators
and their teams.
How would you evaluate the spa
and wellness market in China?
And do you think that China’s spa
education and training industry has
kept up with the rapid development?
China is still one of the key markets that drives
the growth of the global wellness tourism econ-
omy at all levels, and we see an even stronger
growth especially in the area of wellness, lev-
eraging the country’s wealth of knowledge in
traditional Chinese medicine that has been
gaining wide acceptance around the world.
According to a 2014 report by the Boston Con-
sulting Group, the value of the health and well-
ness market in China will increase to nearly
USD 70 billion by 2020.
The last decade saw many foreign brands
being ‘imported’ into China, but the tables
have since turned – quite a few well-managed
Chinese brands and products are expanding
their reach into the international market. For
example, Tong Ren Tang, a brand that cel-
ebrates the ancient wisdom of traditional Chi-
nese medicine, runs 28 outlets in 14 countries
worldwide; and home-grown spa brand Rubis
was launched in the Swiss market last April.
We also see more brands with the potential
and capability to go abroad follow the same
path. The shift in the market dynamics has
naturally led to a demand for different types
of skill sets and knowledge from spa pro-
fessionals and practitioners – international
market insights, brand management skills
and business acumen have become important
areas of talent development.
SpaChina • 2015 | 55
