Industry figure and medical spa and hot spring specialist consultant, Michael Wallace, has co-authored and launched a book called "The Spa Manager's Essential Guide".

With 20 years’ experience in operational management in the spa and fitness industry, Wallace co-wrote the book with Melanie Smith, associate professor at Budapest Metropolitan University, Hungary, and an international health tourism researcher, consultant and speaker.

According to Wallace: “This book contains all the basic day-to-day information on how to run a wellness, beauty or thermal spa operation successfully, it focuses on those areas that industry leaders have identified as critical and missing in today’s spa leaders.”

Wallace and Smith have included a range of topics such as customer care, leadership, selling and marketing a spa effectively, finance and quality management, as well as health and safety, treatments, challenges and trends, mineral and thermal springs, experience design and developing spa concepts.

The 12-chapter book features advice and opinions from over 50 international spa CEOs, managers, consultants, doctors, journalists and trainers and has been endorsed by the European Spa Association.

“We were inspired to write the book as there are no other textbooks on the market that combine both product knowledge and operational management essentials (based on hands-on experience) in one book,” he explained.

“We hope it will not only help lift the spa and wellness industry standards but also inspire the next generation of spa managers.

“This is an excellent core text for all students on spa management education programmes, as well as for existing and aspiring spa managers and professionals in the industry.”

Wallace previously worked as group spa director for Danubius Hotels Group for 18 years until he left to focus on consultancy work and founded Michael Wallace Consulting which specialises in hot springs and medical spa consultancy services.

During his tenure at Danubius, Wallace oversaw 20 spas in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, ranging in size from 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) to 10,000sqm (107,639sq ft) and delivering more than two million treatments per year.