Long before guests arrive at BodyHoliday, the exclusive spa at the four-star LeSport destination resort on the island of St. Lucia, they have already scheduled their daily programme of yoga, fencing, sport fishing, mountain climbing, and massage therapy over the Internet with the resort`s Bodyguards.
“Obviously our `Bodyguards` don`t carry guns,” says Kevin Snagg, house and administrative leader for The Body Holiday LeSport . “We call them Bodyguards because they are staff specialists that look after our guests` bodies, their health and wellbeing. We are the only resort in the Caribbean that combines the pleasures of a full-service beach resort with the benefits of an active spa vacation. When guests come to LeSport most have already planned their daily activities and treatments through our website so they can begin their vacation immediately.”

European readers of Condé Nast Traveller recently named SunSwept Resorts` BodyHoliday the Number One Destination Spa in the world and one of the 100 Best Of The Best in Travel. LeSport is one of three SunSwept Resorts spa properties that include LaSource and the couples-only Rendezvous resort, both on the island of Grenada in the Caribbean.

SunSwept`s three properties are true resorts with over 1,000 employees that focus on the guest experience. SunSwept`s clients are mostly professionals who want to de-stress in a dynamic recreational setting offering a variety of unique activities and sybaritic comforts in exotic surroundings. “Our guests come here to be pampered,” said Snagg. “They are experienced travellers who value and can afford exceptional service; we offer them a personalised vacation. The first thing guests do when they arrive at LeSport is meet with a Body Holiday specialist who is already familiar with their activity schedule. I conduct a manager`s meeting each morning where we discuss arriving guests` activities and expectations. We print out guests` schedules four days before their arrival in preparation for their visit. We use Northwind`s Maestro enterprise resort system at all three of our properties to manage our guests` experience. The Maestro system enhances our focus on service because it links our guests` activity schedules, spa treatment programme appointments, guest history, and amenity requests all on the guest`s record forever. The new technology has made it easier for our staff to ensure guests are receiving the services they expect, which is mission critical. SunSwept evaluated many systems and we installed Maestro because it is by far the strongest in guest management, guest service, and spa scheduling.”

LeSport`s BodyHoliday spa is a luxurious state-of-the-art wellness centre staffed by trained professionals who use the newest health technology to help guests achieve their fitness goals. “Our Bodyguards consult with guests early in their stay and conduct a `body stat` analysis that measures muscle mass, fat mass, water requirements, and other physiological indicators; then they work with the guest throughout their stay to recommend activities and treatments to achieve those goals. If weight loss is their goal, our Bodyguard might suggest the guest have stretching treatments, take tennis lessons, join a group aerobic class, or simply kayak and scuba dive. SunSwept Resorts collaborated in the development of the comprehensive Maestro Spa System, which we use for all guest activity planning and treatment scheduling. Our wide range of activities and schedules, and the caliber of our guests, requires a system tied to all the property`s other systems and guest records so guest preferences are known before hand. We have world class standards, and the Maestro Spa system module handles them very well.”

To drive better guest communication with its resorts, SunSwept launched a new interactive website that allows guests to `chat` with each property for personalised pre-arrival service. The site also features an on-line reservation-booking engine that enables resort managers to control special packages and rate plans. SunSwept Resorts` food and beverage leader, Andrew Barnard explained, “The Internet is how many of our guests want to book their reservations, and our new site gives them that ability. We installed Northwind`s ResEze Web booking engine that links directly to our Maestro property management system so availability is always current. The site uses Maestro`s yield management system to ensure our rates are maximised, and it lets us look into the future to see slow periods and openings and offer specials during those dates. When occupancy comes up, the system automatically cuts off the special rates and sells only higher priced packages. The ResEze booking engine works so well we will be directing travel agents to book their clients` vacations on our website to reduce GDS booking fees.”

Many of SunSwept`s managers take spa treatments and attend fitness classes alongside guests. LeSport`s house leader Snagg said, “Our guests arrive as strangers, experience all we can provide them, and go home as friends. Since 25 percent of SunSwept`s winter clients are return guests it is critical that every member of our staff be familiar with our guests, so we wanted the best CRM technology we could buy. The CRM functionality of Northwind`s Maestro system, how it tracks guest preferences and past stay information, is the best we evaluated, and as soon as it was installed it became an asset to our operation.”

To deliver the three SunSwept Resorts systems as efficiently as possible, Northwind pre-configured all applications at their corporate offices, then flew the software and a team of installers to the Caribbean to train the resort user teams and install the systems one after the other at each of the properties in only six weeks. “SunSwept set up an installation group to assist Northwind in the islands, and their project management team was superb; all our data was in the systems on schedule ready to go live when training was completed. The system has proven very stable, and on a remote island stability is key,” concluded Barnard.

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