Ellen McGinnis, nationally known spa consultant and director, has joined Universal Companies as Director of Consulting.

McGinnis has over twenty years experience in spa consulting, having designed and opened spas such as Arnold Palmer’s The Spa at Bayhill in Florida, The Spa at the Sanderling Inn in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and the Grove Park Inn Spa in Asheville, North Carolina. She also worked for WTS International, a consulting firm specializing in resort spas, tennis clubs and exclusive country clubs.
As Spa Director at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, McGinnis was heavily involved in the concept, design, and construction phases of the $42 million spa as well as its operation. She designed many of the spa’s unique features and signature treatments; selected and trained the 125 team of therapists, aestheticians, concierges, and other personnel; headed up the extensive management team; and served as a member of the resort’s Executive Operations Committee. As a result of McGinnis’s capable leadership, the Spa at the Grove Park Inn and Resort achieved a profit within the first five months and was rated one of the world’s top ten spas by USA Today only eight months after opening.
In her new role as Director of Consulting at Universal, McGinnis is responsible for assembling an in-house team of experts from the spa industry that can advise spa professionals in all aspects of opening a new spa, expanding an existing spa, or integrating a spa with a resort setting. From concept to completion, the consulting team will be able to provide guidance and expertise in the following areas: market analysis, concept development, facility design, financial management, program development, equipment selection, education and training, and marketing strategies.
Established in 1982, Universal Companies is a leading international distributor of products, equipment, and supplies, to the spa and skincare industry.
——-