Ideas
Explore the world's #1 largest database of ideas and innovations, with 460,503 inspiring examples.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,240 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,097 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Consumer Insights
Uncover major shifts and emerging opportunities with our exclusive PRO research.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,240 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,097 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Trend Reports
Get fast, customized trend reports, presentations and deep dives 20x faster than traditional research.
Plans
Get started today with a free consultation, our self-serve tools, or a dedicated program.
Articles & Magazine
Get inspired with our 4,210 innovation strategy articles, keynote, videos and innovation tools.
Innovation Awards
Trend Hunter’s Innovation Strategy Awards recognize the best innovation tactics gathered from our interviews with some of the world's most notable business leaders, authors and change makers.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Innovation Assessment
Enhance your innovation potential with a deeper understanding of your unique innovation archetype and how your organization benchmarks.
FuturistU
Prepare for the years ahead with 100+ lessons, tactics, tools and frameworks with our full learning database.
Innovation Books
Join 20,000,000 people getting better and faster with our New York Times Bestselling books and keynote videos.
Jeremy Gutsche
Ignite your event or virtual event with our CEO, a NY Times Bestselling Author and one of the top innovation keynote speakers.
Our Team of Speakers & Virtual Presenters
Inspire your group with our most popular speakers on innovation, trends, change and futurism.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Custom Masterclasses
Join the world's leading brands who leverage our custom programs to accelerate innovation.
FuturistU 5-Day Program
Become a Futurist with our immersive 5-Day program at Future Festival World Summit.
Online eLearning
Learn the fundamentals of futurism and trends with 100+ online courses about innovation.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Contact
Get in touch to learn more, ask a question or submit a tip.
About Us
Learn more about Trend Hunter and how we accelerate innovation.
Follow-Us
Join our 3,500,000 social media followers, on the cutting edge.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Trend Hunter.
Community
Stay on the cutting-edge with the help of the Trend Hunter community.
Team
Meet the team trusted by hundreds of leading businesses worldwide.
Jobs
Find opportunities to accelerate your career with the #1 Trend Firm.
News
Catch up on noteworthy Trend Hunter news and media mentions.
Join
Build a portfolio and put your trend-spotting abilities to the test.
Advertising
Supercharge your marketing by partnering with Trend Hunter.
Portfolio
Visit your public portfolio and browse your past articles.
Add a Trend
Write up an article and showcase your trend-spotting skills.
My Trends
Edit your articles and see how they stack up on the leaderboards.
Settings
Edit your profile, connect your social media accounts, and more.
Add a trend, customize your dashboard, or track topics.
Future Festival
Innovation Events
Join the world's top innovators at our in person events.
Free Webinars
Learn to innovate through chaos, navigate the new normal and maintain work culture from home.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Search our database of 460,503 cutting edge ideas.

Combining Luxury with Tradition

Michael Wallace, Brand Manager at Danubius Health Spa and Resorts
Gil Cohen
February 20th, 2014
Michael Wallace, the Brand Manager at Danubius Health Spa and Resorts, has extensive experience in the domains of fitness and health as he got started at Danubius Hotel Group by setting up and operating 8 of their fitness clubs. Now, he oversees the operation of 18 medical health spas across Central Europe, is responsible for scoping out new ventures for the Health Spa Division and also finds the time to share his knowledge in the field at the Budapest Business School where he gives lectures on topics such as Spa Management and Health and Wellness Tourism.

Through our emphatic discussion about Danubius Health Spa and Resorts, Michael explained how the operation is different from what is typical in North America. In terms of services, Danubius spas offer predominantly medical rehabilitation combined with physiotherapy and treatments that use natural resources including the healing properties of thermal mineral water, in addition to the expected beauty and fitness services.

Three questions with Michael Wallace:

1. How do you keep your team motivated to come up with good ideas?

We have 50 hotels across 5 countries, yet we've managed to maintain a family-like atmosphere within the workplace and when people come work with us, they tend to stay. Our General Managers tend to stay with a hotel longer when compared to other companies, putting their own stamp on the hotel that they maintain. They also get to contribute to the development of the company's brand standards and this sense of ownership is key in motivating our staff because they feel that their job responsibilities are really theirs. An innovative culture must come from the top – a manager who realizes the importance of motivating staff to bring up ideas. It is easier to bring ideas into fruition with a "yes, not a problem" attitude. Some people oil the cogs of the company, getting it to run more smoothly, while some people slow it down. Employing staff with the right attitude is key and then to invest our energy into them and give them freedom to innovate.

2. What sets the Danubius Health Spa Group apart from its competitors?

We're not just a hotel chain that happens to have spas, we are a chain of spa hotels. People come to us because of the spa and the various treatments we offer. Our largest demographic are our senior guests who keep coming back again and again. 80% of our clients are return guests so when we are identifying trends, the key is direct communication with our guests and listening to them personally. When it comes to working out what guests want, we primarily use direct feedback systems and questionnaires, and we also monitor what people are saying online through sites like TripAdvisor. We also get a lot of new guests through tour operators who vouch for us and the quality of service we offer.

Locally, we have competition, but we're the largest medical hotel chain in Europe so we don't have any competitors that can match our size. We have to be very careful when it comes to marketing because we have such a complex product; we have over 450 different treatments and a huge range of products. It's really about making sure the guests find the product they want. Other competitors have a much simpler product so they don't face the same challenge.

Whilst we're bringing in new treatments all the time, piloting those services in single locations to see if they work, we generally stick to the traditional mud pack and hot water pools we are known for. We aim to make the environment and the style with which we offer our product more elegant and more refined as time goes by as guests expect more sophistication, but when it comes down to it, our clients like the tradition of the core treatments and the fact that they were done almost exactly the same way 100 years ago in the 19th century.

3. How will you continue to be a leader in innovation?

We want to continue offering our services in more refined and sophisticated ways so that we can present the traditional core of what we're doing in a more elegant style. We're currently spending 9 million Euro on refurbishing the biggest spa in Europe, our spa located in Slovakia. When it's finished, it will be the largest medical rehabilitation spa of its kind.

We will always continue to listen to the customers on a personal, first-hand basis as well as what is being said online because they are our most important indicators of success.