This week I had the opportunity to sit down and meet with Eric Somerville, General Manager of MINT Dupont Circle and the newly opened Downtown property as well as Board Member of the Washington Spa Alliance. I did a walk-through of their new facility located on “K” street in the Washington Hilton and the first things that I noticed are the open spaces, new equipment, a warm welcome, cool colors, 5 star amenities and purposeful spaces for their members. Clearly Eric’s years of working at international renowned properties has made an impact on this one.

When I asked Eric about the transition from remodel to reopening, he said that “It was important that the members and community feel connected to MINT and that MINT feel equally connected to them.” He spent time, ok, everyday in fact, meeting the members and talking with them through the change of management, concept and brand. “MINT is a community, a home, positive environment and a place to relax and unraveled, we wanted to ensure that the membership base felt all of these during the renovation.” And from the look and feel of it, they did!

As MINT is a membership based “urban retreat” I asked Eric about, group-deals and discounts. Did he… or didn’t he? Well he does, and very successfully I may add, and here is how.

First and foremost, MINT is very committed to keeping the integrity of the brand and going forward with deals, they needed to ensure that neither the front desk operations nor spa therapists got overwhelmed, as well as preserving the class size and its integrity. So Eric used technology to manage group-on deals. (They have used Living Social where offers include: Yoga, express massage, membership, PT and Pilates.) He worked closely with the software vendor, Mind Body, who easily uploaded all purchasing clients into MINT’s database. This allowed them to create a client profile which included the items/offers sold. Each client received a user name and password/login-in, and all booking transactions were done on-line… without the 1000+ participants (who are potential members) calling the front desk with questions and bookings. Each session was booked on-line, keeping the “peace” at the front desk, spa therapist, fitness instructors and … the guest!

My final words with Eric were seemingly simple, until he answered my question with a Zen mindfulness, which reflected Eric’s management style, personal convictions and vision for MINT and WSPA.

I asked, “What are your next steps with the MINT brand, new locations, programs- where are you taking the business and what are your thoughts about the WSPA mission?”

He answered with a grin, “On behalf of MINT, WSPA and myself, I want to do more local outreach. There is a lot more that we can be involved in that will benefit the community. Let’s expose what we “do” to everyone, not just paying members. For example, there are DC students who don’t even have recess time. We must give back to the community and create positive awareness outside of the gym.”

Eric then added, “As part of my new role at MINT, I have the ability to continue my interest in spiritual outreach with the local community. The Breakfast Club is part of the Samaritan Group at Memorial Episcopal Church in Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. This program is geared to foster a greater sense of community for individuals in need. We’ve practiced everything from Qi Gong, meditation, nature walks, and even being offered Zero-balancing treatments from one of the volunteers who happens to be an Acupuncturist. What I am learning is how to understand and deal with life and suffering that is going on around us, and then give back as a lay-person. On a day to day basis, we deal with a lot of disconnected people who are interconnected with the team. My role as the Director of Operations, is to be the “the needle” and signal possibility where it may not seem that obvious to the team. In our business, we have bottom lines, goals, task lists and the need to positively coach our staff. This “giving back” and studying gives me the breath when dealing with the success of this business.”

In regards to programs that MINT is involved in, Eric mentioned, “Yoga for VETS” and hopes WSPA will partner with DC organizations like Infinity Wellness. Which is a program that encourages children to try a wide range of traditional and more progressive activities and exercises (yoga, pilates, meditation) and helps students develop healthy habits and find their favorite way to stay in shape and feel great every day. He added, “We are here in DC with an upscale clientele, how do we integrate and reach out to the younger generations? We have so much to share. They are our future members and community role models.”

As my meeting with Eric ended, we spoke on a professional and personal level~ not just about the success of his business, and role as a Board Member, but more importantly the success of our roles as community members, business leaders and where the kindness comes from when we need to calmly training staff, greet guests and on a rainy day in DC, taking time to talk about it with me.

Thank you Eric!

Susan Gwaltney

Essential Spa Consulting