Allison Langenderfer, Co-Founder and President of Spavia, Opens Up About Her Inspiration Behind Spavia

We are getting up close and personal with our fearless leader Allison Langenderfer, Co-Founder and President of Spavia, on the details and inspirations that empowered her as a female entrepreneur to create a business that is centered around providing wellness and driving positive influence in lives outside of the spa.

Describe the moment you decided to open your own business.

Allison: When I said the words, ’that would be my dream job’, I knew my life would change forever.

What was the inspiration behind opening your own business?

Allison: In 2004, we saw the need for a neighborhood spa. In 2004, there were high end resorts and expensive spas but nothing in between. Massage clinics were emerging and finding the niche to create affordable luxury was born. We spent a year researching, going to every spa we could just to understand more about the guest experience and all the details to create a very special place at Spavia. It’s the details of what we do every day, to create an exceptional experience. We have spent 18 years creating systems, innovations and extraordinary details to bring the best to our guests. There is so much more to come and we have so much more to do in bringing the best to local communities and making a positive difference in our world!

It was also so important to create a business where I could work and live in my community. I knew that giving back to my community and making a positive difference was vital in building a business where I could make a positive impact in our community. The beauty of this today is the impact that we are making at all Spavia locations through Spavia Cares and the incredible, positive impact we see on a daily basis. I get emotional when I think of what one company can do to move mountains. It’s very humbling.

What do you think has helped you the most to make a career helping others on their journey to wellness?

Allison: Passion, Drive, Resilience, and Mindset

Passion: To help others every day and love what I’m doing to support and help others.

Drive: To know that I’m in an industry that changes lives and propels me to be the best every day. Drive to grow our business and build on our mission/vision to help others.

Resilience: Never give up attitude, there’s always a way, the cup is half full….my Dad taught me that life is great if you don’t weaken. There are really tough days, but I’m ’tougher’. Storms pass to make way for rainbows.

Mindset: You have to wake up every day with the mindset to live out your mission/vision. You have to approach life and work with a mindset to excel and be the best you can be. It’s not hard to excel, you just have to have the mindset to do it. I teach our teams to have the mindset to walk into their jobs each day, knowing that they are making a positive difference in others…that ripple effect carries through the day but without the right mindset, you are/aren’t successful that day.

Tell us about the beginning of Spavia.

Allison: Oh, the beginning. Wow…loaded question. A lot of long hours and a lot of hard work…and that hasn’t stopped. We knew from the beginning that we wanted to create Spavia to grow and make a difference in as many cities as we could but for us, this has been a journey, not a race. The beginning was about relationships, giving back, hard work, building a culture of team spirit, helping others and it’s our ’today’ as well.

If there is one thing I’ve learned in life is that failures are a blessing. They are experiences and lessons to find another way to be better. From the recession in 2007/08 to the pandemic, to team shortages, I have learned that nothing in life is black and white. There are so many ways to work through issues. The Spavia system is strong and resilient. Spavia is about people and working together through anything.

What does the name Spavia stand for?

Allison: This is a LONG story but I’ll try to be quick! We had considered several other names but it was around the time when the Pope died…he was Polish. Thinking I could pay respects to my Polish heritage, I started looking up derivatives of names to find meaning. Well, if you know the Polish language, there are a lot of consonants together or many names end with ’ski’ and ‘Spaski' just didn’t work…lol. After several pages of a think tank of words, ‘via’ kept sticking out to me. When I put Spa and ‘via' together, the rest is history. ‘Via’, in many languages, means route or pathway. Our meaning of Spavia is just that, the pathway…the JOURNEY to wellness. It’s our namesake. I tell our teams to be proud of the name you wear on your uniform. You are helping others on their journey to wellness. It’s meaningful, it’s powerful. It’s Spavia.

What makes the Spavia community unique?

Allison: It’s a family. It’s about connection and caring for others. Our mission is making a positive difference in the lives of others, one guest at a time and creating an exceptional experience that our guests can’t live without. Our mission, brings our communities together, building relationships. All of our vendors have a philanthropic part of their business, which then allows us to make an even bigger impact. We are now seeing a second generation come to Spavia. I have met incredible people along the way and I am so grateful for every guest. 

One key initiative that makes the Spavia community unique is Spavia Cares. Each of our owners, in each of their communities, gives back in such meaningful ways. I have never been so moved during the pandemic, to see our communities support us by donating their membership treatments to first responders. Our communities donated over 1500 treatments to those working in the front lines to help others. The Spavia community is one of the most giving, both our teams and our guests. 

We give back in so many ways, every day, but every September, all locations participate in community outreach. It’s really amazing to see all the good Spavia is doing in their communities.  I’m so humbled by it all and so incredibly grateful.

What would you like to say to your guests, teams, and owners?

Allison: Thank you!!! Sincerely, so grateful to every person I’ve met with and worked with on this journey. Over the years, I’ve built friendships, seen marriages, divorces, births and deaths, weddings and celebrations. The connections and support have been truly amazing over the years. A heartfelt thank you to all our guests for allowing us to serve you and for your loyalty to Spavia. That’s what Spavia is about, relationships; connecting with others to build a stronger community.

To our teams, thank you so very much for all you do every day, give of your talent every day and support your owners in delivering the best every day.

To our owners, you saw our vision, and you bring an amazing experience to others every day. You give tirelessly of yourself every day and have created a business to make a difference in the world. You are amazing and inspiring to me and so grateful that you chose Spavia as your business. It’s incredible to see the empowerment of women owning a small business as well, to support and mentor them and their managers. So grateful for the opportunity!

To our vendor partners, thank you for supporting Spavia and also having philanthropy, core to your business, so that the impact is greater!

To our National team, you are the most incredible team I’ve ever worked with and so inspired by your talents!! Thank you for all you do every single day to make Spavia the best it can be and support our owners.

Lastly, and most important, thank you to my family. Your love, partnership and support of building Spavia could not have happened without you. We have created a family business and the hard work and sacrifices we've made along the way was worth it but again, never could have happened without each of you!! Marty and I are the ‘yin and yang’ of the Spavia business and we each bring the best strengths of each other in building the best business in the industry!

Ok, on a personal note… what do you love to do outside of work?

Allison: I love spending time with family and friends….my family and friends know how much I love to entertain (and make appetizers..lol) There’s nothing better than spending time together! 

I love tennis and play as often as I can. I play USTA league tennis and thrive on improving my game. The friendships that I’ve formed and the camaraderie of a team sport is something I cherish. I’ve picked golf back up…I have a long way to go and the game against ’self’ is humbling…and frustrating :) !! I also love to hike and walk my dogs.

I love to travel and hope to go to Europe next year. I had to cancel a trip with my daughter in 2020, so I hope to recreate the trip and get the chance to go in 2023.

Lastly, I love horses and volunteer at an amazing horse rescue, called Zuma’s in Littleton. It’s my slice of heaven to spend time there and just ‘be’ with these incredible animals. If you are ever having a bad day, go to Zuma’s…it will change your life in such a great way!

Thank you so much for giving us such a personal insight on the true meaning behind what Spavia stands for and how it got to be where it is today! Your compassion, drive, and creativity is inspiring to us all.