Travis Umpleby

"I couldn't have planned this if I wanted to… me, a spa manager only two years out of school!" Travis Umpleby was recently hired as the spa manager for the newly renovated Avanyu Spa at the Snake River Lodge located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He came to the Salt Lake Campus in October of 2001 in search of qualified therapists to help open the new spa.

Travis graduated from the Utah Valley Campus in June of 1999. "I became interested in massage on a whim." Travis had looked into jobs in the medical field, but found that there was a shortage of jobs. "A friend of mine mentioned massage therapy and I decided to check it out." After having been shown the school and the job opportunities lists in the Career Services office by his Admissions Representative, Travis enrolled in the full-time program.

Two months prior to graduating, Travis successfully interviewed for a position at the Resort at Summerlin that was under construction at the time. While waiting for the project to be finished, Travis set up a private practice in Utah Valley along with another UCMT alum, Joan Mower. "[It was] a good learning experience. I learned how to set up a business and write business plans."

Once the Summerlin property was near completion, Travis moved to Las Vegas to begin working in the resort. While at the Summerlin, he worked in various jobs, learning the hospitality business and learning as many aspects and ins and outs of the spa industry as he could. "It’s funny… I was hired as a therapist, started as a valet, worked as a spa attendant and worked along-side the spa director." During this time Travis also worked as a TA with various classes at the Nevada School of Massage Therapy, part of the UCMT Family of Schools.

After having worked at the Summerlin for several months, Travis decided to move on to the snow-capped mountains of Telluride, Colorado. He landed a job as a massage therapist at the Peaks Resort where he also helped set up the spa computer system and had a hand in developing the Golden Door Massage School where he took part in developing the Anatomy curriculum and also taught. After only one short month of working as the program supervisor at the spa, Travis moved into a manager position. "Although I made more as a therapist, I really liked the challenge of management."

Not long after having become a manager, Travis met with a spa consultant regarding a property being purchased by his company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was interviewed by the general manager and immediately offered the position of spa director for the newly renovated Snake River Lodge & Spa. "[It has been] great to get in at the ground floor and develop my own ideas," Travis states. He has been able to take his knowledge from UCMT, his experience at both the Summerlin and the Peaks and create his own spa experience.

When asked if he had any wisdom and advice stemming from his own success as a massage therapist to pass on to aspiring students, Travis said, "no matter what you are interested in doing, the options are out there. You just have to go for it."