Lifestyle

How Private Hotsprings Can Transform Wellness Tourism with Its Lithia-Inspired Innovations

Published

1 year ago

February 12, 2025

Michelle Langton

Photo by Private Hotsprings

By Michelle Snow

Private Hotsprings resort features exclusive infinity-edge pools fed by natural hot springs, attracting wellness tourists to British Columbia’s remote wilderness. Tina and Alex Genzer are expanding beyond hospitality with Lithios Beverages, a drink line incorporating lithia-rich mineral water from the springs. The new venture aims to bring the therapeutic benefits of the resort’s natural waters to consumers worldwide.

Enchanted By Nature

Tina and Alex are familiar with entrepreneurship. Before embarking on their journey to British Columbia, the pair successfully ran a boiler installation and construction business in Toronto, specializing in snowmelt systems. While Alex, a former Air Force pilot, honed his engineering expertise and cultivated a strong public presence with CBC and News Talk 1010 appearances, Tina led business operations with her signature entrepreneurial flair.

Tina Genzer recalls how their lives changed when they discovered the Kootenay region’s natural hot springs. “We were captivated by the serenity of this place,” she says. The couple started acquiring chalets that blend luxury and nature. Today, Private Hotsprings offers three properties: the Cedar Log Cabin with a waterfall and lake access and two chalets featuring the world’s only infinity-edge hot spring pools.

The couple’s leadership style has been instrumental in the company’s growth. The Genzers have carved out a niche that remains untouched by competitors by prioritizing exclusivity and direct customer engagement over conventional review systems. “Our mission has always been to create a serene retreat where guests can unwind, rejuvenate, and reconnect with themselves,” Alex Genzer explains.

Lithios Beverages

Tina and Alex’s idea for Lithios Beverages emerged during a restorative evening at the hot springs, inspired by the therapeutic effects of lithia-rich waters. Since its successful debut in New York earlier this year, which sold out within days, the brand is now planning to partner with a major U.S. distributor to enter the growing health and wellness beverage market.

The Genzers are well-positioned to leverage this opportunity, as Lithios Beverages aligns with their brand ethos blending the purity of their mineral springs with health-conscious choices. “Lithios is not just a beverage, it is a lifestyle,” says Tina Genzer. “We aim to provide the same rejuvenation and vitality our guests experience, no matter where they are.”

A Rising Tide for Wellness Tourism

Wellness tourism thrives on authenticity and connection to nature, two qualities that Private Hotsprings exemplifies. The company has tapped into a lucrative market segment that prioritizes unique and restorative experiences over mass tourism by offering exclusive access to mineral-rich hot springs in a private setting.

Competitors in the wellness industry have begun to explore similar models, but only some can rival Private Hotsprings’ distinctive offerings. The company’s first-in-the-world infinity-edge pools and meticulous curation of guest experiences give it a significant edge.

The Next Phase

Despite these challenges, the Genzers remain optimistic about the future. Their dual focus on Private Hotsprings and Lithios Beverages allows them to innovate within two complementary markets.

The next phase of their journey includes expanding Lithios Beverages across the U.S., emphasizing sustainability and transparency. Lithios Beverages has opened up its next round of funding to scale its operations.

The Genzers are also exploring ways to share their story with a broader audience. “We want investors and guests alike to understand the heart and vision behind what we do,” Tina says. “It is not just about running a business, it is about creating something meaningful and lasting.”

Tina and Alex Genzer have created an example of success that other industry players will undoubtedly seek to emulate by blending luxury with nature and leveraging their lithia-rich waters for global impact.

Lifestyle

The Message Women Need Today: Cathi Carrier’s Mission to Bring Back Self-Worth

Published

5 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Michelle Langton

Many women spend years quietly stepping out of the frame, avoiding cameras, hiding behind filters, or brushing off compliments because they no longer recognize the person staring back at them. It is not vanity that drives those moments; it’s a deeper feeling of slipping away from yourself. That emotional weight is something Cathi Carrier has witnessed for more than three decades, and it’s what shaped the mission behind Purely Bella.

Cathi didn’t build her career in a boardroom. She built it in a treatment room, one client at a time, listening to stories that rarely make it into conversations about skincare. Women would sit down and immediately apologize for their appearance, convinced they were “too late” to take care of themselves. What she saw instead were women who had given so much to others that they had forgotten how to give to themselves.

Her understanding didn’t come from textbooks. It began when she was a teenager struggling with acne that felt bigger than a skin issue; it affected her confidence, her social life, and even the way she carried herself. That experience gave her empathy long before she had professional expertise. She knew what it meant to feel uncomfortable in your own skin, and she never forgot it.

In her treatment room, skincare became something deeper than cleansing and moisturizers. It became a place where women were welcomed without judgment, where they could talk openly, exhale, and feel seen. Over the years, she learned that skin reflects far more than age or stress. It reflects how much space a woman has allowed herself to take up in her own life.

Stories like Sara’s stayed with her. Sara, a retired schoolteacher, walked in with her shoulders rounded and her spirit dulled. She apologized repeatedly for her skin, barely making eye contact. Carrier designed a simple treatment plan, but the real change came from the conversations, the consistency, and the small moments where Sara started to reconnect with herself. Months later, Sara hugged her and said she finally felt like herself again. That transformation, skin healing paired with emotional renewal, is what convinced Carrier that skincare can be a form of healing when done with intention.

Still, she reached a limit. Her treatment room could only help one woman at a time. The desire to create a greater impact pushed her to start Purely Bella, a brand built to carry her philosophy beyond the walls of her spa. The transition wasn’t glamorous. She had to learn manufacturing, sourcing, regulations, and everything in between. But she stayed focused on real women and real results, clean formulations that worked, without the fear-based marketing the industry often leans on.

Purely Bella’s mission is rooted in a simple promise: you don’t need to turn back time to feel beautiful. You need to move forward with confidence and grace, knowing your best self is not behind you. Cathi believes this deeply. She speaks often about how a morning skincare routine is not just about products, it’s a daily choice to care for yourself, a reminder that you matter.

Her mission is also a response to the pressures women absorb from the world around them. Society is quick to tell women their value fades with every birthday. Cathi rejects that entirely. She wants daughters to grow up watching their mothers feel proud in photos, not hide from them. She wants women to recognize that aging is not the enemy; the real enemy is the culture that tells them to shrink as they grow older.

In a crowded beauty landscape, Cathi Carrier is not asking women to chase perfection. She is inviting them to remember who they are, and to step back into the frame with confidence.