The Spa Collaborative

Like so many leaders within our industry, we all started folding towels and cleaning lockers. 🧖

Our team take a trip down memory lane as we explore the highs and the lows that led us to be the spa family we are today!

🤍 What was your first job?

Lauren: A spa receptionist at Skin Deep Beauty Salon whilst studying. I was paid £2.25 an hour (it was 1999)!
Emma: An apprentice in a hair salon – sweeping, washing hair and, most importantly, making cups of tea.
Kathryn: A spa attendant at One Spa in Edinburgh whilst studying at college.

🤍 What was your worst job?

Lauren: A spa director drafted in for cost containment during the recession. It was brutal and soul-destroying!
Emma: The worst job for me was when being treated poorly and unfairly by employers.
Kathryn: I used to shake with nerves painting any nail, in any job. I quickly made the decision it wasn't for me!

🤍 What was your strangest job?

Lauren: I was a weekend MOD in a hotel dealing with things like the heating breaking down!
Emma: Climbing up scaffolding to work in a metal container as a pre-opening spa manager, flats all the way.
Kathryn: Tandem back waxing in Australia. That poor man.

🤍 What’s been the fondest memory of your career?

Lauren: Fantastic development meetings in NYC, working with a great team of experts on a really fresh concept.
Emma: Being Spa Director at Viceroy Maldives, the team were so talented and the location a spectacular bonus.
Kathryn: Visiting the Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi. From pre-opening to sustainment, a truly passionate team.

Comment below with the best memory from your spa career – we’d love to hear it!

“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are – or, as we are conditioned to see it.” - Stephen R. Covey
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As a team of avid bookworms, we’ve spent years reading many fabulous books on all things spa-related, from Eastern medicine to leadership.
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But if we could choose one, ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen R. Covey was a real paradigm shift for us. 🧘‍♀️
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What books have struck a chord with you recently? 📚
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