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Spa Space Addresses Therapist Shortage with On-Demand Staffing Solutions

Flexible Offerings for Facility Partners Include Background Checks, Automated License Verification, and Combined Workforce Solutions
Julie Keller Callaghan

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Spa Space, a three-sided marketplace for the spa and salon industries, is tackling the therapist shortage with a wide range of on-demand staffing solutions. The platform drives incremental revenue for facility partners by filling unused treatment spaces, while reducing costs and elevating guest satisfaction. Spa Space’s flexible offering for facility partners includes accelerated, vetted background checks, quarterly automated license verification, and combined workforce solutions customized to each property.

Studies have shown that once hospitality workers were laid off due to the outbreak of COVID-19, many of them were not willing to go back to their original job again. This is especially true of women, which make up more than 90 percent of the spa workforce. The biggest reasons for not coming back are lack of flexibility to choose hours and an overly long onboarding process.

Michael Tompkins, partner in recruiting and consulting firm Hutchinson Consulting, is witnessing the staffing struggle in the hospitality industry first-hand. “In today’s tight hiring market, assuring a fast interview process and onboarding is essential to the successful hiring of licensed professionals,” he says. “The process should be streamlined within a week to 10 days, or candidates will have multiple offers from competing employers.”

Spa Space has grown more than 100 percent in the last six months. More than 1,000 providers populate the Spa Space platform. There is no minimum hour requirement, allowing access to employment opportunities that otherwise would be closed off because of schedule and caretaking limitations.

“For a nominal fee, our partners can open one treatment room to Spa Space, or we can operate the entire spa and handle recruiting, staffing, quality control, scheduling, and payroll,” says Ilana Alberico, Spa Space founder and CEO. “Our personalized approach to booking spa clients allows therapists to showcase their skills and form deeply personal relationships with the guests. We’ve really embraced the idea of providing a combined workforce for our facilities, which has contributed to our incredible growth.”

About The Author
julieKeller_author-1

Julie is the co-founder of Well Defined and a longtime influencer and advocate in the wellness world. Along with her work at Well Defined, she is an executive recruiter and marketing specialist for Hutchinson Consulting. She is also a consultant and content strategist for numerous wellness brands. She is the former editor-in-chief and publisher of American Spa and was named a 2019 Folio Top Woman in Media in the Industry Trailblazers category and a 2018 winner of ISPA’s Innovate Award. She is also a seasoned journalist, specializing in spa, travel, health, fitness, wellness, sustainability, and beauty. She has been published in Departures, ForbesTraveler.com, E! Online, Gayot.com, Insider’s Guide to Spas, Luxury Travel Advisor, Marin Magazine, Ocean Home, Smart Meetings, Spa Asia, and Travel Agent.