Many of us have escaped to the comfort, pampering and the often rejuvenating treatments that spas provide.

This has changed a lot recently. 

The protective measures that were implemented to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus forced many business owners to review the way that they do business. 

Businesses within the health and wellness and beauty industries, which include spas, have had to deal with unique challenges. 

Some of the noticeable changes involved social distancing, strict sanitising practices and limiting the number of persons allowed inside an establishment. 

Yello spoke with Jaqueline Panton, Managing Director of Spa Divine Limited about how the pandemic has impacted the business, as well as some of their post-COVID-19 plans. 

Tell us a bit about your business? 

Spa Divine Limited began operations in February 2016. Our services include therapeutic massages, facials, manicures and pedicures, body scrubs and body wraps. We pride ourselves on good customer service and great treatments.  At Spa Divine, our tagline is: “Soothe your mind and body in the relaxing atmosphere or leisure and pampering at the Spa Divine,” as such, we want everyone who enters our doors to feel like they have arrived at home, relax and enjoy the ambience and the experience. Our establishment has a steam room, which we utilise for our body treatments. We also use products that are mainly plant-based such as the PEVONIA line for our body wraps and facials. 

How has the pandemic impacted your industry? 

We have been hit hard, as our industry is “hands-on”.  A lot of people are afraid of going to the spas, salons, barbershops and nail technicians, as within these businesses, the therapist must touch and be in the face of the client.  Hence, the clients are afraid to come in.  

In addition to this, some of the products needed are imported. With our sea and air borders closed, these products aren’t available.  With the loss of clients during this period, our industry suffers from a lack of income. Therefore, taking care of bills and salaries have become challenging. (https://www.drogueriasanjorge.com/)  

What were some of the initial challenges that you experienced? 

Shortly after the first cases were discovered here, we had a client who proved to be a bit challenging. After she got to the spa, she started coughing, and when we offered her a mask, she refused to take it. We advised her that she would have to leave if she didn’t wear it. A few members of our team are asthmatic, so, this incident made us wonder if we would have to close the business to keep everyone safe. 

What were some of the main concerns that you had for staff and clients? 

Our initial concerns factored in the health of our staff and clients, changes to our business operations and the impact these changes would have on our revenue. With a few members of staff being asthmatic and some having sinus issues, we didn’t want anyone getting sick. Our concern was not just in relation to work, but also with them having to take public transportation daily. 

Many of our clients would usually book our services after their workday ended. With the implementation of curfews, we now had fewer work hours in a day. This challenge would result in a decline in our revenue.   

With social distancing, we had to create a new schedule for our staff to reduce the number of persons in at any one time, so that once clients came in, we were not above the limit for persons in the shop. 

Our clients are our main source of income, and with fewer clients coming in, another major concern was taking care of our financial responsibilities. How do we pay our bills and our staff without laying off or terminating anyone?  

Some businesses are tentatively reopening. What are some of the protective measures that you have in place for clients and staff?  

We have been doing temperature checks, and we offer sanitiser to everyone who enters the spa. If someone comes in without a mask, we provide one for them. We follow key sanitising protocols once a client leaves a work area. This includes carefully sanitising the room they were in, as well as our instruments. We’ve staggered the booking timeline for client treatments so that the room can be properly sanitised, and we are only taking clients by appointments to reduce the number of persons in the spa at any one time. 

Your team is an important part of your business continuity plan. How do you keep them focused despite what is happening? 

The Spa Divine team… Diviners! We work as a family, and we have fun together. Our friendly and welcoming energy helps our clients to relax and to enjoy their treatment. We all understand that this is a difficult time; as such, we try to help each other through whatever problems we are experiencing.    

Share a few of the changes that you made initially that worked well that you will keep in place going forward. 

We will keep the use of the sanitiser for clients once they enter the door and the scheduling of staff during slow periods. Before the pandemic, we usually sanitise our areas after each client. We will continue to employ the more stringent measures of sanitising post-COVID-19. 

What are some of the post-COVID-19 plans for the business? 

To be honest, some things are still uncertain. We hope that we will still be in business after this period. That said, we plan to do our best to sustain our business by increasing our visibility through advertising and promotional efforts. We currently have a promotion of 30% off on all massages, manicures and pedicures. This promotion ends on 30 June 2020. 

What advice would you give to some of your clients who may be nervous about coming in for treatment? 

For our clients or any client who is nervous about visiting the spa, salon or a barbershop, I would recommend that they call the establishment beforehand and ask about the preventative measures that they have in place.   

Recently, our government shared the COVID-19 Workplace Protocols, which provides guidelines that businesses can adopt to ensure safety. Interested persons can check this document and use it as a guideline for the safety measures to expect from businesses when they call to make appointments. 

I also recommend that persons ensure that they are mentally ready, as your attitude and reactions can throw off your therapist, stylist or barber. If you aren’t ready or prepared, this could negatively impact others, as we are all doing our best to control our environments. 

Where can clients and potential clients connect with you?  

We are excited to connect with our loyal clients and potential clients. We may be reached via telephone at 876-285-7900 (Digicel), 876-630-6151 (Flow) or email [email protected].  

We are also active on social media on Facebook and Instagram.  

Our brand ambassadors are doing a great job of promoting our brand on Instagram. You can also check out their Instagram pages to get additional discounts @kimikoversatile and @chinny_unique. 

*All images provided by Ms. Panton.