Membership-based booking and scheduling software system Spa Space matches guest preferences to therapists best-suited to their needs, who will then tailor treatment plans for each client.

Realised as a three-sided marketplace for the spa and salon industries, the technology is designed to drive incremental revenue for facility partners by filling unused treatment spaces, while reducing costs and elevating guest satisfaction.

Its offering for facility partners includes accelerated, highly-vetted background checks, quarterly automated license verification and combined workforce solutions customised to each property.

Studies have shown that once hospitality workers were laid off due to COVID, many of them weren’t willing to return to their original job.

This was especially true of women, who make up more than 90 per cent of the spa workforce. The biggest reasons for not coming back were a 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. The process should be streamlined within a week to 10 days, or candidates will have multiple offers from competing employers.”

In the last six months, Spa Space has grown over 100 per cent and now has more than 1,000 providers populating the 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, SpaSpace founder and CEO.

“Our personalised approach to booking spa clients allows therapists to showcase their skills and form deeply personal relationships with the guests.

“Spa Space is a platform for therapists to get back to work, where they want and when they want.

“We've really embraced the idea of providing a combined workforce for our facilities, which has contributed to our incredible growth.”