Finding the perfect spa in Ireland just got easier with Spas.ie, the country’s leading spa discovery platform. Hear from Juan Cullen, co-founder, on how they connect spa-goers with top Irish spas, help businesses attract new clients, and why trust and experience matter in the world of online wellness.
1. What do you guys actually do?
We like to say we’re “Ireland’s spa discovery platform”, think of us as Ireland’s spa matchmaker! Say you want to find a spa in Kerry with an outdoor pool, a cheap spa break, or want to get mum a spa day for Mother’s Day. You’ll find it all on Spas.ie.
We work with over 80 of Ireland’s top spas. Everyone from spas at 5 star castles, to city centre day spas. All with the goal of making it easy for Irish spa goers to find the perfect spa.
2. How do spas in Ireland benefit from your services?
Added exposure and extra clients.
There’s been huge investment in the sector in recent years, you’ll see €2-€3 million spent on some spa fitouts. Spas are adding luxury facilities and high tec equipment. The bar keeps getting raised, so spas are keen to push their USPs and let people know why they should visit their spa. That’s where we come in. Spas.ie has the largest audience of spa goers in Ireland, which means we are in the best position to highlight the amazing services and facilities each spa has to offer.
We also operate the Spas.ie Gift Voucher. A lovely gift that allows the recipient to use it in 77 of Ireland’s best spas. That’s been running since 2011 and we have been sending 1000’s of nearests and dearests to spas across the island since then. Increasing spa footfall, supporting Irish and supporting wellbeing in the process.
3. What are the biggest challenges in your business?
There’s a really big turnover of staff in the hospitality industry, so building and keeping relationships can be tricky. Just as you get to know a spa or sales manager, they could have moved to another hotel the next week. This often means we have to rebuild rapport and reinforce what we do to a new team, but then we also see old friends popping up in other spas which is nice.
4. What have you learnt in the 15 years in business
We run an online business. Not a wellness business. Yeah we’re here to help people look for spas and massages but the fundamental problems we are solving are the same as every other ecommerce business. It’s about winning at SEO, social media, email marketing, website usability, content creation. Knowing which spa product has the highest concentration of Hyaluronic Acid is great but it’s not enough to run an online business.
5. Why did Spas.ie join Guaranteed Irish
Even though we’re around 15 years, people still call us up on the phone and ask “hi, I just wanted to call to see if you were a real business?”. People are still skeptical of online brands. They want to know who they are giving their credit cards to. Partnering with Guaranteed Irish and placing the Guaranteed Irish logo on our site helps build trust and let people know Spas.ie is a relatable Irish company behind the screen, or at the end of the phone.
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