Bringing the hospitality industry to hairdressing

Sara Holmes runs the award-winning Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa in Cheltenham with her husband Stuart. The salon scooped Salon of the Year 1 at HJ's 2010 British Hairdressing Business Awards.

Having worked for many years for The Savoy Group, the Holmes' salon has many characteristics of a top boutique hotel. 

Tell us about your experience in the hospitality industry?

I always worked in the five-star luxury market. One of my favourite roles was working for The Savoy Group in London. I never had any intention of giving up my career in the industry, but when it became clear what a huge venture the Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa was going to be, it was definitely the right decision to combine strengths with Stuart to make the business a success.

What are the main elements of the hospitality industry that you brought to the salon industry?

Attention to customer service and the client's experience. In the hotel trade, guest experience has to be 110% I'm really particular about attention to detail, and making sure that the guest experience is as perfect as it can be. For example, all our staff wear pagers at all times, so instead of being interrupted with 'Your 11 o'clock is in,' each team member's pager vibrates alerting them that their next client has arrived. In the hotel industry, concierges use these as a method of communication and it works brilliantly for us at the salon.

Another example of how we replicate hotel style service is by our attention to detail for regular clients. In hotels, it used to be Mr and Mrs Jones who like room 401 and Mr Smith who had to have a room near a lift. At the Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa, it's Mr Jones who loves The Telegraph newspaper each time he comes in and Mrs Smith who prefers the softer music and loves the biscuits we serve with our coffee, so she gets a couple extra.

How did your hotel experience influence the salon design?

The design of the salon has the feeling of a boutique-style hotel. It's not a high-street shop unit, so from the outside, with its stunning Regency façade, it could be mistaken for a chic townhouse or fashionable bed and breakfast. There is on-site parking, flower boxes in the window and red carpet outside the front steps.

We have a reception room where we refer to clients as 'checking in' or 'checking out'. We also have a lounge where clients can enjoy complimentary cappuccinos or speciality teas. We spend time in the lounge with our clients as part of their appointments. The majority of our salon furniture is bespoke apart from the backwash units and the cutting chairs. 

In terms of staff training/motivation were there any lessons learned in hospitality that have proved useful within hairdressing?

Yes, once a year we take our salon team to London to experience hairdressing at its best. I used to visit other five-star luxury hotels around the country on a regular basis, meeting up with fellow business managers. It's really important to learn what your colleagues in your industry are offering and the standards they work to, so that you can ensure you are on top of your game.

 

Last year, I took our salon reception team to The Berkeley Hotel in London for afternoon tea, and this year I took them to The Dorchester, so that they experience the highest levels of customer care. It is important for them to understand our standards.