The UK Spa Association held a networking event last week at Stoke Park, in Buckinghamshire, England, with around 120 attendees.

At the event, the association debuted a new advice line, The Spa Line, designed to help members – especially smaller operators – answer questions on a number of subjects.

Members can ask a question through the email address [email protected], and the question is then directed to the best member of an expert panel (made up of association members, operators and sales representatives) to answer it. Members will receive an answer within 48 hours.

A record is also kept of the type of enquiry, so that the association can see the bigger picture of what types of topics members want to know more about.

“The Spa Line came about after a year of receiving questions from our members ranging from ‘Where can I get a risk assessment for my sauna?’ to 'Which locker system would you recommend?’ through to ‘I could really do with some advice on how to improve my KPIs’ or ‘Are there any real reasons why I shouldn’t treat my client who has recently been diagnosed with cancer?’” sais Lisa Barden, general manager of the UK Spa Association.

Barden said if she couldn’t answer a question herself, she would field it to board members, but The Spa Line will allow members to ask questions in a more formalised way.

The association is looking for volunteers to help answer enquiries as accurately as possible, and welcomes anyone in the spa sector to get in touch.