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Spa Employee Compensation by Jo Halpert
I am often approached by those who are researching a career change into the spa industry looking for advice and for answers to many questions. One of the first questions often is, “how much money can I expect to make?” This is an important question and can only be answered by explaining how compensation structures in spas can differ from spa to spa.
Compensation Structures for Spa Technicians
There are 3 different ways that compensation is structured to Therapists in a spa company. The first is an Hourly Pay Rate, the second, a Commission Based Pay or the third, a Combination of Hourly and Commission Pay together. Let’s examine each one at a time as they each have their negative and positive points to consider.
The first, the Hourly Pay Rate, is just as it sounds. For each hour of the day that the therapist is working, she or he will receive a set amount of pay for each hour at the spa, whether a client service was performed or not. Geographical location will be a factor in determining what the hourly rate would be, but on average the hourly pay scale is usually in the range of $8 to $12. The positive aspect to this type of pay scale is that a guaranteed amount of compensation will be known by the therapist with each paycheck and this can bring about peace of mind. It is also good if you are not trained or proficient in sales or the spa is not busy. The negative aspect to this type of pay structure is that it is not motivating. In knowing that the same amount of money will be made whether a service is performed or not will not give incentive to a technician to build a clientele or to provide the utmost care in service performance.
The second type of payment compensation, Commission Based Pay, is the more common type of compensation structure. With this type of pay, the technician is given a commission base amount for performing a service, but when no treatment is performed no pay is given. Therefore technicians are only paid for the time when they are working with a client. The commission base usually falls in the range of $25 to $40 for a one hour treatment service performed. Performing a basic treatment might earn the therapist a $25 commission rate, but providing a specialty service that requires the therapist to obtain a special certificate, such as a Microdermabrasion Facial or Pre-Natal Massage, would reward the therapist the higher $40 commission for that service. This type of pay structure compensates the therapists for his/her extra time, experience and education and therefore will definitely motivate. This type of compensation scheme will reward the therapist for their service up-selling abilities as well and for working to build a clientele. Basically, the more hours that are worked and the more treatments that are performed the therapists pay goes higher and higher. The down side to this structure is that the therapist is only earning when the spa is busy, so this type of compensation structure is doubtful to work when a spa is newly opened and not many clients are booking.
The combination of an Hourly Pay Rate and an additional Commission Bonus is the third type of compensation structure. In this pay scheme, the therapist would receive an hourly amount for each hour working at the spa and will also receive an additional commission for each treatment that is performed. The benefit to this pay structure is that the therapist is earning an hourly rate when no client service is performed and when a treatment service is performed the therapist will receive an added bonus amount. This would give the therapist security that they are earning some monies even when there is no client to provide treatment, but also the added motivation to build a repeat business. Generally the monetary break down for therapists would be somewhere around $10 to $12 Hourly Rate with another 20%-30% Service Commission paid when a treatment service is given. The combination of the two monies would equal an amount somewhere in the range of $25 to $40 total paid when a service treatment is performed, similar to the Commission Based Pay scale mentioned previously. This type of pay scale, if offered, is usually offered temporarily when a spa is just in the start up phase, so that it can maintain its employees. Once the spa business is developed with repeat clients the spa will switch over strictly to the Commission Based Pay as to put a cap on its payroll expenses to protect the business.
Other Forms of Compensation
With the spa business becoming a more competitive industry to work within, spas have had to become really attractive to potential employees to secure them. To accomplish this, spas offer much more than the pay structures mentioned above. When looking for a spa position in a spa, also inquire about other forms of compensation and benefits. Spas will also offer medical benefits (usually for full time employees), educational benefits (whether on site or off), team-based profit sharing, performance bonuses, retail sales commissions (usually between 10%-25%), cash gratuities (now federally taxed), annual reviews & raises, assistance with commuting costs, provide uniforms, paid vacations or vacation savings plans, retirement savings plans (401k’s, etc.), and much, much more!
Yearly Expectations Regarding Pay For Multiple Spa Employees
So what can you expect to make annually working in a spa? Well it takes a village to operate a spa everyday and all the employees in the village have different job responsibilities that equate into different pay scales. Below I have broken down the estimated approximate annual pay for each position. Please keep in mind that these are only estimates and not guarantees of any sort. Be reminded that pay rates fluctuate according to compensation schemes, geographical location, and level of education, experience, job responsibility, client capacity within each spa and type of spa. (See our other article on A Resume That Gets Attention.)
Customer Service Representatives
This includes positions such as Front Desk, Booking Operators & Housekeeping Staff: $8 to $12 per hour with an approximate gross annual income of $15,000-$23,000 for a full time position, not including over time.
Spa Technicians
This includes positions such as Massage Therapists, Skin Care Therapists & Body Treatment Therapists: $22 to $40 per hour with an approximate annual income of $25,000-$65,000.
Spa Directors/Managers
The approximate compensation for salaried management staff can be broken down by type of spa facility:
Day Spa $40,000 - $50,000
Hotel / Resort Spa $50,000 - $65,000
Destination Spa $60,000 - $90,000
Multi Facility Position $75,000 - $100,000
I am often approached by those who are researching a career change into the spa industry looking for advice and for answers to many questions. One of the first questions often is, “how much money can I expect to make?” This is an important question and can only be answered by explaining how compensation structures in spas can differ from spa to spa.
Compensation Structures for Spa Technicians
There are 3 different ways that compensation is structured to Therapists in a spa company. The first is an Hourly Pay Rate, the second, a Commission Based Pay or the third, a Combination of Hourly and Commission Pay together. Let’s examine each one at a time as they each have their negative and positive points to consider.
The first, the Hourly Pay Rate, is just as it sounds. For each hour of the day that the therapist is working, she or he will receive a set amount of pay for each hour at the spa, whether a client service was performed or not. Geographical location will be a factor in determining what the hourly rate would be, but on average the hourly pay scale is usually in the range of $8 to $12. The positive aspect to this type of pay scale is that a guaranteed amount of compensation will be known by the therapist with each paycheck and this can bring about peace of mind. It is also good if you are not trained or proficient in sales or the spa is not busy. The negative aspect to this type of pay structure is that it is not motivating. In knowing that the same amount of money will be made whether a service is performed or not will not give incentive to a technician to build a clientele or to provide the utmost care in service performance.
The second type of payment compensation, Commission Based Pay, is the more common type of compensation structure. With this type of pay, the technician is given a commission base amount for performing a service, but when no treatment is performed no pay is given. Therefore technicians are only paid for the time when they are working with a client. The commission base usually falls in the range of $25 to $40 for a one hour treatment service performed. Performing a basic treatment might earn the therapist a $25 commission rate, but providing a specialty service that requires the therapist to obtain a special certificate, such as a Microdermabrasion Facial or Pre-Natal Massage, would reward the therapist the higher $40 commission for that service. This type of pay structure compensates the therapists for his/her extra time, experience and education and therefore will definitely motivate. This type of compensation scheme will reward the therapist for their service up-selling abilities as well and for working to build a clientele. Basically, the more hours that are worked and the more treatments that are performed the therapists pay goes higher and higher. The down side to this structure is that the therapist is only earning when the spa is busy, so this type of compensation structure is doubtful to work when a spa is newly opened and not many clients are booking.
The combination of an Hourly Pay Rate and an additional Commission Bonus is the third type of compensation structure. In this pay scheme, the therapist would receive an hourly amount for each hour working at the spa and will also receive an additional commission for each treatment that is performed. The benefit to this pay structure is that the therapist is earning an hourly rate when no client service is performed and when a treatment service is performed the therapist will receive an added bonus amount. This would give the therapist security that they are earning some monies even when there is no client to provide treatment, but also the added motivation to build a repeat business. Generally the monetary break down for therapists would be somewhere around $10 to $12 Hourly Rate with another 20%-30% Service Commission paid when a treatment service is given. The combination of the two monies would equal an amount somewhere in the range of $25 to $40 total paid when a service treatment is performed, similar to the Commission Based Pay scale mentioned previously. This type of pay scale, if offered, is usually offered temporarily when a spa is just in the start up phase, so that it can maintain its employees. Once the spa business is developed with repeat clients the spa will switch over strictly to the Commission Based Pay as to put a cap on its payroll expenses to protect the business.
Other Forms of Compensation
With the spa business becoming a more competitive industry to work within, spas have had to become really attractive to potential employees to secure them. To accomplish this, spas offer much more than the pay structures mentioned above. When looking for a spa position in a spa, also inquire about other forms of compensation and benefits. Spas will also offer medical benefits (usually for full time employees), educational benefits (whether on site or off), team-based profit sharing, performance bonuses, retail sales commissions (usually between 10%-25%), cash gratuities (now federally taxed), annual reviews & raises, assistance with commuting costs, provide uniforms, paid vacations or vacation savings plans, retirement savings plans (401k’s, etc.), and much, much more!
Yearly Expectations Regarding Pay For Multiple Spa Employees
So what can you expect to make annually working in a spa? Well it takes a village to operate a spa everyday and all the employees in the village have different job responsibilities that equate into different pay scales. Below I have broken down the estimated approximate annual pay for each position. Please keep in mind that these are only estimates and not guarantees of any sort. Be reminded that pay rates fluctuate according to compensation schemes, geographical location, and level of education, experience, job responsibility, client capacity within each spa and type of spa. (See our other article on A Resume That Gets Attention.)
Customer Service Representatives
This includes positions such as Front Desk, Booking Operators & Housekeeping Staff: $8 to $12 per hour with an approximate gross annual income of $15,000-$23,000 for a full time position, not including over time.
Spa Technicians
This includes positions such as Massage Therapists, Skin Care Therapists & Body Treatment Therapists: $22 to $40 per hour with an approximate annual income of $25,000-$65,000.
Spa Directors/Managers
The approximate compensation for salaried management staff can be broken down by type of spa facility:
Day Spa $40,000 - $50,000
Hotel / Resort Spa $50,000 - $65,000
Destination Spa $60,000 - $90,000
Multi Facility Position $75,000 - $100,000
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