What is a spa?

A spa is a place people go to relax and look after their body: massage, facials, body treatments and similar care. Many businesses in Tanzania combine a spa with a salon under one roof.

Services a spa usually offers

• Massage, from a short back massage to a full-body session.
• Facials and skin care.
• Body scrubs and wraps.
• Manicure and pedicure.
• Waxing and other grooming.
• Often hair services too, when the spa is also a salon.

Spa or salon?

A salon is built around hair, nails and beauty services, usually in shorter visits. A spa is built around relaxation and treatment, usually in longer, booked sessions. Plenty of businesses are both, which is why you will often hear saluni na spa said as one word.

What it takes to run one

A spa sells time. A therapist can only be in one room at once, so the diary is the business: who is booked, for how long, with which therapist, and what was agreed. Add repeat clients who expect you to remember what they had last time, and staff who are paid a share of what they bring in.

• Appointments that do not clash, and clients who are reminded.
• A list of services with their prices and how long each takes.
• Each client's history, so you know what they had before.
• Staff commission worked out without a calculator at month end.
• A record of every payment, whether cash or mobile money.

Where Stawi Biz fits

Stawi Biz has a system for salons and spas. Clients book through a link you share on WhatsApp, and you keep the services, the staff commission and each client's history in the same place. You can try it free for 14 days.

Put your diary in one place.

Add your services and share your booking link. Free for 14 days, no card.