Spabreaks.com has been named a finalist in the Innovation in Business Award and Businessperson of the Year categories at the 2021 Sussex Business Awards.
The company has always placed innovation at the heart of what it does, both in terms of process, customer service, thinking and helping to contribute to industry evolution, with Abi Selby at the helm.
Abi established Spabreaks.com in 2008 and it has grown to be the largest spa booking agency in the UK since then. It has made its name as an industry innovator and an industry leader both in terms of technology and booking capabilities as well as package design and industry evolution. This has been largely down to Abi’s leadership and intuitive understanding of the industry and our customers, whose feedback she listens to and reviews personally and regularly.
In itself, Spabreaks.com was game changing in its structure when it launched in 2008, and it has continued to be at the forefront of the industry, evolving to incorporate new functionalities that make booking easier for customers, and making availability listing easier for spas.
In addition, when we launched our Recovery Retreats in 2012, they were the first iteration of spa days and breaks suitable for anyone with cancer. It is an area that the spa industry has a chequered history with, and our platform provided a leading change to open up the spa industry to anyone who had experienced cancer and cancer treatment.
Today, spas have made fundamental changes and we have worked alongside other industry leaders to help make that change come about. In 2020 we updated our offering to Safe Hands for Cancer, in partnership with the SATCC - the only spa industry body dedicated to making spas more accessible for cancer patients. We are also using our work in that area to develop into other health niches that meet customer needs regarding personal wellness and more specialised care.
The impact is that where anyone with cancer used to be turned away from spas without treatment, today there are specially trained therapists across the UK who are able to support cancer patients safely and with treatments that really nurture in a way that’s needed.
Product innovation and predicting customer trends is a central part of what Spabreaks.com does and it’s something we continue to do following the pandemic, to meet the changing wants and needs of customers.
Abi has made a name for herself in the spa industry over the last 15 years, as a pioneering leader and as a supportive employer. She has won multiple awards, and her approach to Spabreaks.com has been driven by the belief that a commercial mindset and a product and industry with integrity can coexist alongside one another.
In her role, Abi has learned on the job, but has also been a champion of others - in particular, women in business. She has mentored other women in her business - many of whom have risen within the ranks of the company, remained with it for 10+ years, and many others who have gone on to start their own successful businesses as a result of Abi’s encouragement and guidance.
Sponsored by the Sussex Innovation Centre, the Innovation in Business Award will be made to the business best demonstrating outstanding innovation either by developing a new product or by introducing a new process or system to an existing business. It is open to any business based in, or conducting the majority of its business from, Sussex, where the Spabreaks.com head office is proudly located in Brighton.
The Businessperson of the Year award will be made for outstanding achievement by a businessperson who is contributing to the success of a business based in the County.
Celebrating thirty-two years in 2021, the Sussex Business Awards offer a unique opportunity to showcase the best innovators, leaders and entrepreneurs in the county. Winners will be announced on December 2nd 2021 at The Grand Brighton.
The host for the evening is the award-winning comedian Zoe Lyons whose television credits include appearances on Mock the Week, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, The Paul O’Grady Show and The Wright Stuff.
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