Who we are

The initial motivation for creating Spabreaks.com was to market spas and their myriad experiences and expertise more dynamically. Abi wanted to show that spas could be profitable as well as provide excellent and meaningful wellbeing experiences, and that there were options for every location, price point, person and occasion. She launched Spabreaks.com in 2008 with a team of three people, and as time has gone on that motivation has remained true, but it has matured and evolved as well.  

Since those early days, Abi has become a powerful and proactive advocate for making the spa industry more accessible, opening it up to people who previously felt marginalised and showing its importance to the UK economy and the nation’s wellbeing. 

At work, her passion is evident through her tireless focus on customer experiences, improving the product, technological and service offering of the company, as well as adapting to the changing world around us. At the heart of everything is listening to our customers - Abi herself reviews feedback directly to consistently improve standards. In fact, many of the business’s initiatives have been in response to something customers felt was missing from the sector. She also works on behalf of the spa community to improve standards, support and recognition for all those who work in it.

Knowing the personal challenges that women face in business and in achieving a healthy work/life balance, Abi has always been mindful of the opportunities that modern businesses have to improve options and flexibility for team members. As a result, she has worked hard not only to establish her own career, but also to create a working environment that supports and nurtures others as well.  

The result has been that several former team members have gone on to set up their own businesses having been mentored by Abi, while others have progressed into senior leadership positions within the company itself. Abi continues to be passionate about opening up opportunities for women, knowing that confidence, recognition and support are central to not only seeing women compete in the workplace but also to thriving in both work and life.

Spabreaks.com has worked hard to ensure that it offers its team an environment that is simultaneously dynamic, welcoming, nurturing and inspiring.  We are lucky to have a vibrant and energetic community at our offices and we like to keep it that way.  

Knowing everyone is an individual and needs different levels of support at different times, that is exactly what we aim to offer, with new initiatives coming into effect such as flexible and remote working options, particularly for working parents.

Preferring to practise what we preach when it comes to balancing work and life, we moved our main offices from London to Brighton in 2017.  We believe that wellbeing is not about just one thing - it’s about feeling supported in all areas of our lives.

In 2017 we reduced the working day by 30 minutes and extended holiday to 25 days as standard. We have since introduced wellbeing support on a regular basis including chair massages and yoga sessions.

Since we began, opportunity and professional guidance have been central to the way we look after our team.  It is important to us that everyone we work with knows our product first hand.  Therefore, we regularly send team members to spas across the world, covering all costs, and we invite spas to present to the team to keep their knowledge up to date.  We offer opportunities for career progression and Abi has personally mentored a number of individuals within the team, many of whom have gone on to start their own businesses. 

There’s no team quite like our team and we’re very proud of that.

A keen traveller and an advocate of the importance of enjoying our wellbeing, Marc-Andre brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and personal passion to the team at Spabreaks.com. 

With extensive experience as Director of Marketing at eBay and Tripadvisor businesses, and with a working knowledge of organisations around the world including the UK and Europe, Canada and the USA, he has garnered more than 15 years’ in rapidly evolving businesses and sectors. He also has a successful track record in motivating high-performing teams, building distinctive brands and taking companies to new heights.

It's not just Marc-Andre's credentials that make him an important member of the team however, it's also his interests and experiences with hospitality, health and wellbeing. Having spent much of his career travelling, like many of us he knows what an influence the places we stay in have on how we feel. For him, good food, beautiful experiences and places are all part of holistic wellness.

His enthusiasm for Spabreaks.com, and its mission to offer spa experiences for everybody, is rooted in his belief that spas have an important role to play in improving the mental and physical health of people individually and collectively. As someone who likes to see authentic businesses thrive, Spabreaks.com's values also resonate with him, seeing an important opportunity to help spa businesses across the country thrive by connecting them with the people who will benefit from everything they have to offer.

Marc-Andre says: "We're in an era where there's rising stress and anxiety, and spas are a great option for helping people enjoy better mental and physical health. There's much more awareness around health and how we enjoy it, and I think spas are central to that, providing an opportunity to democratise wellbeing for more people."

Our Head of Brand Lauren is one of the hardest-working people we know. With a passion for wellbeing, health and beauty, the spa world is the perfect home for her, and she's a central figure in the Spabreaks.com family. 

Before she joined us she studied graphic communications at university whilst working for a family friend's farm. True to character, during her time there she got involved with all aspects of the business, helping to take it from a small entity to a supplier of some of the largest retailers in the country as well as a regular feature at key events like Goodwood Festival of Speed. She then spent time at URBANLIP.COM image library, where her skills in business development and marketing combined with a glamorous introduction to imagery and branding. It was a role she credits with giving her ultimate direction in her career, seeking opportunities to both challenge herself and be part of a business she could really get excited about.

Thankfully, that journey brought Lauren to Spabreaks.com, where she has worked her way up to Head of Brand. The size of the business, the founder-led mindset and the enthusiasm that each person has for spa, wellness and our role within the world of wellbeing have all inspired her. Approaching each day with abundant enthusiasm, she cares deeply about the spa experiences that we promote as well as the experience each and every customer has on a spa break. She believes strongly that whether you want a facial and an afternoon tea, to party the night away and recover in a hydrotherapy pool, or you're seeking a week-long detox, wellness is whatever makes you feel good, and that's what we're here to make possible.

Lauren says: "I really care about the business and what we do at Spabreaks.com, and love getting under the skin of what we offer. What we say and how we say it is important to me - we want the spa world to be an accessible and enjoyable opportunity for everybody. I'm not naturally the most confident person in the world but at Spabreaks.com I never felt as though I was trying to be anything, it's a natural fit and it's a team I love being part of."

Tamzin is our trusty CFO, an essential part of the team and one of those talented people who's not only amazing at her job but wonderful to be around as well. Having always known she wanted to work with numbers, Tamzin qualified as an accountant straight out of university. She initially worked in a local business in Brighton, but quickly realised that she wanted to combine her numerical skills with organisations that were focused on making people feel good.

Taking a holistic view of a company, and delighting in how its financial wellbeing works in harmony with the workplace happiness of the team, she began working in travel and hospitality. She was at Neilson Active Holidays for 14 years, where she quickly moved up the ranks to Head of Finance and Management Information and then Group Financial Controller after returning from maternity leave, before joining the Palatinate Group as Group Head of Finance in January 2020.

Her commitment and guidance during the challenging weeks and months around the Covid-19 pandemic shone an even greater spotlight on her professional acumen and on her team spirit. When a position became available for CFO at Spabreaks.com, she was a natural fit and we couldn't have been happier at the prospect.

As well as her professional interest in travel and wellbeing, Tamzin has been on her own wellness journey. Pre-pandemic her main form of exercise was tap dancing, but lockdown saw her nurture a newfound love of running, cycling and yoga. With an intense job, her relaxation time is also extremely valuable, and being a Sussex resident she delights in time spent at Ockenden Manor, swimming and taking time out in the spa.

Tamzin says: "Being CFO at Spabreaks.com is hands down my dream job. It's a fantastic business with great role models and its female lead, which is something I have always wanted to be a part of. As a woman in finance, a sector which doesn't have many female senior leaders, that's really inspiring. It's a company that pulls on both sides of my personality - getting into the detail and the numbers, but it's also a great business where you want to be involved with part of the team and support them. Spabreaks.com has an inspiring story, a great model and core values that it lives by - that's quite an unusual combination and it's everything I want to be a part of."

Katie-Jayne is our People Partner, taking care of the team and our wellbeing from HR to health and safety. She's also in charge of wellness initiatives like making sure we have our regular in-office massage and yoga sessions.

Katie-Jayne joined us in 2023 and instantly became part of the family. She's got a natural inclination to muck-in, becoming the go-to person whenever you need something and giving a profound sense of reassurance to all who need it. An avid amateur rugby player in her spare time, she's a fan of a good massage to soothe aching shoulders, and she's got a personal interest in holistic wellbeing and naturopathic medicine.

She started her career in administration, and being the grafter that she is, worked her way up through different companies and industries, from pensions to construction. During that time she did her qualifications in health, safety, environment and wellbeing management with The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) and The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

In her role at Vega Technology, she matriculated from HR and Office Manager to HR & Operations Manager, but more importantly, discovered an organisation which felt like family. It was a kind of connected, working community that she loved working in and knew she wanted to find again. Aura Futures became her next challenge as the Business Support Manager, where she gained further experience, including taking on further responsibilities when the HR Director had to step away. 

Following time as the HR Generalist at the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM), where she enjoyed nurturing her interest in wellbeing, Katie-Jayne found her way to Spabreaks.com, and we couldn't be happier about it. While we're busy helping other people to find their perfect spa break and wellbeing experience, she makes sure we're all looked after as well.

Katie-Jayne says: "I'm really passionate about improving processes for people at work, and I have always loved what spas have to offer. I enjoy understanding the benefits that massage, yoga and holistic wellness provide. Moving to Spabreaks.com was the best decision I've ever made in my career. It's a lovely team to work with, the goals and objectives of the company are great to be a part of, it has a family feel to it and everyone has belief in the business. It's somewhere I feel I can grow, and hopefully make a difference for my colleagues as well."

Ashley has been part of the Spabreaks.com team pretty much since the beginning. His unique brand of intellect, humour and wit have become part of the fabric of our office, particularly now as Call Centre Sales Manager.

Having started his career in hotels in Barbados, he knows the spa and hospitality sector inside out. He moved to the UK in 2009 and spent a successful period at Stoke Park, in a role which saw him liaising with the team at Spabreaks.com. When a position came up within our growing team, he applied and we have never looked back. 

Joining Spabreaks.com when we were based in London, Ashley's knowledge of the industry is combined with an innate ability to nurture other team members in their roles. As a result, he matriculated from Assistant Sales and Call Centre Training Manager to Training and Development Manager before moving into his current job. 

In that time, he came with us from London to our current offices in Brighton, embracing life by the sea and bringing with him his personal passion for wellness. Ashley is a dedicated gym goer, but also knows the importance of balance. He always knows the best foodie destinations, and is a big fan of time spent in a thermal suite.

Not only is Ashley an essential part of our own team, but his downtime includes an extremely successful side hustle designing costumes for the Notting Hill Carnival. We can't believe how lucky we are to have him working with us!

He says: "For me wellness is about three things: it's mentally good for you, it's physically good for you, and I think as a result of that more knowledge has really changed how we can age and how we look and feel as we get older. For me it's about balance and being able to listen to your body. I love to go to the gym - it's amazing to help manage stress, but I also love good food. I think wellbeing is a combination of all those things and that's what Spabreaks.com represents."

Alecia joined our team when we were located in London and thankfully decided to come with us when we moved to Brighton in 2017. Her journey to making sure that we deliver customer experiences that we can be proud of is not what you might expect - this is a woman of many talents!

Alecia began her career as a customer manager working at a bank, running everything behind the scenes, particularly when it came to business relationships. When the 2008 recession hit, she found that the working environment changed, and her work/life balance shifted. Taking time to reset, she went back to university, embracing a love of CSI and doing a degree in Forensic Science. After graduating with First Class Honours, she considered a Masters to take her into her chosen field, but instead opted to return to full-time employment exploring her passion for travel.

Having been born in Jamaica and recently married in St. Vincent where her partners' family is from, Alecia has a deep love of travel and exploring new cultures. When she joined the team at Spabreaks.com she began in the vouchers team before spending time in UK sales and then heading up our international department where she excelled in developing relationships with incredible people and destinations. 

After the pandemic, Alecia was asked to consider the new role of Customer Experience Manager. Her warm and caring nature as well as her insightful approach to the customer journey made her the perfect candidate for the job, and thankfully, she agreed. Since then, she has had a powerful impact, redesigning and restructuring our approach to deliver the best possible experience both for our spa goers and our team. Alecia believes that when people are happy and supported in their job, they do their best work, so she has an open-door management policy and is dedicated to making sure her people are happy, healthy and cared for.

She says: "I focus on improving the people I have around me and making sure they know their value within the company. If people feel valued they will always do their best, and I think that our customers know that and feel that difference."