A coffee with Salina Handa, Founder of SensAsia Urban Spas.
What brought you to Dubai?
I was fresh out of college when I first came to Dubai. The world was my oyster, and I was eagerly searching for my next challenge. At the time, I was supposed to be going to work for my father in Thailand, but my sister lived in Dubai and encouraged me to “come hang out” with her for a while, before I did. I was supposed to leave six months later at the latest, but life just snowballed, as it does in Dubai! Before I knew it, I had a job, a life, and a future husband!
Describe a typical day
I am up at 6.15am. If my husband Kavit is travelling, the mornings are a mad rush for me to get our twins Soroya and Sienna (age seven) ready and off to school. If he is here to help, we will sit to eat breakfast as a family, until I leave the house at 7.15am. Then I’ll head to the gym or a Pilates class and be in the SensAsia office before 10am. My working hours are generally up until school pick-up time, which is 2pm, so I have become very good at powering through my to-do list! I will take the kids home, and if they are busy with activities, I get a chance to work from home or run some of my errands. We eat dinner around 6pm on nights my husband and I are home, but on the nights we are out for the evening, I’ll make sure we hang out with the kids right before their bedtime, which is at 8pm. This is my favourite, but most tiring, time of day - as there hasn’t been a moment free before it!
How did you get into this profession?
SensAsia was a product of my own life-long addiction to spas. It all started on holiday in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. While Kavit played golf, I went in search of a lazy afternoon indulging myself. Right in the middle of the most glorious Shiatsu I have ever had, I almost ached at the thought of not being able to have this when I went back to Dubai. The idea struck to create my own sanctuary, that, if done correctly, I could also have so much fun with. I had a business and marketing degree, so I knew how to ‘package’ an idea and sell it. Now I just needed the ingredients to make the product work. I met Kavit back at the hotel that evening and was bursting at the seams, desperate to tell him my idea and hoping and praying he wouldn’t crush it by laughing. He was extremely supportive of the decision, and I opened my first SensAsia Urban Spa at The Village, Jumeirah in September 2004. This year, we are celebrating 12 years of SensAsia, with four spas across the UAE, a team of just over 100, and exciting expansion opportunities outside of the region.
What is the best thing about your job?
Assessments! I love being called into the spa to assess new therapists, treatments, and all the little touches that go into the complete SensAsia journey. I also love that we can be so flexible with every element of SensAsia - from the treatments themselves through to our marketing. SensAsia is run by a group of very strong-willed women, who also double up as very hard-to-please clients! We have free rein to adapt the SensAsia experience as we see fit, and this can happen very quickly as we do not need to follow any kind of corporate process. We can be as creative as we want and need to be, and that really helps every member of the team feel connected to and passionate about SensAsia. This makes the SensAsia model extremely unique, and it is the reason we have drawn the attention of several boutique hotels throughout the GCC, and are currently finalising some exciting expansion opportunities.
And the worst…
Operational issues, and people issues. When there are so many people to take care of in a company, sometimes you get really bogged down with minor and petty ‘people issues’, as important as they are.
What was a standout moment in your career?
My first award, which was the What’s On Best Spa Award in 2011. SensAsia won against spas in major hotels, and I never dreamed consumers would classify us in that league. I was truly honoured, and I still am today.
What advice would you have for any young person wanting to get into your field?
It is a very different market today than what it was 10+ years ago. People are savvier now. They have a myriad of choices, and can access them at speed. So, whatever the concept/product/service it is that you want to launch, spend a good deal of your time analysing its path - from concept to manifestation. Is it an immutable concept? Is there anything about it that makes you stand apart from the rest, in the eye of the consumer (not your own)? Heaps of clarity and vision are required. As Abraham Hicks says, you need to be tuned in, tapped in and turned on!