Can AI and Machine Learning Give a Better Experience in a Spa Here's how technology differentiates this spa brand

The moment work gets too stressful, all you need is a good spa to relax, refresh and rejuvenate yourself. Identifying an opportunity of opening a tech-enabled spa business, engineer-turned-entrepreneur, Ritesh Reddy embarked on an entrepreneurial journey in 2008 to give India, its largest spa stopover ever.

The company which started a decade ago has now expanded its business in more than 27 cities in India and 8 cities in Middle East.

In an interaction with Entrepreneur India, Reddy talked about how the brand has been able to become a tech disruptor in the wellness industry and what has built the company's reputation over the years.

Building a People-to-people Connect is an Important Ingredient

O2 Spas gained its momentum in the market in less than a year. Speaking about how the technology background helped Reddy to be the first tech disruptor in the space, he said, "The way we're using technology to increase our sales and overall performance of the brand is very different to what others do. We used artificial intelligence and machine learning model to understand the characteristics of our consumers and clients."

Reddy asserted that repeat guests or customers is very important for a spa business. And that's why we try and build a people-to-people connect with our clients in the business.

So how does technology play an important role to make an individual a regular guest? Reddy said, "From our clients' personal guest satisfaction to guest retention, we estimate everything to better or consumer experience every day."

"I don't think any company would have used technology so extensively in trying to drive a services business," he added.

Employee Engagement - A Biggest Challenge in the Market

Sighting employee engagement as one of the biggest challenges in the industry, Reddy said hiring and retaining employees in the spa business had been the biggest challenge in the business so far. Maintaining the same quality while expanding the business has been the most difficult milestone.

Explaining his viewpoint, Reddy said that the employees thinking remains confined to one store generally. Instead of thinking how can they better service geographically, it somehow does not go beyond one story. Here the engagement of them in the work becomes very critical. That's where we try and push them by guiding and giving incentives for the work"

Tips to Improve Employee Engagement

It's really very critical to communicate to every employee on daily basis for them on that one day because life gets really monotonous, same location, same services just different guests. So here's how to make it more exciting.

• Make them understand what exactly the reason behind you choosing this career, what are the advantages and disadvantages and what kind of responsibility you have.

• Every time there is a shift starting we actually have an owe to way of doing a meditative session and over and above that there is at least one minute of product training.

• Every birthday is celebrated like a true celebration, like a festival in that particular store. There is budget given, mandatorily in front of his office manager and everybody in the system is supposed to take part in the celebration.