In conversation with... Amanda Jennings

In conversation with... Amanda Jennings

INTERVIEW BY WENDY GOLLEDGE

Celebrating the careers of spa leaders, European Spa meets Amanda Jennings, the powerhouse behind Serenity Spa at Seaham Hall in County Durham

Amanda Jennings

Now a well-established gem set upon the Heritage Coast in County Durham, UK, Serenity Spa at Seaham Hall hotel has garnered a reputation for its luxury wellness offering. And much of this well-deserved repute is down to the commitment and talent of spa manager Amanda Jennings, who was named Spa Professional of the Year at the 2021 Hotel Cateys.

In the year in which she celebrates a decade at Seaham Hall, which is also marking its 20th anniversary, European Spa catches up with Jennings to delve into the secrets of Serenity Spa’s much-lauded success and get some exclusive insights into future plans for the business.

Climbing the spa ladder Jennings’s unusual trajectory to spa manager began on the reception desk at Seaham Hall in 2012. “I did a degree in fashion but fell out of love with it so applied to be spa receptionist here at Seaham. I remember putting rollers in my hair for the interview!” she jokes. “They asked me who I’d like to get stuck in a lift with and I said David Beckham, Chris Martin and Steve Irwin. I don’t know if that was the right answer, but I got the job.”

Fast-forward just three months and Jennings, “always the grafter”, was promoted to assistant reception manager. Under the mentorship of spa managers Davina Hassell and later Helen Coulon, Jennings says: “I began to run the spa

without really realising it. They helped me to believe in myself and, when Helen left, I was offered the role.”

Developing with experience

Jennings admits some trepidation when she first took on the role. “I don’t come from a treatment background and at first that worried me, but not all therapists can master an understanding of operations or make great managers. I think the secret to our success now is that I’m experienced in front-of-house while Dannika Herron, my assistant spa manager, has progressed from a treatment background.”

Jennings firmly believes that it is the staff who make a spa stand out from its competition and make a positive impression on guests. “We’re about people first, both guest and team. This provides a level of consistency,” she says. “The majority of Seaham Hall staff are locally sourced and one of a kind.”

The average length of service for therapists at Serenity Spa is between four and seven years, and both she and Herron are highly focised on supporting them. “Increasingly we’re finding our therapists need more life skills to deal with clients’ worries and problems,” explains Herron. “Amanda and I have an open-door policy for staff to share their feelings and vulnerabilities, and we have put them through Temple Spa’s mindset

training to help them understand the power they have to change clients’ feelings while in the treatment room.”

Jennings works hard to recruit and retain a top-notch team, and is tackling industry-wide recruitment issues by offering placements in partnership with four local colleges. “We put in the time with colleges and reap the rewards – the calibre of apprentice we get is a direct correlation to that relationship,” she asserts.

“The Serenity journey is what keeps us fresh, and it needs continuous development,” she emphasises. “Most recently we’ve added positive tech, partnering with Premier Software and OneJourney to support the team, so that we’re working smarter, not harder. For every change, the guest journey has to work.”

Pandemic-driven change

Serenity Spa has driven £2.2 million (€2.55 million) in revenue in 2022 so far – up from £1.7 million in 2015 – and the business ran at 89% occupancy over the summer months, compared to 74% in summer 2021.

“Our revenue performance peaked in 2019 at £2.4 million, but the pandemic taught us that we were busy fools – it wasn’t sustainable,” explains Jennings. “We offered spa days, evenings, half days – all for up to 50 people per session. Post-Covid we reduced everything to three offerings – a full spa day, a spa evening with a treatment, and a twilight spa with dinner. That’s it! And we’ve stuck with our post-Covid maximum of 30 guests. We were trying to be all things to all people and we had started to lose our path. I believe that 2019 peak would have dropped off anyway. We’ve learned that less is more.”