Hotel Cateys 2023: Spa Professional of the Year, Charlene Phipp

Sponsored by Tork

Charlene Phipp stood out among this year’s entries for being a respected voice within the UK spa industry. Judges praised her as an inspirational leader who has shown not only clear business acumen, but empathy and  passion for developing her team.

After working at Champneys and Foxhills, Phipp joined Pennyhill Park hotel in Surrey as spa manager in 2021. Her role includes overseeing the 45,000 sq ft wellness centre, fitness centre, thermal and sensory experiences, indoor 25-metre pool, 18-metre outdoor pool, hot tubs, luxury bathing cabanas and 20 treatments rooms.

Since joining, the impact of Phipp’s work ethic has been clear, with membership sales reaching their highest ever levels. This has been achieved by cutting back on offers and deals and putting more focus on the member experience by bringing in services such as a nutritionist and running headline events including poolside barbecues and a Q&A with the England rugby team manager. These changes coupled with Phipp’s clear marketing strategy saw active spa membership grow 106% in 2021-2022.

Phipp is responsible for a team of 59 people across the therapy, fitness, front of house and housekeeping departments. Staff wellbeing is incredibly important to her, and judges were highly impressed with her work to reduce therapist staff turnover from 76% to just 25% by 2022. This was achieved by listening to team concerns and turning them into positive action, making operational changes and arranging advanced massage training to
support therapist’s personal development.

As part of a drive to improve teamwork, daily briefings have been introduced across the housekeeping, fitness, therapy and duty manager teams to outline the day’s activities, but more importantly, to give all staff members a voice. Phipp has actively looked to promote from within and has mentored the spa’s graduate manager to oversee membership, as well as introduced cross-training between departments.

Under Phipp’s leadership, Pennyhill Park has created Beauty Reloaded treatments in partnership with Wellness for Cancer. Judges were particularly impressed with these treatments, which are specifically designed to be sensitive to individuals going through unique experiences with cancer.

Phipp has also shown herself to be dedicated to sustainability and has championed Pennyhill Park to maintain its ethical B-Corp certification. She is focused on reducing waste and works with organisations to collect the spa’s discarded flip-flops and recycle them to be turned into surfaces for children’s playgrounds, among other uses.

Overall, Phipp has shown herself to be an inspirational all-round leader and more than a worthy winner of this award.

What the judges said

“An excellent application that showed clear business acumen, creative marketing initiatives and an empathy for both the environment and the team.”

Leon Trayling

“An all-round spa professional with clear passion for her team and the industry.”

Kerry Hudson