United Arab Emirates
Hotel spa consultant in Dubai
Are you preparing a hotel spa opening in Dubai, or taking over a spa that hasn’t found its rhythm? I’m a consultant in hotel spa openings and operations. I build the organisation that keeps a spa running day to day, from the treatment menu to the first days of business.
I’m based in Finistère, in Brittany, France. For a project in Dubai, I travel. I come on site at the start of every assignment to see the property and meet the team, then the work moves forward remotely and on site depending on the stage.
01
A hotel market of more than 150,000 rooms
In 2025, Dubai welcomed 19.59 million international overnight visitors, 5% more than in 2024, according to the emirate’s Department of Economy and Tourism. The city has 154,264 rooms across 827 establishments. Average occupancy reached 80.7% for the year, and the average daily rate rose 8% to 579 dirhams.
The upper end leads. According to Cavendish Maxwell, 5-star hotels accounted for about 54,100 rooms over the first eight months of 2025, and 4 and 5-star hotels for almost two thirds of the stock. The firm expects 9,300 new rooms between 2026 and 2028, 4,600 of them in 2026. Every opening in this segment that plans a spa will have to equip it, organise it and fill it.
02
Guests from everywhere, a season shaped by the heat
No single market dominates. In 2025, Western Europe came first with 4.1 million visitors, or 21%, ahead of the Gulf states, the CIS and Eastern Europe, then South Asia, each around 15%. A treatment menu in Dubai has to speak to very different expectations without turning into a catalogue nobody reads.
The climate shapes the business. Average highs range from 39.5 to 42 °C between June and September, and from 24 to 26 °C between December and February (1991-2020 normals). The spa becomes a place where guests spend time indoors, which changes how you plan relaxation areas, treatment lengths and daytime offers.
03
Recruiting when everyone is opening
The 9,300 rooms expected by 2028 should create between 12,000 and 13,900 jobs, Khaleej Times reported in March 2026, based on the 1.3 to 1.5 jobs per room that industry executives estimate. Openings compete for the same therapists and the same managers. A spa that recruits late, or without clear job descriptions, opens with an incomplete team.
04
What I bring to an opening in Dubai
As Spa Manager, I prepared the opening of the 800 sqm spa at the Villars Palace in Switzerland, arriving four months before opening. In Méribel, I kept treatments running in a temporary spa while the permanent one fell behind schedule. Both openings taught me to build the operation while construction is still finishing.
On a project in Dubai, I define the roles and write the job descriptions, take part in interviews with the hotel, write the procedures and prepare the test days. I stay on site through the first days, then set up a dashboard to track performance.
My full method is described on the hotel spa consulting page.
Frequently asked questions
Do you travel to Dubai?
Yes. I’m based in France and travel to Dubai for projects. I always come on site at the start of the assignment, then for test days and the first days of operation. I set the travel schedule with you at the outset.
Which languages do you work in?
I work in French and English. Procedures, job descriptions and team materials can be written in either language, depending on the working language of the hotel.
How does an assignment split between on-site and remote work?
The first visit is about understanding the property, the team and the project. The documentation then moves forward remotely, with regular check-ins: treatment menu, procedures, job descriptions, opening schedule. I come back on site for interviews if needed, for test days and for the opening.