Salon owners renting out treatment rooms - Are we fair?

[KattyB]

Hi all,

Just been reading through threads on renting out treatment rooms, nail bars, chairs etc and felt compelled to post an opinion and see who agrees.

I am considering renting out a treatment room - (fairly small) to an holistic therapist for £90 a week. This includes all utillities and use of my phone and company image. She is to provide her own stock however I will furnish the room. I will contribute half towards advertising - as long as I am mentioned - i.e the beauty side of things. I do not already carry out any of her treatments so this is a fresh idea within the salon - we will not be competing for business.

So my moan is that when I have read through the posts for what others feel is a correct amount for a weekly rent I was quite shocked. Many people are only paying £50-£80 a week, or even working on a split basis while they "build up their clientele"!!!! When I took the plunge and went into business with NO clients at all ( I had only just moved to the area and knew no one) I had to pay a fortune in rent, advertising, stock, furnishings,sign a 3 year lease etc etc and no body gave me a discount whilst I got going!!!

I feel that we are too soft. This is all part of business. If you stick it out then yes the first year is tough, but in the second, third, fourth....you should be heavily rewarded. You are renting a room without the same overheads as the salon owner, they are allowing you to share their space, some of your treatments may inconveinence theirs and vice versa - yet it always seems that the person renting that feels badly done by.

In most cases the room is already there and maybe a small amount of decorating is required and furniture...but lets face it...your not having to refit a WHOLE salon. Think about what the owner has had to outlay...furnishing a reception, nail area, displays, treatment room, advertising, signs, price lists...it is endless and costs a fortune, yet many people are complaining about renting a room for less than £100 a week!?? At the end of the day your getting to be self employed within a salon/hairdressers at a fraction of the setting up costs and monthly overheads.

I just wondered why people think this is alot...maybe I have missed something. If you are a salon owner and rent out a room are you too soft? do your tenents pay on time? Do they complain?

If you are a therapist renting do you feel you get a good deal?

please post so we can see this issue from all angles.. cheers

 

[hippy-chick]

gosh that was nearly a rant! but not quite!

I rent from 2 places, one is a weekly rent and I pay by standing order every calender month.

The other is a 25/75 split. I pay by cheque.

If I was renting one place I would be quids in, but as I'm not I struggle to may a decent wage.

 

[1999judy]

Hi all,

Just been reading through threads on renting out treatment rooms, nail bars, chairs etc and felt compelled to post an opinion and see who agrees.

I am considering renting out a treatment room - (fairly small) to an holistic therapist for £90 a week.
£90 a week sounds a LOT for a fairly small treatment room mate tbh.
This includes all utillities and use of my phone and company image.
How does the tech know how good the company image is?
She is to provide her own stock however I will furnish the room. I will contribute half towards advertising - as long as I am mentioned - i.e the beauty side of things. I do not already carry out any of her treatments so this is a fresh idea within the salon - we will not be competing for business.

So my moan is that when I have read through the posts for what others feel is a correct amount for a weekly rent I was quite shocked. Many people are only paying £50-£80 a week, or even working on a split basis while they "build up their clientele"!!!! When I took the plunge and went into business with NO clients at all ( I had only just moved to the area and knew no one) I had to pay a fortune in rent, advertising, stock, furnishings,sign a 3 year lease etc etc and no body gave me a discount whilst I got going!!!

I feel that we are too soft. This is all part of business. If you stick it out then yes the first year is tough, but in the second, third, fourth....you should be heavily rewarded. You are renting a room without the same overheads as the salon owner, they are allowing you to share their space, some of your treatments may inconveinence theirs and vice versa - yet it always seems that the person renting that feels badly done by.

In most cases the room is already there and maybe a small amount of decorating is required and furniture...but lets face it...your not having to refit a WHOLE salon. Think about what the owner has had to outlay...furnishing a reception, nail area, displays, treatment room, advertising, signs, price lists...it is endless and costs a fortune, yet many people are complaining about renting a room for less than £100 a week!?? At the end of the day your getting to be self employed within a salon/hairdressers at a fraction of the setting up costs and monthly overheads.

I just wondered why people think this is alot...maybe I have missed something. If you are a salon owner and rent out a room are you too soft? do your tenents pay on time? Do they complain?

If you are a therapist renting do you feel you get a good deal?

please post so we can see this issue from all angles.. cheers

I think you've got to be having a laugh mate. In all honesty YOU have got YOUR business organised but a new tech wouldn't. If, say they were previously mobile NOT all clients would WANT to go to a salon.
At the end of the day most nail techs could fit a room out themselves and decorate it to their own requirements without much expense.
More and more I see pure greed on the side of the people renting a nail desk/room.
That is WHY no-one EVER stays working in these places for very long.
It's not rocket science tbh.
You love your nail tech then treat them right....
Not like some dog FIGHTING for a bone with the price wars etc with other techs.
JMHO

 

[Shine_Studios]

we charge £25 per day / £125 per week fo renting the fully furnised, large beauty room (its gorgeous though), or THE SAME for a chair in the hair salon, or £15 per day / £75 per week for a nail bar. I think that the overall quality of the room / amenities / area of the salon / how busy the salon is etc. . . should most definately reflect in the price. You have to remember what you can potentially earn in a day, and that you easily manage all of your overheads each month. And people who are starting a new business should fully expect to be out of pocket for AT LEAST 3 - 6 months (even more so if you are opening a fancy salon) Afterall, a good image and high quality do not come cheap!

C xxx

 

[shellbert]

I can see it from both sides. From a Beauty Therapists point of view it is much harder to make a profit because if you want to build up the right kind of clientele then you need to be using good quality, well known products. For example; a reputable facial range, spray tan company, nailcare range etc. This initial outlay does not come cheap But I would not expect the landlord to do my marketing for me or buy my stock. I would feel very lucky if a receptionist was available to take bookings for me.
But... if an already established Salon is looking to rent out a room then I suppose you have the reputation of the whole business to think of when its your "name " on the line. It depends on how much you are willing to help when it comes agreeing on the lease. If your willing to buy stock for them, then a slightly higher rent would be fair. It sounds as if you really want it to work for them, and that obviously works in your favour as it will have a positive effect on your side of the business as well.The Therapist has it given to them on a plate. They have no outgoings apart from the rent. If that was me, working full time, I'd be laughing.!
Its staffing costs that is the biggest outlay, esp when they are not busy.
I think if your a full time Therapist willing to put the hard work in then you've got the best chance of having a successful business.
I think the grey area with general rental agreements is whether you pay electricity, and water rate contributions for the room/s you use. It would be interesting for other people points of view on this area.

 

[Kim Lawless]

I see this from both sides. On the one hand, I've managed salons and on the other, I now rent a room.

I know that salons have a huge outlay and often, staff have no idea of the amount that owners have to pay out in rent, rates, licenses and bills etc etc

However, salons are renting rooms out to help pay all of the above yet most salons (not all) do nothing to help the renter. For example, my room includes bills, but I'm not allowed to have a board outside and my clients have to walk through a grotty kitchen to get up to my room. I spent a lot of money on my room just to make it look decent (it's nothing special). I make all of my own appointments so they do nothing for me at all. That's fine....I prefer it that way and thank God that I do well without advertising so no problem there. All the same is I didn't though.

However, the lady who rents the other room has worked out that our rent combined is paying pretty much all of the overheads.

So, I see it as an equal thing where both parties do well off the other.

 

[champagne]

The rent I pay for my room pays more than 1/2 of the monthly rent for the whole salon.

I decorated it & kitted it out.

Im building up my business (the salon arn't doing this for me)

Im paying for my stock.

Im bringing in clients.

Im mucking in with the girls.

I think the salon owner does quite well out of me.

 

[angelina221]

i have to say that as a salon owner my rent makes up 1/6th of my monthly outgoings. so when people say that their room rental nearly pays for the salon rent then they should also consider the other outgoings; rates, electric,gas,water,telephone,salon software,accountants fees, advertising, licences, equipment, stock and the list goes on......
i have only just started so all my girls are working on commission until we have a good client base.
i think this is a fair way as i don't want them to be out of pocket. i also realise that it's my staff that get me my customers so i do value them. i do all the advertising, provide all their amenities and provide the stock.
i do think some salon owners are greedy but then i also think that some people want to rent rooms for as little as possible and don't consider how much we have to pay out.
if you treat your staff well then they will stay but you have to find a happy medium.

 

[KattyB]

Wow...I'm really glad so many of you replied...sorry if it sounded like a rant, wasn't meant this way.

Some of you really summed up what I was getting at. I can see how therapists renting space can feel that they are paying the rent for the owners salon however in my circumstances this is not the case. I am trying to be fair but understand why people feel they are being taken for a ride.

Its true that their are many overheads which people don't take into account...rates for instance which can be highly expensive, credit card machines etc. I think we need to consider why people rent treatment space in the first place and I would say 80% of the time its because running a full salon is too much of a financial investment/commitment. Hence renting space is the cheaper option.

I just feel that if someone offered me a salon space with reception area, telephone, bills, insurance etc for £90 a week it would be a damn site cheaper than what I pay out each month!!!

Recently a local hairdressers closed down and my friend rented a chair there. She always complained that the owner took too much rent from her. However she had the idea to take it on her self when it closed...that was until she worked out the running costs and realised that she had been getting a good deal out of him after all.

As for how much we charge a week in rent I find the best way to look at it is to work out how many clients you would have to treat before you made any profit. If treatments are on average between £20-£30 thats not very many before you start to earn a wage.

 

[smcconnell1989]

I'm just about to rent a room in a hair salon now. It's quite an established and nice salon and is in a nice area. The room isnt a particularly big one but it's ok. She is paying for everything in the room that stays put like the units and worktops, sink, lights and i have to pay for everything else like my bed, equipment, stock, pricelists etc. and this is costing me alot even though it's only a room.

I have to pay £150 per week and thats the rent, water, electricity and her girls will answer my phone (which i am paying for seperatly)

I understand it's a gamble for the salon owner but it many cases it does cost us aswell. They have started the work on my room last weekend and when i popped in she was moaning about how much it's costing her in a joky way but also as a bit of a dig.. made me feel like its not costing me anything and im just swanning in and that'l be it. and its not, im spending about £5k on machines, £4k on products and thats before the advertising etc.

Sarah x

 

[Jaffacake]

I always knew I was getting a good deal, although I dont do nails anymore so I am no longer renting space...

I didnt have my own room, just my nail station in a small salon at the end of my road. I supplied all my own stock, table etc which I already had from when I used to do mobile/home salon. I had my own leaflets etc- basically running my own business but based in the salon.

They took my bookings (not always a good thing!) they made my clients coffee... they dropped my leaflets when they dropped theirs and I returned the favour. I was allowed to put up big posters in the windows and on the walls, I displayed my airbrushed nail art on the wall next to my nail desk... I used their electricity for my nail lamp, overhead light etc etc... I had my own money tin and none of my takings went through their till, I even had my own little piggy bank for any tips...

How much did I get charged for all this per week???

25 pounds!!!!

Not that I was there everyday, only a couple of days and two late nights, but I even had my own key so I could have been there every day and night if i'd wanted to!!

Bargain or what??!!

 

[pazzy]

I paid £93 per week for a small room and a nail desk in the reception area and was allowed to use the small corner for another desk. But I paid my for my own telephone line and telephone bills and card machine.
I did my own towells and emptied my own bins and cleaned my own area.
I also paid for the flooring, sink my own equipment, desks lighting paints.

I was also promised a rent free period while the work was being done but the owner went back on that.

I brought lots of custom to the place I rented (a sunbed shop that had never had beauty).
I wasn't allowed to stick posters on window so I paid for a suspended perspex display stand for the window.

It was going ok but there were family members sticking there nose in and having a go at me. The staff memebers were using my stuff and telephone.
I was getting hassle saying that I wasn't keeping the areas clean - and trivial things.

After a year I had enough and called it a day and I know the owner was gutted and relied heavily on my rent - and not long after the place was sold - and think that I increased the value of the place by introducing the beauty and nails and reputation - because that is now what the salon is.

Just didn't work out for me - felt short changed - misled - and treat like ****. I had put alot into it.