Abi Wright, Founder of Spabreaks.com: You have to trust your gut, sometimes that's all you have

Thursday, 21 March 2019

Having been told that she would never amount to anything by her careers teacher, Abi

Wright started her career as a journalist before quickly deciding that she really wanted to

work in marketing instead.

After time contract negotiating in Maritime Security following 9/11, she worked with a small

collection of hotel spas. There she realised there was an opportunity for changing the

perception of spas and working with them to realise their commercial potential.

Abi launched Spabreaks.com in 2008 with a team of three. Since then, Abi has balanced

work and family, using her personal experience to champion women in the workplace.

Today Spabreaks.com is a pioneering industry leader and Europe’s largest spa booking

agency.

In particular, Abi and her team work hard to change the perception of the spa industry and

open it up to anyone who may have felt marginalised in the past, particularly concerning

spas and their relationship with anyone with cancer.

“Having personally experienced the challenges that women face in business, I have worked

hard to not only to establish my own career, but also to create a working environment that

supports and nurtures women. I have successfully mentored a number of women in my

team and is passionate about continuing to open up opportunities for women, knowing that

confidence, recognition and support are central to not only seeing women compete in the

workplace but also to thriving in both work and life.”

Abi’s Top Tips

• Know your industry - the best ideas come from people who have really observed the industry they want to be in and understand how it works and what its limitations have been.
• Trust your gut - get other peoples' opinions of course, it's good due diligence.  But if you know your industry then you can afford to trust your gut on the decisions you make.  Sometimes that's all you have. At least if it doesn't pay off then you have the peace of mind that you did what you thought was right at the time.
• Surround yourself with people who share your vision and are passionate about driving it forward.  You don't want a team of yes men around you, but you do want people with the energy and enthusiasm to make things happen.  You definitely don't want people with a can't do attitude because they will wear you down.