Booth Rental Salon Owner Statistics
Welcome to the report for Booth Rental Salon Owner Statistics! This report details the wants, needs and preferences in hiring for non-employee based salons, spas and barbershops. Included in this report are salon studio suites, open concept booth rental businesses and everything in between.
Diverse owners from all walks of life- small towns, big cities and everything in between come to us to clarify and identify what works best in their business. The majority of these businesses are salons and spas, our program has not grown into the Barber world as well as it has with salons and spas as of December 2023.
Statistics are from our sister program, specifically for hiring, Enlightened Hire. what they prefer in applicants to their businesses.
If you would like specific data on the different business models and beauty industry professionals, visit our main salon industry statistics page.
If you would like to download the full report, or other reports, click here to purchase all of our hiring data for the US and Canada.
*Both Enlightened Hire and Salonspa Connection are non-brand affiliated companies. The information in our reports are not coerced, curated or influenced in any way by product companies.
Booth Rental Salon Owner Wants, Needs and Preferences
Enlightened Hire helps owners clarify and identify their wants, needs and preferences in who fits best into their business. The following booth rental salon owner statistics are broken up into wants, needs and preferences. If you have come here looking for specific data, navigate through the table of contents to make the best use of your time!
Table of Contents
What Booth Rental Salon Owners Want in Rental Applicants
What owners want is often put before their hiring needs and the needs of potential renters. Learn more about the “wants” statistics for Booth Rental owners!
How many clients do Booth Rental Owners want beauty professionals to have when they apply?
When asked about how many clients they expect salon professionals to have when they come to work with them, the majority felt 51-100 was sufficient. Generally speaking, a good client base is needed to be a successful independent beauty professional.
Whether you find this to be alarming or concerning, here are two rationales as to why this number is so low.
- A majority of booth rental owners are able to build salon professional’s client base with an overflow of calls and walk-ins.
- Owners may not care about the potential livelihood of renters that apply.
While there are certainly booth rental and salon suites in heavily trafficked locations, salon professionals across the world are flocking to this business model for freedom and the allure of making more money. The ability to get new clients from an independent salon environment is a great perk, but is it reliable?
If you are a booth rental owner, please think through the potential an applicant has that may not have the client base to support a successful independent career, before they sign a lease.
Is criminal history important to booth rental salon & spa owners?
When asked about what booth rental owners prefer or require from applicants concerning a criminal history, this is the overall data that was provided. Reasoning behind the more than 80% of owners who opt not to run a background check may be:
- Lack of funds to pay for background checks.
- Lack of knowledge on how to go about obtaining a criminal record.
- Some owners may just not care about the history of those who rent a chair in their salons.
It is a somewhat known fact that beauty professionals tend to be more daring, sometimes this means getting in trouble with the law.
There are many talented and quality salon professionals with a criminal past. Every applicant should be evaluated based on who they are today and not judged on a wilder history, unless it is recent or a dangerous felony.
Do booth rental owners demand professionalism?
Booth rent professionalism tends to lack more than in employee based salons. Our statistics demonstrate the expectation and feelings booth rental owners have toward their staff.
While the majority of the non-employee based owners responded with the lessor of the varying levels of professionalism, each renter is unique in their attitudes of dedication and commitment to a professional attitude in their independent careers.
Booth renters are responsible for their own client base, retention and growth of their business. In some cases, owners may not know or care to understand the level of professionalism in the renters that work in their businesses.
Overall, owners are not responsible for the level of professionalism renters have in their businesses. Therefore, owners may have responded as not fully understanding what is truly going on with the renters in their businesses.
Do Booth Rental Salon Owners place emphasis on Social Media?
With social media being the #1 beauty professional recruitment funnel, we can see that the majority of booth rental owners do participate in social. Since most booth rental salon businesses are not responsible for getting new clients for renters, one can assume social media in booth rental salons is used for awareness, brand recognition, recruitment of renters and business updates.
The statistics for social media in booth rent salons does not demonstrate the fact that a large portion of non-employee based owners utilize social media as the only means of online visibility. In fact, salon software booking platforms and social media- Facebook business pages and Instagram profiles, serve as the only online assets many booth rentals salons have.
Not having a salon website or online assets outside of social media makes a heavier concentration on social essential for salon, spa and barbershop owners.
Lack of Management Advancement Opportunities in Booth Rental Salon Businesses
Generally speaking, booth and salon suite renters come into independent roles in salons in order to conduct business as a beauty service contractor. It is more uncommon to have renters who are seeking advancement opportunities in booth rental businesses, therefore a lack of opportunity for advancement or leadership roles in booth rental salons is limited.
Salon suites may have management opportunities as will booth rental businesses who have more than one location. Many independent beauty professionals find themselves needing to make additional income or with a desire to assume roles that are less physically demanding.
As a booth rental owner, it is wise to incorporate management or leadership opportunities into your business as the demand for these roles is present.
Do Booth Rental Salon Owners Care About Advanced Training in Hiring?
The nature of a booth rental business for ownership is a more hands off approach. The booth rental salon owner statistics illustrates this sentiment, well.
While any advanced education, training and certifications help beauty professionals it is no surprise to see a lack of importance for advanced skill seeking requirements in a non-employee based salon environment.
Elite and highly sought after booth rental businesses may be more choosy in who rents a chair in their businesses. The statistics show that booth rental owners may actually prefer a more educated beauty professional but it is not a requirement for working in these businesses.
What Booth Rental Owners Need in Applicants
“Needs” are the aspects for consideration in booth or suite rent applicants that are of the highest importance. Misalignment between what a beauty professional and a booth rental owner need for success at work tend to be a detrimental situation.
The following booth rental salon owner statistics demonstrate what owners “need” to accept a new independent beauty pro into their business. This information is key for anyone considering renting a chair, booth or suite in a salon, spa or barbershop.
Statistics on Continuing Education in Booth Rental Salons, Spas and Barbershops
Beauty industry professionals seeking a salon, spa or barber shop that offers education may be hard pressed to find a place to work. Due to the nature of non-employee based businesses, offerings of continuing education for renters is significantly lacking across the US and Canada.
These statistics demonstrate that there are a few independent beauty business models that value and offer classes, events and more for renters. As a general rule, renters should not anticipate an investment from booth or suite rental owners in their continued career development.
Do Booth and Salon Suite Rental Owners Provide Marketing for Renters?
Our statistics from booth rent owners demonstrate that renters need to market themselves in their businesses. The biggest majority- 85% of our non-employee based owners responded that they do NOT provide marketing for renters.
As a beauty professional, this is important to understand- booth rental businesses should not be depended upon for marketing. If marketing yourself as an independent stylist, nail tech, barber, esthetician or massage therapist does not appeal to you, make sure to discuss what marketing opportunities an owner provides for you in a booth rent model prior to signing a lease.
Do Booth Rental Salons Provide New Clients for Beauty Professionals?
This statistic was a bit surprising based on the nature of a booth rent business model. An assumption for a beauty professional going into booth rental should be that they are to bring a client base and that they are responsible for getting new salon clients.
A great location, lack of quality salons in an area and other factors may contribute to a booth rental salon’s ability to send new clients to renters. It is always a good assumption for a salon professional to take full responsibility in getting new clients, and coming into a boot or suite rental situation with an established customer base.
If you are considering booth or suite rental, a great question to ask the owner is how much clientele they expect you to have to work in their salon and if they get call-ins, walk-ins or new customer requests.
How is the Leadership in Booth Rent Salons, Spas and Barbershops?
Salon Suite and Booth Rent businesses are independent environments. Unless an owner is confused about employment laws, booth rental is an autonomous work environment. Every salon, spa and barber shop is unique in the expectations and roles offered in their businesses.
Salon leadership is important in any business model in order to ensure the salon a pleasant and state board compliant atmosphere. Staff issues largely stem from a lack of clear and strong leadership- booth rental is no exception.
In an autonomous salon industry business, maintaining standards, providing a culture contract or setting clear expectations for renter behavior is the way to have a long term successful salon.
Without leadership, rules and renter expectations a salon, spa or barbershop is ran by the staff.
Statistics for booth rent leadership indicate a lack of leadership, this is an important piece of success, especially for newer independent beauty professionals and should be considered when choosing a salon to rent in.
Scheduling Flexibility In Booth and Suite Rental Businesses
Freedom to make your own schedule as a beauty professional is the leading reason to go booth rent. Our statistics demonstrate booth rent owners offer scheduling flexibility based on the demand for total freedom in working hours and scheduling.
Restrictions may be placed on booth renters for the following reasons:
- The owner has scheduled cleaning days.
- Certain days they prefer the salon to be closed.
- In some cases, a shared chair, suite or booth will restrict the ability for total schedule flexibility.
If 100% flexibility and freedom is a must as a booth renter, ensure your scheduling needs are met by outlining any restrictions the salon may have in an interview. Misunderstandings on available working hours can cause problems for both the independent stylist and the owner.
Do Booth Rental Salons Offer Front Desk Support?
Since the booth rental model is for independent salon professionals, it is no surprise to see a lack of front desk support in our statistics.
Large salon suites such as Solera offer this amenity as well as booth rent salons, spas and barbershops that place an excellent client experience at the top of their value stack.
It has become far easier for beauty businesses to become desk-less or outsourcing front desk duties to a remote virtual assistant. This may help to explain the 73% of booth rental owners not offering this benefit to independent beauty pros in their business.
Booth Rental Salons and Handling Client Appointments & Payment
Laws limiting the ability for booth and suite salon businesses to handle appointments and payments differ from state to state and country to country. Generally speaking, the employment laws for independent salon contractors place restrictions on hading client data and processing payments for contractors.
These statistics demonstrate a compliant attitude of booth rental salon owners for handling renter’s appointments and client payment.
Benefits Offered By Non-Employee Based Salons, Spas and Barbershops
Non-employee based salon industry businesses are known to not offer many benefits, especially perks like 401K and insurance. Our statistics demonstrate that there are benefits offered to booth and suite renters, outside of traditional employment perks.
Over 50% of our booth rent salons, spas and barbershops offer perks, while the other half do not. Benefits can be anything from gym memberships to discounts on products and services to price or introductory rates in rent.
In the competitive open concept booth rental space, owners tend to offer more benefits to lure in ex-suite dwellers or employee based stylists who are the verge of leaving their salon.
Do Booth Rental Salon Businesses Offer Support?
Non-employee based salon owners largely are landlords- renting chairs or rooms and collecting rent. With an influx of independent beauty professionals to booth rental, the need for support is at an all time high.
With over 30% of booth rent owners offering a moderate or better level of support to salon staff, it’s easy to assume a booth rent environment does not cater to professionals who are in need of mentorship and career resources.
On the flip side, owners offering mentorship and resources for newer professionals is on the rise in response to getting their salons, spas and barbershops filled. Is the support offered in our statistics just lip service or are salon pros thriving under the wing of supportive booth and suite rental businesses?
Hiring & Workplace Preference Statistics of Booth Rental Salon Owners in the US and Canada
Preferences vary greatly from owner to owner and from salon pro to student. Our collection of workplace preferences are a combination of salon industry facts on location, size and number of staff to hiring aspects like socialization opportunities and style identity.
We categorized “preferences” to be more of a “negotiable” aspect in choosing which salon to work in as they do not meet needs- they are what an individual would prefer in an ideal workplace environment.
Salon Studios vs Traditional Booth Rental Businesses
Our statistics demonstrate that the traditional booth rental model or “open concept”, still outnumbers salon studios. The rapid growth of salon suites has placed a strain on the traditional salon model as well as employee based salon businesses.
Owners were provided the ability to indicate more than one response on our work space question. There is a rising number of traditional booth rental salons offering suites inside of their businesses to accommodate spa services and hair services for those who tend to opt for suites.
This hybridized booth rent/ suite model is also often coupled with an opportunity to start as a salon employee. This is an opportunity for salon pros to transition to an independent beauty professional without leaving the salon.
Where are our Booth Rental Salons Located?
Of the participants in this Booth Rental Salon Owner Statistics report the majority of our members are in bustling downtown or urban areas and in suburban areas. While booth rental is the leading offering in rural areas and small towns, our participants were largely located in more populous areas.
We provide this statistic to demonstrate the variety of booth rental businesses included in the statistics and for awareness that outside of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, booth rental is a prominent offering.
Most Common Environments for Booth and Salon Suite Businesses
The strip mall topped the most common environment where non-employee based salons are located. While many salons are found in traditional mall settings, malls are struggling all over the world from a poor economy.
Second in the most popular environment is a large city building. With mobile services on the rise, we anticipate a higher number of mobile businesses offering independent contractor beauty roles in 2024.
Common Parking Situations for Booth Rental Salons
While an outsider may not consider parking to be a decision making factor in which salon to work in, beauty professionals do take this into consideration. Inconvenient parking makes for a less desirable client experience and a hassle for salon professionals in bad weather.
Street parking proves to be the top parking option for booth rental salons, spas and barbershops in 2022-2023, with lot parking as a close second.
Top Style Identities of Booth and Suite Rental Salons, Spas and Barber Shops
Enlightened Hire users are given 30 of the most common salon descriptions of the type of style or “vibe” to choose from. These statistics reflect the top 5 choices for booth and salon suite business models.
Below are the options our users are given:
Are Booth Rental Salon Owners Concerned About Being Eco-Friendly?
According to our statistics, using organic, low to no tox products is not a top concern for the booth rental business model.
With less than 15% of open concept and salon suites aligning with a more earth conscious movement, it is fair to say the booth rental salon, spa and barber business have a long way to go to become a more earth-friendly environment.
Is the Clientele’s Age a Factor in Recruitment for Booth Rental Businesses?
Most salon professionals prefer to be around like minded individuals. This is especially true when it comes to the values and offerings in salon businesses.
In short, a hairstylist with a mature client base likely is not interested in a salon full of young children.
Identifying a booth rental salon client age demographic is a key statistic to share and for beauty professionals looking for a new space to rent.
Do Booth and Salon Suite Salons Cater to a Certain Gender?
In the age of gender neutral salon businesses, this data tells the real story in the booth rent model. With an overwhelming majority of independent salons, spas and barber shops catering to women, it seems as if the salon industry has a ways to go to become a more inclusive environment.
The “hair has no gender” movement has yet to be as widespread in booth rental as one would perceive from social media and salon news publications.
Are Booth Rental Businesses Handicap Friendly?
With less than 25% of booth and suite salons offering accommodations for those with physical handicaps, it’s safe to say this business model is less accommodating to the disabled population.
This is a surprising statistic with an aging baby boomer population and given the fact that 75% of beauty professionals retire from their careers in booth rental environments.
Dress Code Statistics for Booth Rental Salons
By nature, the booth and studio suite salon model is for those who wish to make their own rules, and dress as they please. As an independent contractor there are requests owners can give to beauty professionals, but unless a specific dress code criteria is built into a contract, service professionals may dress as they please.
One can only guess as to why over 50% of our booth rent owners didn’t respond with “disagree” or”strongly disagree”. Is this wishful thinking or potentially a grab at control over the way independent salon professionals show up to work?
Most Common Ownership Structures in Booth Rental Salon Business Models
Traditionally, booth rent businesses are independently owned.
With large salon suite corporate conglomerates like Phenix and Image entering the salon employment landscape, a shift has occurred moving away from the typical single location, independently owned salon.
Do Booth Rental Beauty Businesses Supply Products for Renters?
The most common perk of an open concept, booth rental salon is backbar. This means the owner supplies products such as barbicide, shampoo, towels, capes and occasionally treatments.
Should an owner supply all products for renters, it would indicate an illegal salon employment arrangement.
Salon Data on Competitiveness in Booth Rental Businesses
The goal of this question was to flesh out whether or not an owner promotes competitiveness in a salon environment. In an independent environment the only competition a beauty pro should have is with themselves.
The statistic is consistent with a lack of competition in the independent salon environment.
Salon “Vibe” Statistics for Booth Rental Owners
“Vibe” is a frequently used term to describe how it feels to be in a salon, that is difficult to nail down what it actually means.
In this question, we aimed to identify a preference toward what “vibe” or “energy” a booth rent salon, spa or barbershop feels their business portrays.
Users were given the ability to choose two descriptors that best encompass the energy their business has concerning the people who work in the salon.
Is Being Fashionable in a Booth Rental Salon Important to Owners?
In an industry that revolves around making people look and feel great, a normal assumption would be that our work environments are more of a more fashion conscious atmosphere.
Artists tend to prefer wearing their own personal style, this is perfectly reflected in the independent salon environment. In other words, fashion consciousness does not appear to be a top priority for booth rental and salon suite businesses.
What is the Average Number of Chairs and Rooms in a Booth Rental Salon?
We wanted to gauge the average size of today’s salon suites and open concept booth rental salon business.
An overwhelming statistic revealed itself demonstrating over 50% of booth rent businesses that are “medium” in size or 6-20 chairs and rooms for rent.
How Modern are Booth Rental Salons, Spas and Barbershops?
Hiring or finding beauty professionals to rent space in salons is one of the most difficult aspects of ownership.
Keeping the interior of a salon looking great tends to attract applicants who are serious about their careers and want to work in an excellent environment. Our statistics show a fresh, modern appeal for booth rental salons is at the lower end of owner’s priorities.
How Social are Non-Employee Based Salons, Spas and Barbershops?
Salons and barbershops are full of clients chatting away with their stylist.
But what about how the staff relates to each other? Seasoned beauty pros with families and an established client base are less likely by nature to be overtly social with fellow salon pros.
A lukewarm social salon environment for independent beauty professionals is demonstrated in our salon statistics concerning booth rent environments.
