Refinery 29, a Los Angeles fashion and beauty news site, announced the launch of Treat, an app that allows women to purchase a subscription for an unlimited number of blowouts at West Hollywood and Beverly Hills salons for $125 a month. In the near future, the app will offer unlimited manicures for $49 a month and a blowdry/manicure bundle for $155 a month.
Will Deane, Treat’s chief executive and founder, acknowledged that there are other beauty service-focused apps in Los Angeles and is also aware of comparisons between Treat and ClassPass, providing subscribers savings on multiple yoga and fitness classes. However, Deane maintains what differentiates his app, named Treat, is that it is designed to benefit both the customer and independent salons.
Co-founder Nina Ojeda said that instead of requiring salon “partners” to pay a fee up front or on an ongoing basis, Treat pays salons biweekly based on the number of appointments they take. Although Ojeda did not disclose how much a salon could earn, she said it is based on the agreement they set up with Treat when they register as a partner.
She added Treat assists salons with limited advertising and marketing by encouraging customers to Instagram or Yelp their experience with the stylists.
“We’re as focused on opening new channels of business for salons as we are customers looking to save money but still have an amazing experience,” Deane says. “By helping salons fill empty seats, we are helping them expand their businesses and find potential lifetime customers without taking away from their core business. For example, we don’t offer cut and color services.”
Although the app’s coverage area for now is West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, Deane and Ojeda stress that they want to grow slowly and methodically to ensure the salons and the customers are being properly serviced.