Culture is king at City Cave. And it’s easy to see why. With three wellness treatments at its heart – float therapy, massage and sauna – there’s a real feel-good vibe to the brand.

The wellbeing benefits that guests of the 70 City Cave centres love aren’t just for the privileged few.

Since the beginning, founders Tim Butters and Jeremy Hassall have been on a mission.

Tim explains. “Our vision is to give life back to humanity; our mission is to create nurturing environments that are accessible to everyone,” he says.

And that life-giving mission is shared, and experienced by, franchisees, their teams, and City Cave’s HQ team.

“Culture is a something of a buzzword right now but it really is something integral to City Cave. It isn’t necessarily what we do or how we lead, it’s how we obsess over the guest experience. That naturally breeds a good culture,” he says.

It was Tim and Jeremy’s own experiences of float therapy that sparked the idea for the business. And they have ensured their passion for the treatments flows through the company – not just as a principle, but in practice.

The City Cave wellbeing culture

“We have company-owned centres and a support office, and we run a monthly complimentary float campaign for our team members,” Tim reveals. 

This is a huge bonus for staff but it is just part of the job – for anyone at City Cave. 

“One of the fundamental drivers of success is confidence; for people to feel confident in their role they have to know it. So they get to experience the service, and the benefits of floatation,” Tim explains.

“I practice what I preach; I have new twins and a toddler and I don’t get time to myself, but making time to step out and float – it’s amazing. It makes you feel a million bucks, it’s such a great thing to do.

“You cannot do a float and not meditate. So many people believe they fall asleep while floating but it’s a deep rest. The only time your body is at complete rest is in a float, with the water at skin temperature, and the lights out – you get a real sense of being mid-air,” Tim explains.

Sleep and health are increasingly priorities for many Australians, particularly the wellness-driven Gen Z and millennials.

In addition to the subconscious benefits of float therapy there are physical advantages too – the magnesium sulphate in the water helps people feel recharged. 

While staff members can enjoy the benefits of regular floatation, they can also provide valuable feedback on the experience and the service they receive.

This helps the business maintain it’s high Google review ratings – at last count, with over 31000 reviews the brand still sits at an average 4.9 stars.

Connection and communication is key

“This is the culture we are trying to breed in our centres and our staff. These reviews well and truly exceed our early expectations of the business,” Tim says.

For staff, that culture of care extends into other benefits. For example, they can tap into an education budget which allows staff to spend up to $2,000 on courses or books relevant to their role.

“We’ve done that for 10 years, and it’s not just there to look good, we encourage people to utilise it,” Tim says.

And of course the franchisees themselves, the lynchpins in the operation, enjoy the advantages of a culture-led network.

People are fundamental to the business, and franchisees love meeting up in person. The business has adapted to its growing network, adapting its franchisee catch-ups to regional operational meetings while monthly training webinars tackle relevant, specific topics.

“We are engaging our learning and development arm more consistently,” Tim says. 

“Our tactics have changed in terms of bringing people together. It’s important to run an annual conference and we have never shied away from investing in this; now we have extended it to franchise managers and corporate managers.

“The best thing about franchising is the really great connections that have organically happened. We even hear of franchisees going on holiday together.

“We keep franchisees close – that relationship is very important, communication is crucial. It’s the frontline back to us,” Tim says.

That connection and family feel in a network that goes beyond the financial benefits of the business is important. City Cave delivers on culture, support and community. It brings wellness full circle for its franchisees and staff, who have the opportunity to sell the service that keeps them well.