Katie's Tan Van Fills a Gap in the Market

By Katie Collarbone

I decided to start the tan van business as I thought there was a gap in the market with salons and tanning in the home. I feel the tan van bridges the gap between salons and tanning in the home offering the client a salon brought to their home.

I sometimes found when taking a tent to a client’s house it was hard to find a suitable area to spray, (ideally no carpet and a room with a door). Most people sprayed in their kitchen ¬†but don’t always have doors on their kitchen¬†and then there’s¬†the worry in case any family members¬†come home with unexpected guests while they’re tanning.

The tan van offers a salon environment right outside their front door. There’s no¬†setting up and¬†unpacking¬†in their home as I turn up ready to go which saves time. ¬†The client steps into the van, sit in the waiting area to complete their consultation card and discuss the tan they would like and what reasons they are having the tan so I can offer them my advice on the shade I would suggest to suit their skin type and event for their tan.

After tanning some clients are happy enough just to put PJ’s on and go back into their home. ¬† I find they like this aspect because they don’t have to walk through their local high street and don’t have to¬†worry about putting their bra back on or bumping into anyone or driving home and worrying about their seatbelt affecting their tan – its just straight back in the house and I drive away to the next client.

Everyone says they forget that they are actually in a van when having a tan and really enjoy the experience, I think they like the fact that their is no spray in their home but its as close to them having it at home with the salon feeling of stepping out the house into a professional set up dedicated to tan. I have bright LED lighting in the van so I have the perfect lighting for spray tanning,  a heater for cold days and a fan for hot days and an extractor to remove all excess spray so its perfectly equipped to spray any time of the day any day of the year hot or cold.

I hope there to be more tan vans in the future and would love to have a fleet of tan vans covering the country tanning and will be looking into the options of franchising this model as I think its great being your own boss on the road owning your own portable salon.