Jakarta. Indonesian beauty giant Mustika Ratu recently signed a memorandum of understanding worth approximately $500,000 with Greek boutique hotel Le Convivial.

The deal, which the two companies inked at the Indonesia-Europe Business Forum (IEBF) in Jakarta, would see Mustika Ratu sending their spa therapists to Le Convivial’s hotels. Bingar Egidius Situmorang, the president director of Mustika Ratu, said that Le Convivial had requested 50 spa therapists to work in their hotels.

“The Greeks are fond of spas. They are into Indonesian spas because they are unique, but usually, you can only find industrial or modern Swedish massages in Greece. So the Indonesian-style spas hold a large business potential in Greece, but the county does not have enough [Indonesian] therapists,” Egidius told the Jakarta Globe on the sidelines of the IEBF in Jakarta on Tuesday.  

"The initial agreement is worth approximately $500,000, but we still need to discuss the details. When we speak of sending spa therapists abroad, it is something that is related to labor laws and contracts, among others. But it could be more,"  Egidius said while adding that Mustika Ratu has a training center for spa therapists.

Mustika Ratu already has struck similar deals in the past. Egidius said that Mustika Ratu had sent 10 spa therapists to Canadian resorts, as well as 10-20 others to Bulgaria. 

“What is challenging [in such deals] is therapists’ homesickness. Imagine if we have to take them home, train [other therapists] and send them again. While our partners, of course, would not want to lose money,”  Egidius added.

According to Egidius, there are other scopes of cooperation that both Mustika Ratu and Le Convivial have discussed. This includes the possibility of exporting the spa’s amenities, among others.

“[But the $500,000 deal] does not include the amenities. The MoU is more on sending our spa therapists to their franchise,” Bingar said.