As the year kicked off, Tribu-te Magazine joined the delegates at the 2026 edition of the Phorest Salon Owners Summit in Dublin. The two-day gathering was like coming home to a warm hug! Time with this company is the epitome of Irish joy, and everyone involved relished a chance to hang out, share and learn from each other. The word community figures high in the Phorest vocabulary, and indeed they are now working far and wide, from Europe, Australia to the Americas and beyond.
The Summit followed the theme “Thrive: The human experience, powered by technology,” and attracted a record-breaking 750 delegates. A rise on the 2025 attendance by 15% and testimony to the Summit’s reputation as a premier global event for salon, spa and clinic leadership.
In his opening address, CEO Ronan Percival explained the recent update for the brand mission statement. It now reads: “More than software, we are on a mission together with our community to build a stronger industry”.
A.I. is here
A high point of the 2026 Summit was an exclusive unveiling of the Phorest AI suite. It is designed to enhance human teams rather than replace them. And yes, A.I. was a massive conversation running throughout . A programme of speakers sought to demystify what artificial intelligence can bring to help build business. But equally to lessen the fear that A.I. takes over jobs.
“A.I. will do things you can do,” says Ronan. “But it will free you up to do more. And this means putting more into the human experience. No guest comes to the salon for an algorithm… they come for the human experience.”
Leadership speakers
An intriguing line-up of speakers was well thought out and informative.
Building a high performance salon culture
Caroline Hirons set the tone; firm, fun and fierce! Her opening presentation on building a great salon culture and building a following was insightful. Highly relatable and upbeat, this was the way the following days would unfold.
For what was termed Mindset Happiness and High Performance, we particularly enjoyed Heather Bagby. She’s a business coach with salons in Tampa, Florida (Phorest is big Stateside). She gave out so many repeatable soundbites, but we particularly enjoyed this one: “Today is the only today I will ever have – make it great. The conversations you have with yourself are the most important conversations you will have.”
Doctor Lollie Mancey tackled the question of how to regard the growth of A.I. Her presentation was titled The Ethical Edge Demystifying AI Ethics. A practical and personable delivery was calming and allowed the real message to land. Dr Mancey showed how ethical transparent AI can enhance personalisation efficiency and trust while keeping human connection at the centre. Her keynote reinforced that the salons that will thrive are those that blend technology thoughtfully with care values and authentic relationships.
There was plenty more for business owners. Of course, the Summit is a platform for Phorest to bring clients and prospective clients up to speed with the brands innovations. And they are impressive. We sat in on presentations from Meta, the engineers at Phorest who build the platform, and many engaging speakers promoting the positives and addressing the negatives of running a salon based business.
A closing speaker was Katie Piper sharing her Resilience & Vision talk. From a horrendous attack which left her with acid burns and severe, life-changing injuries 17 years ago, this fantastic woman has reframed her entire outlook and now advocates maintaining a clear business vision to get where you need to be.
Thank you
Tribu-te was invited to join the media village for an appointment with the Phorest podcast team. Nicky Pope represented the UK hairdressing industry specifically with comments on the shape of business and the outlook for the upcoming year.
The professional and well-run event was a great ad for Phorest. But there was more at play here. While the content was realistic and delivered well, the mood and identity of the brand is such that community is bang on the nose what we need today. A great example of how sharing helps shed any sense of being alone. Working together we can lift each other up. Perfect for the New Year to tackle afresh the considerable issues and problems of the hair and beauty salon industry.
All photography: Bryan Brophy©
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