Spa & wellness
Within the wellness space, fitness classes have migrated online and guided meditations increasingly come courtesy of an app. Therapy and life coaching sessions happen remotely, while enterprising massage therapists have started providing self-massage classes via Zoom. It’s no wonder that hotels have jumped on the digital wellness trend. During the early lockdowns, when they weren’t allowed to open at all, some found creating online content to be a valuable revenue stream. For instance, Six Senses took its on-property wellness programming and moved it online, providing at-home workouts and video tutorials for guests anywhere in the world.
Even once guests were welcomed back into the premises, digital wellness programming remained a big draw. Rather than entering the hotel gym, a guest might have a yoga mat and some hand weights in their room, along with a selection of online fitness classes to choose from.
At luxury hotels, that extends to connected in-room fitness equipment, such as a Peloton bike. Peloton saw record sales in 2020 and is now eyeing hotels as a probable growth sector.
“Making fitness more accessible beyond offering 24/7 access to a fitness centre should be a goal for every property,” said Mike Flanagan, chief growth officer at fitness company LifeStart. “Autonomous solutions where guests can book a private training pod with professionally streamed classes, meditation or even personal training will be enhancements that can be made to provide the best experience for guests.” Although digital wellness may run counter to another trend – the idea of the ‘digital detox’ – the pandemic has highlighted the fact that technology isn’t all bad. The conversation today is less about disconnecting altogether, and more about using tech for healthier ends and developing a better relationship with one’s devices.
Post-Covid R&R
The pandemic has left many people feeling weary, burnt out and even traumatised. With that has come an appetite for getaways that specifically target rest and recovery.
Hotels, then, have been getting creative with their wellness offerings. A number of resorts have started offering Long Covid packages, which aim to help people suffering with the after-effects of the virus. These include SHA Wellness Clinic in Spain, Lanserhof Lans in Austria and the Rakxa Spa in Bangkok. These packages are at the pricier end of the spectrum, and are probably out of bounds to the average exhausted guest. However, there are other ways that hotels can promote themselves as offering some much-needed R&R. Many have begun to offer
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mindfulness, meditation and yoga as a means of calming Covid-related anxieties.
Others are heightening their focus on sleep. ‘Circadian Sleep Cycles’ was one of Spafinder’s top wellness trends for 2021, and some hotels are placing a good night’s sleep at the core of their marketing proposition. Equinox Hotels in New York offers a ‘proprietary sleep system’ in each of its rooms, while LA-based Hotel Figueroa has launched a custom Rest and Recovery Suite, complete with a custom pillow and a muscle massager.
Hotels must place a stronger emphasis on wellness – in all its forms – moving forward.
“Making fi tness more accessible beyond offering 24/7 access to a fi tness centre should be a goal for every property.”
Mike Flanagan, LifeStart
“The Rest & Recovery Suite is specifically designed to soothe pandemic-rattled psyches and counteract what experts are calling ‘coronosomnia’,” said Connie Wang, the hotel’s managing director. At this point in the pandemic, it seems that ‘wellness’ has begun to mean something different, with important implications for hotels. Whereas in the past ‘wellness’ might refer specifically to your fitness programming or certain treatments, today it is something much more comprehensive. Increasingly, it is seen to encompass sleep, access to green spaces, and a sense of integration with the natural world. At the same time, wellness still retains the specific connotations of cleanliness and trying to avoid disease. At least for the duration of the pandemic, hotels will need to pay attention to both aspects of wellness – the holistic and the antiseptic – with a view to giving guests the full peace of mind that they deserve. ●
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