Technology
marketing programmes to attract working nomads – ideally with tourism boards and hospitality companies working hand-in-hand to amplify the message and ensure promises can be delivered on the ground.
The rise and rise of wellness tourism As a hospitality consultant, I get more calls from hotels looking to reposition into health and wellness tourism than any other trend. And it’s no wonder – this market is booming. However, hotels need to understand that such a repositioning may not be so simple, nor without risk. Much depends on location: given that most hotels cannot afford to have full-time medical and wellness experts on the payroll, are such professionals available close by? Also, several brands are already operating successfully in this sphere, so it is important to check the local competitive set before making a significant financial commitment. It may be better to look at smaller changes that
can appeal to health-conscious guests without breaking the bank – something I call ‘light wellness’. Putting healthier choices in the minibar is a tiny gesture that can create a warm glow around your brand. It may be increasingly common to offer pillow or mattress menus, but why not go one step further by introducing sleep and wake-up rituals aligned to circadian rhythm cycles? You do not necessarily have to open a bespoke vegan restaurant or spend millions renovating your spa to be considered as a wellness-conscious hotel. That said, what you do spend should pay back.
Research shows health-conscious guests tend to be bigger spenders than average. For example, they may happily pay for things like yoga sessions and personal trainers, as well as choosing the in-house food and beverage options because they are trusted to produce healthier cooking, over untried local competitors.
Embrace technology in wellness We are now much more engaged with our personal health; a trend accelerated by the pandemic and the explosion in wearable fitness technology. For the spa and wellness industry, this offers the promise of creating an opportunity and nullifying a threat simultaneously. How? Because new technologies like hyperbaric chambers, cryotherapy and such are more demonstrably effective than many ‘traditional’ spa rituals and treatments. Working with these scientifically proven treatments can also create fewer, but crucially, more interesting and better paid roles in the sector – something that is essential amid the wider ‘war for talent’ in hospitality.
Deploy smart technology in hotels The hotel industry has an unbalanced relationship with technology. We tend not to be pioneers in technological development, instead choosing to take on applications
Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
developed for the commercial real estate sector, airports and the home, and then looking at how they can be integrated into so-called ‘smart hotels’. But the hotel reception is not the same as an airport check-in – the need for a warmer welcome and a degree of personalisation is much greater in a hotel setting. If I am your guest, why not give me the option to check-in from a smartphone app while I am in my taxi heading from the airport? That way, I know there is a room waiting for me and when I arrive, I can head straight to it without delay. Crucially, though, if I wish for some human interaction, there are employees who have been liberated from behind the reception desk and are in the lobby ready to greet me, answer my questions and give me tips on the best places to go for food, drinks or sightseeing. As a guest, it immediately makes me feel that the hotel is well integrated into its surrounding community. This kind of customer-facing role requires excellent
soft skills – in addition to an encyclopaedic knowledge of the destination. Crucially, it is more rewarding, both professionally and potentially, in terms of remuneration. If you are a ‘people person’, it is a role you can enjoy and make your own – and these are exactly the sort of jobs we need to offer as an industry if we want to attract and retain the talent we need.
Marketing gets ‘transformational’ We often talk about hospitality being part of the wider ‘experience economy’, a term coined by Pine & Gilmore just before the turn of the millennium. Recently the same authors have developed the notion of the ‘transformation economy’, where experiences are elevated from mere enjoyment to actual personal transformation.
What does this mean for hospitality marketing?
We will see a shift in messaging to amplify this notion of transformation through travel experiences, and particularly around health and wellness. Messaging will become even more personalised, especially in the luxury segment, and with digitalisation, such moves
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Health and wellness tourism continues to accelerate – but it’s not all spas and chakras.
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