The Importance of a Healthy Staff: Why Major Hotel Brands Are Extending Wellness Initiatives to Employees
A healthy staff is a happy staff is a lesson executive leadership is learning throughout a number of major industries, including global hospitality
A healthy staff is a happy staff. This sounds trite, but it is a lesson that executive leadership is putting into practice throughout a number of major industries, including global hospitality.
Yes, the hotel industry is hopping on the fitness bandwagon, putting into practice a number of initiatives aimed at keeping staff members healthy. The overall goal, however, is to boost guest satisfaction by improving the quality of their interactions with staff.
A move toward fitness facilities for guests is one that has been happening throughout the industry for years. In fact, business travelers and other hotel guests are also hard-pressed to find a hotel these days that does not have a fitness room on its premise. Research shows that a massive 85 percent of hotels now offer fully equipped fitness rooms, according to data from a 2016 survey conducted by the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Meanwhile, hotel restaurants have followed the rest of the dining industry in beginning to offer healthier menu options for their own fitness-minded patrons.
And as this emphasis on making it easy for guests to maintain their fitness grows, so too has a desire among hotel operators to offer pathways for their employees to stay healthy, fit and happy, both through formal and informal programs. As a result, hoteliers are reporting that their staff members are doing a better job serving guests, leading to overall increases in visitor satisfaction. This, of course, is not a revelation unique to the hospitality. In fact, companies in other industries have realized the value in employee fitness initiatives for many years.
Take, for example, Google, which offers nap pods that its employees can use to recharge. Meanwhile, high end luxury companies such as British Airways and Rolls Royce have also worked to make deliberate investments in the emotional and physical well-being of their employees and staffs. The reason is that studies have shown that wellness programs increase productivity, reduce absenteeism and talent turnover, and create a stronger sense of pride and commitment among staff.
Take for example the guest satisfaction scores at Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan, which is located in Maharashtra, India. In this 175-room hotel, the scores improve from 67 percent in 2015 to 80 percent this year, a bump that the hotel's general manager has attributed to employees feeling better due to Marriott International's TakeCare staff wellness program. Marriott is not alone in offering a comprehensive wellness program for its staff.
InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) is also well aware that the lasting impressions that guests form about hotels often have to do with their interactions with staff. To that end, IHG is determined to make sure its employees feel their best, by offering any employee that joins a chance to develop their careers long-term and crate a focus on recognizing their individual contributions.
The following hotel projects include outstanding wellness areas:
The Project (proposed) • guest rooms of an average size of 35 m 2 • Conference Centre (1st underground floor, capacity 200 seats) • Club Restaurant (ground floor) • Casino (ground floor) • Fitness Centre & Spa with swimming pool (8th and 9th floor) • Rooftop Restaurant/Bar (9th floor) • Terrace on the roof. [READ MORE…]
A 15-storey hotel tower with 48 m height, offices, wellnes area and a rooftop restaurant. [READ MORE…]
The hotel will feature a wellness area, various meeting rooms, restaurant and lounge area upstairs. [READ MORE…]
Jule Grass
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