Expert Views (12)

Diversify revenue streams. A wellness asset that relies too heavily on one guest segment carries unnecessary risk. Balance hotel guests with local residents, memberships, structured programmes and other recurring income so that no single channel determines performance. The growth of wellness club membership models in hospitality settings reflects this advice.

Invest against proven demand, not trends. Wellness, longevity and technology investment should follow evidenced customer need, realistic utilisation and a clear commercial case. If demand cannot be demonstrated, the investment should wait. In longevity in particular, there is considerable scope to improve healthspan across every department of a property.

Build in resilience from the outset. Scenario planning, scalable operations, diversified demand and alternative supply chains should be considered during feasibility, concept development and design, when they are easier and less costly to address. Start early. Wellness planning is too often last in line, or limited to the spa, even when hotels and resorts are built around wellness concepts.

One of the biggest ways to manage geopolitical and climate uncertainty is to localize supply chains. It can be very hard, often impossible for a lot of goods, but it can both protect against tail risks as well as tell a fantastic story.

Everything is local these days, so there's a market value that can be placed on premium-costed goods that are made nearby. That helps pass the buck to the consumer, albeit only if there's the right branding and marketing support.

Next is supply chain management. Yes, this can be tricky in terms of managing many different smaller supplier with idiosyncratic purchasing processes (often a complete of tech too!), but the costs may actually be within an acceptable range once a good cadence of communication and logistics has been established. Then once stood up you can perform a sustainability calculation to add further credence to the positive branding side.

But look further that only rate, upper-funnel product awareness and SCM, and there's less quantifiable but equally important value: community support, team morale, cultural stewardship, governmental collaboration and others. Overall, a huge win with tremendous value once you run a holistic calculation!

After more than three decades in spa and wellness operations, I have learned that stability comes from financial discipline, prepared teams and consistent guest care.

Protect profitability. Understand treatment margins, staffing costs, equipment utilization and provider agreements. Evaluate new offerings against realistic demand and cash flow, including slower periods.

Diversify demand. Serve hotel guests, locals, members and groups. Memberships and wellness circuits encourage repeat visits when pricing balances guest value with sustainable returns.

Choose reliable partners. Assess training, maintenance, support and operating costs. Establish contingency plans for equipment downtime or partner departures.

Prepare your team. Clear consultations, screening, documented protocols and cross-training support continuity. Accurate wellness claims and consistent standards protect guest trust.

Use AI responsibly. Apply AI to analysis and administrative tasks, with human review and accountability, especially for guest information and financial decisions.

Plan for disruption. Monitor bookings, cancellations, labor, cash flow and feedback. Prepare for staffing shortages, supplier delays and severe weather.

Grow at a pace your operation can support. Stability is built through everyday decisions.

From my perspective, increasing stability starts with getting back to the basics and the core mission of the business: understanding what matters to the guest, creating meaningful experience, and focusing on what the business truly needs to thrive.

I would take a harder look at waste and sustainable practices: food, energy, water, purchasing, inventory, and unnecessary processes. What we waste is ultimately money leaving the business. More thoughtful use of resources, local sourcing, alternatives for critical supplies, and reviewing fixed commitments can make a business more resilient.

I also believe in people. When things become uncertain, a strong team and healthy work environment matter even more. Flexibility, development, meaningful work, and cross training help people stay engaged and give the operation greater ability to adapt.

I would also look at whether every program, product, or service still creates real value for the guest. Sometimes stability comes from doing less, but doing it better. Scenario planning can help prepare for different possibilities without trying to predict what comes next.

Technology and AI should be used intentionally, where they genuinely improve efficiency and responsiveness without replacing human judgment and connection.

Ultimately, resilience comes from knowing what matters, taking care of it, and maintaining flexibility to adapt.

Building resilience starts with understanding the business

Hotels need solid fundamentals before uncertainty puts pressure on them. After 25 years in luxury hospitality, I think that comes down to operational clarity. Do we know where our revenue comes from, which services actually make money, where resources are wasted, and how fast we can react when demand shifts?

I’d start with profitability, protected by running the operation better instead of cutting costs across the board. Looking at performance department by department and fixing inefficiencies makes a business sturdier without hurting the guest experience.

Next is flexibility. A hotel that leans too heavily on one market, one revenue stream or one type of guest is exposed.

People matter too. Technology and AI can help with forecasting, but they don’t replace judgement, leadership or a real understanding of the guest. Teams need the skills, information and autonomy to respond quickly when circumstances change.

Wellness shouldn’t be treated as an optional extra to trim when business gets tough. Integrated properly, it strengthens positioning and opens up additional revenue, provided it stays commercially relevant and operationally sustainable.

Nobody can predict every disruption, but we can build businesses that know their numbers and decide with discipline.

Increasing stability in all areas of life is top of mind for people. When it comes to business practices and decision-making, stress testing has become vital to operational investments and asset stability. There's a lot to consider these days. Choices around AI (what kind, which one) must be balanced with resource and utility management, with sustainability in mind, as well as regional suppliers, costs, and employee and guest retention metrics.

This topic doesn't get nearly enough airtime. While the industry focuses heavily on market demand, strides, and growth, the real challenge lies in balancing risk and choice, both operationally and in an advisory capacity. I have been writing and talking about this for a long time. I wrote extensively about this dynamic last February in my article, "Emotionality, Wellness, and Longevity: Demand and Risk Mitigation Through 2030."

While some unforeseen risk is inevitable and change is constant, I think sharing thoughts and ideas on this topic creates a healthy and useful discussion for everyone.

I believe we need to reconsider what we mean by stability. We can mitigate risk, but in an increasingly dynamic environment, trying to predict our way to stability can create a false sense of security. Our priority should be building businesses capable of adapting to uncertainty.

From a development and operational perspective, that starts with better intelligence. Historical industry benchmarks are valuable, but we must validate them against current, market-specific conditions. Operationally, spa leaders need to move beyond periodic financial reviews and actively manage labor, utilization, forward bookings, and revenue opportunities.

We also need to challenge traditional business models. Have we positioned spas too narrowly around relaxation and escape? Could a broader focus on energy management and everyday well-being expand participation? Could memberships, shared wellness experiences, or alternative uses of existing space diversify revenue?

Preserving optionality is equally important—designing flexible facilities, limiting unnecessary fixed costs, and testing concepts before committing significant capital.

Ultimately, adaptability must become a core management competency, supported by financial discipline, creativity, collaboration, and the willingness to question established practices.

The goal isn't to eliminate uncertainty. It's to build businesses that can thrive without requiring certainty.

As an interior architecture and design firm, Studio RYS helps hotel owners make informed decisions early, when changes are less costly and risks are easier to manage. With supply chains and guest expectations increasingly unpredictable, proactive planning is essential to protecting budgets and long-term investments.

We focus on strategies to help owners navigate uncertainty, including:

Integrate design into due diligence. Engage an experienced hospitality design team before acquisition to assess building systems, identify risks, and establish realistic budgets and schedules. Early insight supports smarter investment decisions and minimizes costly surprises.

Favor renovation and conversion. Repositioning existing properties can improve competitiveness while reducing investment risk. Strategic updates—from guestroom improvements to more flexible social spaces—help properties respond to evolving guest expectations.

Turn underused space into revenue. Repurpose overlooked square footage into cafés or coffee counters to generate income and enhance the guest experience without major expansion.

Build flexibility into procurement. Strong vendor partnerships, diversified sourcing, and local manufacturing options help mitigate pricing fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, and extended lead times.

By addressing these priorities early, owners can make strategic investments, manage uncertainty, and position their properties for long-term success.

Mia, I agree it’s a heavy topic, and that’s exactly why it matters. Wellness guests come to us looking for balance, calm, and a sense of safety & Privacy. To offer that, our businesses have to be steady themselves. Guests notice when an operation is uncertain, even if they can’t say why.

The pressures you describe are real. Travel disruptions, supply chain delays, and shifting guest confidence can all affect demand and participation. AI is also changing how we plan, sell, and serve. None of this is going away soon, so the question isn’t whether instability will reach us, but how prepared we’ll be when it does.

In my experience, stability comes less from one big strategy and more from many small, disciplined choices made every day. It means watching the numbers closely, keeping operations flexible, preparing teams before a crisis rather than during one, and making sure technology supports people instead of replacing them. Most of all, it means building a culture where everyone understands their role in protecting the overall guest experience.

None of these choices is dramatic on its own, but together they build the resilience that lets a business stay steady when the world isn’t. These are my priorities:

I think "stability" may be the wrong word to use. As the topic rightly outlines, we are living in times of great change and uncertainty. The biggest risk that businesses face today is being "stable" while being surpassed by more nimble competitors. Businesses today need to pursue agility over stability, relentlessly evolving to stay increasingly relevant for the future that lies ahead.

My top priorities for my clients in this time of great change are:

1. AI Adoption. How quickly can we enable and empower our teams with new tools to do their jobs better? The limiting factor is usually not the tech; it is overcoming human uncertainty and reluctance to change.

2. Unlearning. What outdated, or inefficient practices can we replace with better ones?

3. Protect what must not change. In times of great change it is important to safeguard your core values, your greatest strengths, and the reasons your customers love you. What must you protect and stay true to, even while you adapt and innovate?

In the era of AI, extremely fast technological advancements and ever expanding pressure coming from all directions for me the most important priority is keeping and upholding integrity. Only those will survive in the AI infested waters who know their crafts and can build not only on past knowledge and experiences, but also on being foresighted. As a strategist and advisor I believe clients will keep appreciating the de-risking capacity, the voice of reason and acknowledge that there is actually no box we are expected to think out of. Age, long list and variety of experiences, knowledge gained and creativity nurtured all amalgam into such value added that no AI (yet) can match. Still, it is obvious that many clients will opt for an answer that comes faster and avoid potentially inconvenient and challenging discussions. Hospitality, leisure and travel need more creativity, innovation and inspitation than ever. We should not stop thinking, exchanging ideas however confronting those might be and actually enjoy being challenged either by humans or technology. Creativity thrives on interaction, exchange and debate. Easy and quick solutions and answers should not prevent us from thriving for more forward looking options. With or whithout AI and tech.