Spafinder Wellness 365 released its 2016 Global Spa & Wellness Forecast on Tuesday. The forecast provides a guide to the top 10 trends expected to shape wellness, hospitality, travel and spa industries. This year's top 10 trends include:
A bouldering wall? Monkey bars? Pilates classes? Yes, that’s at your hotel. Not long ago, the average hotel fitness center amounted to a few treadmills, a couple of elliptical machines, free weights and a television tuned to ESPN. That’s not good enough in 2015. With an increased appetite among consumers for fitness — and an increased urgency for hotels to differentiate themselves for a new generation of traveler — the concept of fitness on the road is in the midst of a revolution that reaches from stylish boutiques to the mega-chains.
Hoteliers have numerous opportunities to lure nonguests to their property in hopes of generating extra revenue. “It’s become a nice way to augment the slow periods,” said Kory Keith, spa director at The Ritz-Carlton Spa in Los Angeles, where locals take advantage of daylong wellness retreats and after-work pedicures and cocktails in the adjacent beauty salon.
For a certain type of person, or guest, fitness is more than an aspect of life. It’s the focal point. A hotelier with that same single-minded focus can engender a unique type of loyalty from the fitness-minded, according to panelists at the “Growth of fitness & nutrition communities in hospitality” panel at the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association’s 2015 Leadership Symposium.
Hospitals and luxury are two words that do not seem to work together; or do they? In a recent trend where medical recovery meets the comfort of a luxury hotel, the idea of “Hotels Bridging Health Care,” known as H2H, gained ground. As a mixed-use concept, H2H creates a new and innovative business model for entrepreneurs to fulfill the unmet needs of patients and their families; all achieved in a hygienic, complementary and friendly environment that provides quality accommodations, upscale treatments and state-of-the-art wellness centers.
Spa, already a big business, is getting bigger, according to figures from the Global Wellness Tourism Congress (GWTC) released at ITB Berlin on March 7. The research, done by SRI International for the GWTC, assesses the global wellness tourism market at $439 billion, with 77 percent of all expenditures coming from tourists originating in Europe (36 percent) and North America (41 percent). On the product side, spas have evolved rapidly from the curative spa to the destination spa of today. As destination spas continue to evolve their services, their marketing is also evolving.
Don't expect to find a front desk when you walk into an EVEN Hotel, a new wellness-oriented brand set to debut next year. Guests will instead be directed to a "Well-ness Island," where an employee will hand them either cool or heated hand towels, depending on the season. They'll also get a cup of water with a slice of lemon or lime to sip. When checking in, they can forgo the traditional room key card for a bracelet that serves the same function, which they can wear while running.
Guido Kerpel grew up a careful observer of the spa business. As a young child in the Netherlands, he watched as holidaymakers from near and far would visit the local Kurhaus Hotel in Den Haag for luxurious retreats spent idling the days away on a massage bed or in a sauna. However, today’s post-recessionary environment could not be any more different, he said. At a time when every cost and corporate retreat falls under microscopic scrutiny, hoteliers are shifting the focus from self indulgence to the more palatable notions of health and wellness.
When Simon Casson refers to the personal touch, he’s talking about more than his leadership style, or even the literal interaction between spa therapist and client. “What sets Four Seasons Spas apart is a sense of caring and the intuitive attitude of our therapists. A treatment at a Four Seasons Spa is a memorable experience that is unique to every one of our guests,” says Casson, who was recently appointed Chair of the company’s 20-member Global Spa Task Force. In his new role, he also retains his positions as Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Doha.
Westin is positioning itself as the hotel to stay at for wellness. In May Brian Povinelli started as global brand manager for Westin Hotels and Resorts, a brand of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, White Plains, New York. Povinelli is leading the brand’s evolution into a hotel for wellness, whether that be physical fitness or a good meal.
TRAVELERS are concerned about numbers like $4, as in the price of a gallon of gasoline in many parts of the country. A leading lodging chain is hoping to get them to care instead about numbers like 8, 12, 15, 16, 24 and 37. The numbers are meant to represent myriad reasons for staying at properties that are part of the Westin Hotels and Resorts chain owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. Each number stands for what a new campaign for Westin calls an “element of well-being.”
There was a time in the not-so-distant past when every big hotel needed a spa. Leisure travelers demanded it, and business travelers did, too — to reward themselves, their clients or their employees with lavish massage and steam-filled weekends in opulent settings. No more. Today, the oversize hotel spa has pretty much gone the way of limitless credit and fancy holiday parties.
After Ben Miller had spinal surgery for scoliosis at Shriners Hospital for Children, he couldn't endure the eight hours of sitting that the trip back home to Northern California would require. Instead, for nine days after his midwinter release from the hospital, 12-year-old Ben stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia under a new program, believed to be the first in the country, designed to help with his recovery.
LIKE Wi-Fi, on-demand movies and fitness centers, yoga is becoming an amenity many hotels and resorts just can’t do without. Long popular at spas and retreat centers, yoga classes have been spreading to mainstream hotels, resorts and tour operators over the last several years.
Amanresorts is known for secluded luxury, and the hotelier has tried to replicate that feeling here in both form and function, but this time as an urban oasis. Guests leave the rich Edwardian lobby to travel down two levels to a decidedly more modern scene, peppered with tranquil Asian influences. The small relaxation room where guests sip fresh ginger or lemon-grass tea is furnished in gold and white fabrics, with large black floor tiles. The five treatment rooms are neutrally serene with carved wooden sliding doors and white wicker chairs, and each has its own shower and changing area.
The Spa Suite at Emaar's flagship hotel The Address Downtown Burj Dubai provides a stunning place to stay in Dubai's most happening 'new quarter'. Phil Blizzard takes in the view of the world's tallest tower, Burj Dubai, from the sun deck before starting his tour of the hotel.
Hotel spas have long been a haven of calm for business travelers seeking to get the kinks out of their backs after a long flight or to unwind before a big meeting. But as the economic downturn hurts the hotel business, the spas are dealing with their own stresses. According to PKF Consulting, spa revenue rose 5 percent from 2006 to 2007, largely because of higher charges for treatments. But since last fall, hotel spas have been dealing with both reduced occupancy and guests who have sharply curbed their discretionary spending.
Sleep has become the bottled water of the hospitality industry. It might be readily available for free, but hotels have been investing millions as they compete to provide guests with the dreamiest night’s rest ever. You can now slip between cashmere sheets costing thousands of pounds at the Principe di Savoia, in Milan; or choose from a 20-strong pillow menu at Frégate Island, in the Seychelles (including an antiageing one infused with vitamin E, and an eco-friendly version made from buckwheat spelt).
Behind all that extreme grooming—the makeup, the Botox, the $1,000 haircuts, the borrowed Harry Winston jewels and Cavalli gowns—Hollywood stars are mere mortals like the rest of us. Which means that they, too, benefit from both the relaxation and grooming services that a spa can provide. Maybe Gwyneth wants to minimize her pores for a photo shoot, or Matthew Fox needs a Pilates session to prep for that big action scene, or Britney needs a detoxifying treatment to recover from—well, from just being Britney. We non-celeb types may never have to withstand the scrutiny of Joan and Melissa Rivers (thankfully), but we can treat ourselves to top-tier treatments. Here, 11 spas that are darlings of the red carpet set.
Eric Price, a publishing executive from New York, likes to get a facial or massage on his business trips. “When you’re traveling and on long flights, you feel like your skin gets very dry,’’ Mr. Price, associate publisher and chief operating officer of Grove Atlantic, said. “It’s very nice to get a facial, you feel fresh and get energized for business meetings. And getting a massage after a long flight is really relaxing and helpful.” Mr. Price represents a steadily rising number of executives — both male and female — who seek spa treatments on business trips. It is a group the hotel industry is now actively courting.