People in vast numbers are more in tune with their mind and bodies than ever before, but not necessarily in harmony. This has spawned huge growth of interest in online tutorials, on-demand classes and podcasts that teach us how to be better at caring for our well-being. Self-care, a phrase that has gained traction in the wellness mega-trend, gives us permission to be healthy. Two simple but powerful words.
While many properties are still trying to figure out the best way to ensure the physical safety of their guests, we can't ignore that this pandemic has hit people's wellbeing hard. Travel has always been a 'cure for what ails you', but if you haven't noticed - people are changing. Values are evolving. Over the last 15-20 years, we have experienced a massive paradigm shift, and we now stand in the aftermath of it.
Sooner or later, COVID-19 will be a thing of the past. However, as the crisis will pass, many things will have changed. New ways of working, new consumption patterns, a new way of interacting with people, and most certainly, cleanliness standards as new ways of measuring the attractiveness of hotels will become the norm.
The latest report by Horwath HTL Health and Wellness provides key guidelines to successfully design wellness resorts.
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the world's leading certification body for healthy buildings, today announced the establishment of the WELL Advisory for Hotels and Resorts to provide insights on the application of the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facilities Operations and Management for hotels and resorts. The WELL Health-Safety Rating is an evidence-based, third-party verified rating focused on operational policies, maintenance protocols and emergency plans to address a post COVID-19 environment. IWBI will accept registrations for the WELL Health-Safety Rating from all building and facility typologies later this month.
Healing Hotels of the World will host a 45-minute master class to explore the role of healing in hospitality, and why consumers are seeking transformation today more than ever. Hosted by celebrated New York radio personality Valerie Smaldone, the session will feature expert insight from Healing Hotels Co-Founder Anne Biging along with Claudia Roth, Founder and Managing Director of Soul Luxury and Co-Founder of the Healing Summit.
One truth…there is very little we can confidently predict at this point. Yet in my career, I have seen and led teams through some very difficult periods and the one thing I can confidently predict is that we will endure and thrive and the data backs that prediction up. In 2018 the International Spa Association reported that total spa revenues in the US grew 48.7% since the end of the Great Recession to $18.3 billion.
As the hotel industry contends with the immediate challenges posed by the Coronavirus crisis, for some hoteliers this also represents an opportunity to take a longer-term view of their businesses. Hospitality Net™, which launched the Hospitality Net World Panel last year to highlight the opinions of leading hoteliers on industry trends, is now launching another panel, this time on wellness, lifestyle and spas.
Starting as a peculiarity in the 1970s in the Netherlands, the use of cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes has gained immense momentum across the globe in recent times. Thus far, 4 countries and 11 U.S. states have officially legalised cannabis for recreational use and more than 40 countries and some 30 U.S. states for medical use. Furthermore, the recent legalisation of cannabis in Canada (in 2018) and in the U.S. State of Colorado (in 2014) for recreational purposes has been widely publicised and commented upon.
The wellness tourism is now a $639 billion industry. This begins to point us in the direction of traveler & guest desires, but the word wellness can lead to restrictive thinking. What comes to mind when I say wellness? Did you get images of yoga, smoothies, or maybe essential oils floating into your head?
In 2007, CBRE introduced Trends® in the Hotel Spa Industry in response to the spa industry's rapid expansion within hotels and resorts and its relevance to hotels' bottom lines. For the second time in the history of the publication, spa revenue increased at a higher rate than rooms revenue and total operating revenue. During 2018, the 159 hotels in our survey sample of achieved a 3.7 percent growth in RevPAR, which led to a 3.8 percent rise in total operating revenue. Concurrently, spa department revenue increased by 4.8 percent. With RevPAR forecast to increase less than 1.5 percent through 2021, the Spa Department represents an opportunity for hotel owners. Wellness is a growing desire in the minds of guests, and hotels can capitalize on this trend.
Hyatt has wellness on the brain—quite literally. The Chicago-based corporation hired its first Head of Wellbeing, Mia Kyricos, two years ago, and recently announced a new partnership with meditation company Headspace that will bring new offerings to both hotel guests and employees.
As the new decade begins, it's becoming more apparent to the travel industry that the well-being of the individual is intrinsically tied to the well-being of the environment. That's why we are starting to see hospitality companies looking into getting certified for wellness.
Yoga retreats and spa getaways used to be the definition of wellness travel. Guests would fill their days with beachside yoga classes or couples' massages, dine on healthy fare, and lounge poolside. And yes, those types of trips still exist, but the days of one-size-fits-all wellness travel are long gone.
As the decade comes to a close, it's inevitable that we'd start thinking about how wellness travel has changed over the past 10 years. With more people interested in fitness than ever before, there has been an uptick in people working out while traveling. ClassPass recently made this announcement in its 2019 Fitness Trends, finding that 18 percent of business travelers booked workouts in a city other than where they lived, compared with 14 percent in 2018.
Travelers resolving to improve themselves in 2020 are focusing on wellness of the mind and spirit - even more than the physical. A survey by global luxury travel network Virtuoso® of advisors specializing in the growing wellness niche uncovered that reducing stress and anxiety are paramount with travelers in the New Year. The expert advisors named meditation and mindfulness as the top wellness travel activity and cited spiritual and mental wellness as significant emerging trends.
When stepping into a hotel these days, one cannot help but notice a growing wave of smoothie bowls, pilates poses, and mindfulness seminars. For many years, Accor has been at the forefront of the wellbeing movement, leading the way to integrate health and wellness into all aspects of the guest experience. In a new white paper, "It's a Wellness World: The Global Shift Shaking up Our Business", Accor explores the fundamental societal shift currently underway as the lifestyle goal of feeling healthier has moved out from beyond the walls of the spas and gyms and entered the mainstream.
The following research and insights are compiled by Jeremy McCarthy, Group Director of Spa & Wellness at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. The brand leads the luxury hospitality sector in integrating wellness into the guest experience, continuously creating offerings that nurture the mind, body and soul.
Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina and Sensync, the immersive wellness company founded by Dr. Adam Gazzaley and Dr. Alex Theory, have partnered to introduce The Vessel - a luxury virtual experience that combines mixed reality innovation with advanced therapeutic technology to create a revolutionary, immersive sensory experience.
A Hilton wellness program that aims to shake up the spa industry recently scored a big award, and in recognition of it, two wellness gurus sat down to discuss the curation of the program, its impact on the industry and the future of spas and wellness overall.