Hotels with strong wellness provisions tend to perform better. Wellness tourists spend more. Hotels are increasingly recognising the value of wellness as a key differentiator in the hospitality industry. How frequently have you encountered such statements in recent years?
Held at the UN Tourism Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, the two-day event (9–10 September) brought together representatives from National Tourism Administrations and Organizations (NTAs/NTOs) from 12 Middle East Member States, with more than 30 participants in total, alongside industry experts and key stakeholders from across the region. The workshop explored the growing potential of wellness tourism as a driver of economic growth, tourism diversification, and sustainability for the Middle East.
WITT (Wellness in Travel & Tourism) and the Wellness Tourism Association (WTA) have partnered to launch the Core Wellness Standards for Hotels, a first-of-its-kind global initiative designed to help hotels integrate authentic, holistic and high-quality wellness into every guest touchpoint.
Spas are an expected amenity for most luxury and ultra luxury hotels, and properties with savvy operators are benefiting greatly from luxury travelers increasingly willing to spend on spa. Spas are also mandatory under the brand standards for certain luxury and ultra-luxury brands, as well as a requirement to comply with Forbes Five Star Standards.
Anantara Hotels & Resorts, the experiential luxury brand of Minor Hotels, announces an exclusive global partnership with Technogym, the world-leading brand for fitness, wellness, sport and health, to deliver a new standard of in-room wellbeing for travellers worldwide.
Earlier this month, Equinox Hotel New York unveiled The Sleep Lab, a first-of-its-kind, science-backed experience created in collaboration with world-renowned neuroscientist and bestselling author, Dr. Matthew Walker.
Wellness is a huge growth area for hotels. In hospitality, we can succinctly define this as products, services, amenities and other features that deliver guest wellbeing. Concurrently, longevity is the concept that humans can live longer while also living healthier within those new years afforded to them (‘healthspan’).
As advisors to upscale and luxury hotels, we’re always first looking holistically as to why a guest is choosing this specific hotel and why they are willing to pay substantially more per night for that experience. This is what we call the ‘reason to visit’ or R2V.
Under a Tree Consultancy proudly celebrates its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of redefining wellness not as an amenity, but as a driver of improved hospitality and real estate performance, a business strategy, and a way of life. Since its founding in 2005 by wellness pioneer Amy McDonald, the firm has shaped wellness experiences that are personal, transformative, globally relevant, and fiscally successful.
RealTime Reservation, the industry leader in dynamic hospitality booking technology, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Trilogy Spa Holdings, a premier spa management company operating some of the most trusted wellness destinations in the United States. This strategic alliance marks the launch of a fully integrated, real-time booking platform tailored specifically for spa and wellness services across Trilogy-managed properties, beginning with the iconic Plaza Hotel in New York City.
During the EHL Open Innovation Summit in Lausanne, we had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Felicitas Morhart, Full Professor of Marketing at HEC Lausanne, to explore how the emerging field of longevity is starting to reshape luxury hospitality. Our conversation touched on the intersection of biotech wellness, status-driven self-optimization, and the evolving role of luxury as a space for beauty, presence, and what it means to remain human in an increasingly optimized world.
The wellness travel sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, with the Global Wellness Summit predicting spending on wellness tourism to reach $9 trillion by 2028. This surge reflects an evolving consumer focus on health, relaxation, and holistic well-being, as travelers increasingly seek experiences that allow them to recharge mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Sitting down for breakfast with Tammy Pahel, Vice President of Spa and Wellness Operations at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort (hereafter abbreviated as “the Carillon”), offers nothing short of a world of insight in the vast and restorative power that comprehensive wellness programming can bring to a hotel. Touching on all subject matter from nutrition, sleeptech and advances in fitness through to transformative wellness group retreats, energy healing and the future of the spa industry, two hours fly by before it’s time to head off to experience one of the hotel’s signature touchless therapy circuits.
Travelers are looking for a little extra R&R, and independent hotel operators are perfectly positioned to offer wellness-focused services that can set them apart. Overlooking these services can be a costly mistake for properties hoping to capture this growing demand, especially for properties located in the shadow of larger resorts.
Estée Lauder announces an exclusive partnership with Hacienda AltaGracia, Auberge Resorts Collection in Costa Rica, debuting its first Skin Longevity Institute in the Americas within the resort’s world-renowned Casa de Agua Spa. Located adjacent to one of the world’s five “Blue Zones,” regions recognized for their high concentration of centenarians, Hacienda AltaGracia offers a transformative journey grounded in trusted longevity practices. The experience-led programming and immersive treatments are designed to awaken vitality, restore balance, and reconnect guests with the simple joys of life inspired by the resort’s natural surroundings.
As global wellness tourism nears the staggering $1 trillion mark, a powerful transformation is reshaping the luxury and lifestyle hospitality sectors. No longer confined to indulgence or relaxation alone, luxury travel today increasingly centers around health optimization, life extension, and holistic well-being.
The best way to come to grips with artificial intelligence (AI) for spa and wellness is through the phrase ‘technology-adjacent therapies’. That is, for our industry where human-to-human contact is ever-so-centric to guest satisfaction, it’s not that automation will supplant practitioners but that these contemporary tools will offset the undesirable, repetitive tasks to augment the experience. Hence, hoteliers and managers shouldn’t necessarily look to how AI can boost the guest journey but to their own teams’ experience, otherwise known as the software’s ‘end users’.
Wellness is no longer just a trend—it’s a movement reshaping industries, and the hospitality sector is no exception. In an era where sustainable self-care and mental health take center stage, global hospitality leader Accor is at the forefront, revolutionizing what it means to truly care for guests. This is not about spa retreats; it’s a paradigm shift that integrates well-being into every element of the guest experience.
As part of its ongoing commitment to guests’ wellbeing, Radisson Hotel Group is launching ‘Revitalize Rooms’ to enhance the sleep quality of its guests. In partnership with Biow, a leader in sleep science technology, this initiative will further elevate the sleep experience, ensuring guests can recharge their energy while sleeping and wake up feeling refreshed.
Incorporating wellness initiatives into a brand that has no prior focus on the field of wellness may be viewed as a fruitless exercise. What benefit does wellness in hospitality achieve and who is searching for wellness?