Rather than beginning with impressive statistics about the global growth of wellness, consider this profound insight: If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will inevitably have to contend with your illness. We all want to do incredible things with our lives, but when we’re sick that’s the only thing we can focus on. Hence, the objective of wellness is to alter one’s habits and lifestyle to prevent illnesses from setting in.
Every day, millions of individuals embrace this principle, refining their lifestyles with wellness products, habits, and services to avoid trips to the doctor. They also enjoy benefits like improved mood, enhanced cognition, and weight loss—truly a win-win scenario. For hoteliers, it’s essential to recognize that guests expect the same wellness offerings in hotels as they do at home.
Investing in wellness not only safeguards a hotel’s brand equity but also adds significant value. It can drive ancillary revenues, encourage direct bookings through wellness packages, extend length of stay, improve booking pace, and even introduce new room types for upselling. However, scaling these offerings can be challenging. Many hotels lack spa facilities, and retrofitting can be prohibitively expensive. Even those with spas face a persistent shortage of qualified spa practitioners and therapists.
The solution lies in welltech—a fusion of wellness and technology. Related fields like spatech, sleeptech, and fittech offer innovative ways to enhance wellness offerings with minimal additional labor, making them highly scalable. The advantages of welltech are threefold:
- Scalability: Allows expansion of wellness services with low additional labor requirements.
- Variety: Offers diverse options, enabling hotels to tailor their wellness programs.
- Data Integration: Accumulates valuable data for future guest personalization and modeling.
Welltech encompasses various technologies, from labor-intensive medispa treatments to more autonomous options. For example, spa treatment rooms can be equipped for 30-minute sessions where guests are left alone, or wellness devices can be placed in guest rooms as welcome amenities.
For hotels with existing wellness centers, high-tech equipment can transform treatment rooms into multiplex cinemas. One therapist can manage multiple rooms, setting up treatments on a scheduled rotation. Technologies like red light therapy (RLT), infrared (IR) saunas, pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF), cold chambers, deprivation tanks, meditative soundscapes, vibroacoustics, gravity waves and lymphatic drainage suits offer multi-sensory wellness experiences.
Enhancing sleep with sleeptech
Not all hotels have spas, and not all guests have time for spa visits. However, every guest needs sleep, making sleep amenities a crucial area for hotels to excel. Sleep tourism has emerged as a trend, where urban hotels gain a competitive edge by offering sleep hygiene amenities and sleeptech to enhance guests’ nightly recovery.
And as a caveat here, we say ‘sleep technologies’ but often these are standalone systems that can augment the in-room experience or present upselling opportunities and brand awareness opportunities without requiring integrations. Traditional sleep amenities include pillow menus, blackout curtains, blue light blocking glasses, herbal teas, aromatherapy, and sleep-inducing snacks like tart cherry juice.
Sleeptech can significantly enhance these offerings, providing unique experiences that guests can’t find elsewhere. Here are some areas to consider:
- Circadian Lighting: App or TV-integrated lighting that adjusts to the red-amber spectrum in the evening to mimic a setting sun
- Wearable Sleep Trackers: Devices that monitor sleep quality, blood oxygenation, potential apnea, and heart rate variability (HRV)
- Advanced HVAC Systems: Noiseless systems with enhanced air purifiers for better air quality
- Climate Control: Technologies that optimize room temperature for deep sleep and REM cycles
- Temperature and Moisture-Controlled Bedding: Mattresses and bedding that regulate temperature and moisture, with options for electrical grounding
- On-Demand Wellness Programs: Accessible yoga, stretching, journaling, or mindfulness programs via in-room TVs or apps
- Innovative Shower Systems: Showers that offer vitamin-infused water or display temperature and time for contrast therapy
- Sleep-Enhancing Supplements: On-demand delivery systems for sleep supplements.
- Calming Soundscapes: Speaker systems or meditation apps providing soothing soundscapes
- Vibroacoustic and Gravity Wave Technologies: Installations under mattresses that promote relaxation and lymphatic drainage during sleep
Planning your wellness strategy
Several providers can assist with these amenities, allowing hotels to strategically plan their sleep programs. Fitness also plays a crucial role in sleep quality, so fittech should be part of the discussion. However, enhancing sleep through sleep amenities and sleeptech is foundational for guest health and satisfaction, making it an ideal starting point.
By exploring and integrating welltech, hoteliers can continually upgrade their wellness offerings, meeting the evolving needs and expectations of their guests. This ongoing commitment to wellness not only enhances guest experiences but also drives long-term loyalty and profitability.
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