The wellness industry which includes everything from spa to yoga retreats, has grown globally into a $4.2 trillion business.
Over 6% growth average over the last few years. 1/3 of that growth is taking place in the Asia Pacific region.
Physical health, including beauty and weight loss, used to dominate the all market segments. This was essentially a physical health industry. Over the past few years however, focus has shifted toward a healthy lifestyle and mental well being approach. The driver behind the boom in wellness tourism is a heightened awareness among consumers of the need to take a proactive approach to their health in their daily lives. This concern is quite equally shared worldwide. Significantly, the last decade has seen a wider recognition of the broader wellness concept, and it is driving consumer expectations in virtually every aspect of life, from what we buy from the supermarket to how we choose to spend our free time. This growing awareness is encapsulated in the global ‘wellness’ trend, which expands the concept of health to include such diverse fields as nutrition, self-care, social satisfaction and fitness.
Much of the sector’s growth being driven by emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and particularly Asia, where China and India rank as the top two sources of wellness travel growth. A recent survey by China Youth Daily showed that 80% of the 1,800 millennials interviewed from first to fourth-tier cities place personal health in high priority, while lifestyle concierge service worldwide have seen an unprecedented interest among their Chinese members in wellness and health related activities and services.
Wellness travelers spend more per trip than the average tourist either domestic or international. In 2017, international wellness tourists on average spent $1,528 per trip, 53% more than the typical international tourist. The premium for domestic wellness tourists is even higher. At $609 per trip, they spend 178% more than the typical domestic tourist. (GWI 2017)
The growing budget of wellness travelers is spent over many segments of the industry. Food and lodging as well as activities such as excursions, shopping, and other services can all include wellness elements. As more consumers incorporate wellness into their lifestyles, there are many opportunities for all businesses to infuse wellness into their offerings and capture spending by wellness travelers.
But wellness tourism is far more complex than just people traveling for health or wellness.
The Global Wellness Institute identifies two types of wellness travelers:
- Primary wellness traveler: A traveler whose trip or destination choice is primarily motivated by wellness.
- Secondary wellness traveler: A traveler who seeks to maintain wellness while traveling or who participates in wellness experiences while taking any type of trip for leisure or business.
Hospitality industry has to broaden its understanding of what wellness is. Spas and fitness centers at hotels are no longer enough. Like WiFi, hotels are simply expected to offer these services. If hotels want to be relevant to these trends, they should pay close attention to offer a wide variety of wellness options in and out of their premises.
The scope of possible amenities and services is very wide.
Travelers are now for looking for a variety of dietary options paying special attention to organic food, personal trainers, health retreats, living coaches and lecturers, specific fitness and body-mind-spirit programs, active-ageing or longevity programs, personal growth, etc… As travelers now want to incorporate healthy habits into almost every aspect of their travel, anticipating their needs and requirements should be a priority to hotels.
Colour schemes, light, furniture finishes and layout, restaurant menus and serene public areas can all help align a hotel’s branding with its wellness objectives. Wellness is above all an immersive experience. Attention must be given to a very aspect of the design and operations. Following are some more specific design considerations:
Spa and Fitness
The spa design, concept and operation must be considered carefully. In addition to the traditional treatment rooms, a number of multi-function rooms should be envisaged in order to hold various group activities such as yoga. Ideally the spa location should be above ground to maximize natural light and feature private outdoor spaces. In addition ample spaces for social activities or classes must be provided. A rule of thumb is that the various spa functions should be large enough to meet peak market demand.
Rooms
While the wellness stereotype tends towards the natural and organic, many hotels are embracing smart technologies to offer rooms that better align with the priorities of wellness-focused guests. To maintain the air quality, wall-mounted air-purification filters can be provided to reduce allergens as well as aromatherapy options.
Additional options include:
- Massaging shower-heads vitamin infused.
- High-ozone shock treatment to kill bacteria along with much of the odour they create.
- Memory foam mattresses made of plant extracts completely encased to prevent contact to allergens.
- Circadian lighting technology.
Hotels might chose to group wellness rooms together into clusters, often close to the spa facilities, reinforcing the serene atmosphere that health-conscious guests increasingly expect, especially in the luxury segment.
All these amenities do not come cheap. On the cost side, a wellness resort will have a similar cost structure to that of a five-star luxury resort. MEP and FF&E budget for a full wellness resort is approximately 12% higher than for a regular resort, although these vary significantly depending on the extent of investment in heat and water facilities.
Guests at Wellness resorts are likely to spend more time on site than regular hotels. Guests are also likely to require more personalized services. As a result, the employee-to-guest ratio is likely to be on par with, if not higher than, a five-star resort. Hiring, training and retaining the right talent is paramount to the success of any hospitality project, but this is more acute in an arena where personalized services are so important.
Due to the higher level of service complexity at wellness resorts, a pre-opening period of around 12-18 months is necessary.
Providing and upgrading Wellness-focused amenities and services is now a market driven necessity. It is not any more the sole concern of luxury brands. In all market segments, it improves customer satisfaction and loyalty. It also translates into spectacular increase in RevPar. A study comparing wellness resorts in Italy, Spain and Thailand with the comparable average for luxury hotels in the same locations found a 35%-450% higher RevPAR for wellness resorts. Of course this comes at the cost of increased initial capital investment and greater human resource management challenges.
Wellness-oriented operations have seen a strong and steady rise over the past several years and continue to transform the lodging industry. Most hospitality companies publicized a shift toward wellness operations. While traditional performance methodologies still apply, the proper implementation and execution of the wellness components of any hospitality project is a key to maximizing the asset’s revenue potential.