REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is no simple task for travelers—a fact on which some hotel brands are capitalizing by making wellness a theme at their properties.
“Wellness has really become a macro-global trend, and not only in the hotel category but across all industries,” said Brian Povinelli, VP and global brand leader for Westin Hotels & Resorts.
Even in the meetings or group business space, wellness has become a great amenity for meeting planners to pitch to their attendees, he said.
This global trend is exactly why WestinWorkout has become a foundation for the Westin brand during the past several years, Povinelli said.
“(We are) really trying to simplify it and make it more convenient for people to work out when they are on the road,” he added.
The initiative allows guests to create a customized workout while staying at a Westin property. Options include going to the fitness center, going for a group run led by the hotel’s Run Concierge or working out in the privacy of a guestroom with equipment and fitness DVDs.
In addition, the brand has a partnership with New Balance to eliminate the difficulty of packing workout gear and paying extra baggage fees at the airport. “Guests can now borrow gear—shoes, shorts and shirts—for their entire stay,” Povinelli said.
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC also is keeping pace with the wellness trend. With group exercise classes at some of the chain’s Chicago properties and rent-by-the-day bike programs, the brand is making its mark as a healthy choice for travelers.
InterContinental Hotels Group is another player making its foray into the macro-global wellness trend with the introduction of the Even brand.
Christian Hempell, VP of new business development and delivery for IHG, said Even is all about meeting four needs for consumers: “being able to exercise on your terms, being able to eat the way you want to eat, being productive and, finally, getting the rest that you need.”
“For us, exercise is not an afterthought,” he said. “The gym is going to be the hallmark of the brand.”
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| A lobby rendering of IHG’s new Even brand. |
As part of the service culture, associates will ask guests upon check-in to share details about the routine they’d like to maintain while they are staying in the hotel.
As for food, Even hotels will offer items such as fresh smoothies, steel cut oatmeal and grab-and-go sandwiches and salads throughout the day.
But that doesn’t mean the brand will deny guests guilty pleasures. Hotels still will offer wine, beer and signature cocktails. “For us, wellness is all about balance,” Hempell said.
Customers seek out wellness
With the expectation of signing 100 deals within the first five years of Even’s inception in addition to fronting $150 million of capital for start-up, IHG executives believe the brand is something the market needs, Hempell said.
“The research that we’ve done is on a large and growing segment of customers that we call ‘the healthy-minded traveler.’ There’s 17 million of them in the U.S., and they are about 40% of the traveling public … For them, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is really important, and they spend a lot of time and effort maintaining that routine,” he said.
Of the “healthy-minded travelers” IHG surveyed, most of them said they tend to fall off the wagon when they travel.
“Loud and clear in every type of research we did … our customers said that’s something I would be very interested in and I would absolutely consider staying there,” Hempell said of a fitness-focused hotel.
IHG is working on deals for Even properties in cities that include New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego and Chicago, Hempell said.
“Our plan is to announce the first Even hotel before the end of this year,” he said.
Marketing tactics
Westin’s marketing campaign is built around the idea of “Westin for a better you,” Povinelli said.
The company utilizes social-media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to get engagement from guests, he said. Consumers answer questions such as “What’s your favorite city to run in?” and “What’s your favorite superfood recipe?”
This online engagement helps the brand learn what programs and services their customers care about.
And while the brand also uses digital media and billboards to advertise their programs, the best way for guests to learn more about what Westin has to offer is to actually stay on property, he said.
“If someone didn’t know about (the gear lending program) before their stay and didn’t happen to bring workout clothes, there’s a lot of signage in the hotel,” he said.
“What we are doing now is building a more robust platform to bring these initiatives to life on Westin.com.”