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Megan Chase, SMERF, Sales and Events Manager, Otesaga Resort Hotel, Rising Sales Leader Council Alum
The hospitality industry, like many other industries, has seen a significant pivot towards wellness and wellbeing offerings, with projections from the Global Wellness Institute estimating the sector’s growth to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025. This shift, intensified by the pandemic, has reshaped everything from client demands to service standards, emphasizing the importance of wellness in daily operations and guest experiences. I brought this topic to one of my final Rising Sales Leaders Council meetings to discuss the trend – read on to hear our take.
Post-pandemic, many of us argued that wellness has transitioned from a luxury to a necessity in hospitality, influencing not only luxury properties but also some select service hotels. The debate continues whether wellness should be considered a luxury or a standard offering. However, the market’s direction is clear: guests are increasingly valuing wellness as integral to their accommodation choices. One rising leader shared, “it’s become more of a standard, when you get into the specific offerings that’s where it starts to get different, because a 5 star in one State could look completely different from a 5 star in another region. And their offerings might be different. But some of the standards are definitely spas and having an ability to use a spa pools or larger hot tubs, as well as offering specialty services, facials.”
This broad embrace of wellness is also evident in conferences and events, where features like quiet rooms have become popular, enhancing attendee wellbeing. Similarly, food and beverage offerings have adapted, with a growing trend towards healthier, sustainable, and locally sourced options. Despite the challenges of higher costs associated with these offerings, many properties find that the benefits of supporting local economies and providing high-quality, wellness-focused services outweigh the cost. One RLC Member shared, “A big thing our hotels adapted to is working with local markets and locally grown produce and meats, instead of you know, the big conglomerate, because we want to have that quality. If we’re going to charge a premium, we need to be able to speak for it and say, we get our stuff from local community, this is organic, etc.”
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Questions for Your Team:
- Do you consider Wellness and Wellbeing offerings as a luxury standard?
- How has Wellness Hospitality impacted the questions that clients are asking?
- Has it impacted how you sell your property?