Hotels help patrons with resolutions via spa and wellness packages

Spa at Mandarin Oriental Boston promotional image

Hotels are ringing in the new year with offers targeted at health and fitness resolutions and building repeat consumers.

The desire to be healthier is particularly prominent when the calendar turns and people see a symbolic chance to start anew, and a number of hotels are capitalizing on the trend with spa and wellness offerings. Regardless of whether or not consumers keep their resolutions, getting them in the spa for the first time could lead to repeat business.

“With a new year comes a new beginning, so it makes sense for hotels to actively promote wellness vacations,” said Tiffany Dowd, founder of Luxe Tiffany. “Just as hotels promote seasonal packages around the holidays from Valentine’s Day to Christmas, renewal and wellness packages are popular at this time of year.”

A good start
Peninsula Hotels, Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons are among the hotels promoting their spas and planning new wellness initiatives. Among them, Four Seasons is the most explicit about the ties to New Year’s Resolutions, and some of its promotions are particularly apt for the occasion.

For example, Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village in Los Angeles has a spa and fitness membership. With it, guests get access to the 40,000-square-foot fitness center, group fitness classes, a 50-minutes massage per month, 20 percent off food and beverage and spa treatments, poolside cabana rentals, fitness testing and more.

Four Seasons Westlake Village wellness package promotional image

The membership costs $300 per month. The repeated billing will serve as an incentive for the member to return and maintain the fitness resolution.

“Since we offer so many resort style amenities, it is a nice daycation (if you will) for residents of LA who want to experience all the hotel has to offer without spending the night,” said Morgan Suzuki, director of public relations at Four Seasons Hotel, Westlake Village. “We aim to go above and beyond for our members offering them exclusive invitations to events at the hotel, constantly changing and updating our fitness offerings based on their needs and goals and creating the most personal experience possible.

“Similar to a country club, we try to create a sense of community with our members so they feel Four Seasons is their second vacation home.”

“Sunday Family Funday,” available each Sunday in January, will get families started on the right foot for just $20 per adult and $10 per child. Each Sunday will showcase a different partner and include an interactive activity for children that will teach them a lesson about fitness and healthy eating. Coming out of the gate strong often gives a person momentum that helps fulfill a resolution.

“Wellness has a been a huge part of our mission since the day we opened the hotel,” Ms. Suzuki said. “The hotel opened inclusive of an on-site Wellness Center; therefore, this new membership is an extension of our on-going commitment to allow our guests access to the finest wellness programming and facilities in the country.

“Four Seasons believes in the Golden Rule, and for us this is reflected in extending health-minded opportunities to our guests so they can feel good day to day and live their lives without the obstacles health problems can bring,” she said.

The Peninsula Spa New York is taking a different approach, focusing less on fulfilling New Year’s Resolutions than simply offering good health. The property is introducing an alternative, technological way of maintaining skin health, hoping that innovation will bring people through the door.

The “Second Skin Facial” relies on electrospinning technology, which uses electric force to spin a fiber patch composed mostly of hyaluronic acid, a naturally-occurring carbohydrate that keeps skin hydrated and healthy and promotes cell mitosis and migration. The patch is customized to fit the face and applied to target areas.

Peninsula New York relaxation room

The hour-long Second Skin Facial is priced at $310 or $325 if booked for a weekday. Those who book in January will also receive a complimentary Essential Manicure, encouraging early and repeat business. Focusing on a new treatment will likely draw in curious consumers. Those who are impressed may return several more times throughout the year.

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Boston, meanwhile, is holding a two-day “Renewing Lifestyle” retreat, valid until Feb. 7. Priced at $995 per night, the retreat includes a healthy lunch, a choice between two private yoga or Pilates sessions, a body wrap and massage, a facial, an anti-aging infusion and two nights in a Lifestyle guestroom.

Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Boston

“There is no better time for a hotel to promote spa retreats than the new year when people are looking to change for the better,” Luxe Tiffany’s Ms. Dowd said. “Hotels can cater to this demand by offering innovative spa treatments or even celebrity fitness getaways.”

Dedicating two days to fitness might put consumers in a health-conscious mindset, but the guestroom accommodations could also give them an experience that could payoff next time the patron is traveling.

Relax and rejuvenate
Beginning a new year with spa and wellness treatments is becoming more common for hoteliers.

At the same time last year, luxury hotels invited guests to rejuvenate from the stress of the holidays with packages that are designed to relax and revive individuals from the stress of the past few weeks.

Four Seasons, Trump Hotels, Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula Hotels were among the luxury brands offering guests the opportunity to de-stress from the holiday season. Presenting guests with the chance to reflect on the past year and start fresh for 2015 created an experience that likely allowed guests to connect with the hotel in a different manner than ever before (see story).

Still, the focus on health and fitness marks a contrast to what some of the same brands were offering only a few years ago.

Most notably, just three years ago in 2013, Four Seasons Chicago’s bar and restaurant Allium sought to distract guests from their New Year’s resolutions through all-you-can-eat dinner specials.

Beginning Jan. 1, Allium offered three-course dinners with extra entrée helpings and special beverage pairings. There was a different special each day Monday-Friday during the first month of the year to encourage repeat business (see story).

“For hotels to be successful and appease their discerning guests, they must continue to provide unique experiences people cannot find at home,” Ms. Dowd said. “The time to disconnect and renew oneself has become one of life’s biggest luxuries.”

Final Take
Forrest Cardamenis, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York

from Luxury Daily » Travel and hospitality http://www.luxurydaily.com/hotels-help-patrons-with-resolutions-via-spa-and-wellness-packages/
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