'The ultimate goal of wellness is always the well-being of your guests'

International bestseller highlights wellness opportunities for the hotel industry

When it comes to wellness in the hotel industry, thoughts quickly turn to gyms and spas. "But instead of focusing too much on these available facilities, it is especially important to ask what impact this has on the well-being of your guests," says Sonal Uberoi. On this topic, the wellness expert, who grew up in Kenya, wrote the international bestseller 'The Wellness Asset'.

Once having a promising career in finance, she was always fascinated by the topic of wellness in the hospitality industry. Over 20 years ago, Sonal Uberoi, who grew up in Kenya, decided to move to Madrid to devote herself entirely to this subject. Her book 'The Wellness Asset', published in 2021, stormed the bestseller lists at lightning speed, even making it to the shortlist of the global Business Book Award. 

De-stressing

In this book, she describes the link between wellness and 'wellbeing', or well-being. "No matter what wellness facilities a hotel has, the ultimate goal is always to enhance the overall wellbeing of hotel guests," she stresses. "In doing so, it is essential for every hotel to find out what kind of wellness they want to achieve for their guests. After all, wellness has many faces and does not necessarily mean a visit to the gym or a massage treatment. Anything that promotes well-being and has a de-stressing effect can be wellness. For example, even the enjoyment of a good glass of wine in pleasant company can already offer that experience."

Quick wins

Large-scale wellness investments such as a spa and gym usually have a payback period of years, Sonal knows. But she says there are also plenty of smaller, simple measures possible to boost wellness levels. "This can be done, for example, with in-room accessories, such as an elastic exercise band and an exercise bike. Other possible quick wins include partnering with providers of fitness or mindfulness apps for your guests. Or consider partnering with fellow hotels that have extra extensive spa facilities that your guests can also use. All quick wins that need hardly cost your hotel anything, but can significantly increase your guests' wellbeing." 

Biohacking app

Asked about trends and innovations in wellness, Sonal expects the offering of all kinds of health apps to hotel guests to grow in importance. "Think, for instance, of biohacking apps - which measure all kinds of bodily functions, such as sleep patterns and blood pressure - and longevity apps, which aim at living longer and better. The latter, by the way, is not only interesting for the ever-growing group of elderly people in our society. No, more and more young people are also pursuing a conscious and healthy lifestyle. As hotel guests generally attach increasing value to this kind of thing, it may also make sense for hotels to enter into partnerships with health clinics that guide hotel guests in this."

Value iceberg

However, Sonal cautions hotels not to get too caught up in these kinds of trends. "Don't just look at individual wellness elements, but mainly at how you can promote your guests' wellbeing; including by offering outstanding hospitality. In my book, I call this the 'value iceberg': at the top of the iceberg you can see the various tangible wellness tools; in practice, hoteliers pay most attention to these. But beneath the water's surface is what really matters: the ultimate well-being of your guests. When it comes to the impact hotels can have on this well-being, there is still a lot to be gained!"