Blog. 18 March 2021

The Wellness Shape of things to come

The Wellness Shape

THE ‘WELLNESS’ SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

By Jennifer Gorman.

 

In the space of just one year, Covid-19 has brought an unignorable, super-accelerator to our development needs. Our overwhelming hospitality aim must be to thrive and survive by way of flexible, resilient adaptation.

 

With our futures firmly rooted in the experience and lessons of the last 12 months, it is without doubt that wellness will take centre stage in the creation of the robust, sustainable ongoing model. Instead of a forefront of rest and relaxation, a greater focus must be on an array of wellbeing options that support the mental and physical revival of our guests, and teams.

 

Those same guests have already found, and continue to find new ways to live, work, socialise and consume. We’ve reached a pivotal moment in the change and transformation required to enable a strength of return with longevity. It is this that drives our focus for new and existing all-round development, and reflective design going forward.

 

We know hospitality isn’t just about beautiful locations and venues, food, spa treatments, luxury environments and fabulous service. It’s so much more; it’s a place to reconnect and explore on a far deeper level, participating in activities, treatments, programmes and education. It’s about supporting physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and social grounding. And during a period where so many are suffering a level of PTSD, most importantly, it is healing, prevention and recovery that will play a vital role in our futures.

 

As wellness experts and specialists in spa & hospitality development, we collectively understand the need for consistent year-on-year evolution. It’s nothing new to a proactive business who, by being true to their core beliefs, confident in their regularly reviewed specialist offering, keeping up with relevant ‘trends’ and consumer requirements achieved strong, infallible businesses, or so we thought.

 

But if the last 12 months have taught us anything, it’s that little is infallible! We started this journey in shock, we transitioned to contemplation, then to resilience, adaptation and now resurgence. Thankfully, with the global vaccine rollout together with ongoing safety measures, we have a goal in sight for the careful, steady return to business. Our strategy now needs to be one of longevity, creating the strongest possible business opportunities in a landscape of ongoing change.

 

While wishing to focus firmly on the future, our starting point must be to look back, to analyse, and unlock the key to forging ahead. Our experience feeds our knowledge; knowledge leads understanding of the requirement, it fuels realistic creativity, sets our goals, allows for informed decision-making and strategic future planning. It’s no longer a discussion to ‘wait for things to return to normal’. Without effective model evolvement, businesses take an enormous risk of being left behind. And to ignore the heightened needs and wants of our existing and new consumers is naïve at absolute best.

 

Wellness has always been at the heart of our work, and now, more than ever, we’ve taken a giant leap in how this transcends into our design and development, of both pre and post-opening spa, wellness and hotel advancement, bringing positive and exciting opportunity to all areas.

 

Our consumers are more educated and aware than ever before. They’ve shifted priorities and seek trusted establishments to support their safety and overarching health and wellbeing, with education, healing programmes,  wellness modalities, offering and menus to suit.

 

Does that mean turning existing business on its head and starting again? No, but at the very least, it requires existing business to review the previous offering. Then re-purposing, adding and/or omitting if and where required, by way of short, medium and long-term planning to strategically support the proposition. New projects can fully embrace developed wellness modelling from the outset, introducing the solid and flexible framework that supports long-term optimisation and outcomes.

 

So, what does all this mean? How does it change what we were doing? How can we better secure our future?

 

 

We start with our new solution-led wellness model, focused on the answers from all the challenges faced over the last year. A set of assessment parameters identify the individualised wellness model for each project, aligning with overall business aims and ethos together with other crucial markers and considerations.

 

Depending on the appropriate level of wellness introduction, some of these considerations are, e.g.

  1. Medical, diagnostics, etc. versus a lighter wellness offering.
  2. Specialist equipment and technology – how to further enhance both the spa and hotel wellness experience and opportunity. Differently considered MEP, materials, non-toxicity, sustainability, etc. are all major considerations.
  3. We identify the F&B opportunity and greater wellness and programmed options around e.g., gut health, immunity and balanced nutrition.
  4. Potential repurposing of existing spa areas to maximise opportunity. And in a new design, space allocation, zoning, use of existing and new specialist equipment are all considered differently.
  5. Streamlining spa treatment menus with integrative, wellness-specific touch and touchless therapies that focus on e.g., mental and physical recovery, immunity, general health and wellbeing.
  6. Remote and virtual offering versus in-house offering and opportunity.
  7. Optimisation of outside space, harnessing the healing power and wonder of nature, its sounds, sight, textures, scents; to heal and rebalance, and offer places of discovery, privacy and rest.
  8. Programmes that include e.g., education, arts, movement, music, etc., progressive-achievement options and memberships.
  9. Accommodation type, design and inclusions identify new opportunities to maximise consumer confidence and options, considering self-contained and in-house for staycations and foreign travellers.
  10. Creative retail modelling and offering to reach new heights and wider audiences.
  11. Enhanced specialist care-giver training.

 

As passionate industry specialists, we need to provide guests with super-charged wellness toolkits, supporting them to flourish mentally and physically in an everchanging, challenging landscape; one where we stick strongly to our beliefs and expertise, do what we do best and in turn, lead the cause to a better future for all, with wellness sitting firmly at its core. And in return, our guests will sit loyally at ours.

 

About the Author:

Jennifer Gorman is an industry veteran with 34 years expertise at the height of the international first-class hospitality industry; as a hotelier, resort general manager and spa and wellness operator and developer.

In 2000, Jennifer founded JG Associates Consultancy (JGA) to fully identify and maximise the spa and wellness proposition and overarching hotel/resort opportunity and outcomes for her global portfolio.

21 years on, JGA’s name and reputation stands proudly amongst the best in the industry, with a strong collection of renowned, successful hotels, resorts, spas and clients.

With the focus now firmly on post-COVID-19 recovery, JGA steers and guides investors, owners, managers and teams through the creative journey of wellness modelling to delivery, leading optimised outcomes and futures.

 

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