Fitness and wellness have become an increasingly integral part of hotels. The health-oriented demand segment is growing globally and research has shown that this segment is loyal to their lifestyle. Guests who exercise on a frequent basis also like to exercise while traveling on business or holiday. For hotels to remain relevant and competitive, there is a need to offer decent fitness facilities and wellness services.
To assess the state of the industry and to outline best practises going forward, Strategic Hotel Consulting spoke to Mark Arnall, who is an expert in the field. Arnall is a personal trainer working in Formula 1. Over the past 18 years he has travelled the world with the F1 circus, staying 200 nights annually in hotels – all the while trying to maintain himself and his driver in top shape. Arnall is currently with the Ferrari team working with Kimi Räikkönen and prior to that worked at McLaren with Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard.
Strategic Hotel Consulting: How would you describe the current fitness offering in hotels globally?
Mark Arnall: Across the board I would say average, but there are of course exceptions to this with some hotels offering fantastic facilities and services. Considering the general trend toward health and wellbeing, the hotel industry has been somewhat slow to adapt. Thankfully this seems to be changing.
SHC: Are there differences between regions?
MA: Asia is doing a great job and there are some really impressive hotel fitness facilities such as the Kerry Hotel (Shangri-La) in Shanghai, which rivals stand-alone gyms. There are also some very good facilities in many hotels in America and the Middle East. Some serious money is spent there on hotel gyms, but it would just be nice to see more thought put into what is set up. In my experience hotels in Europe tend to offer the least in terms of specific fitness facilities. It is amazing that a hotel can still offer a fitness room that consists of an old bike, rusty multi gym and some cobwebs. Understandably, many hotels in Europe are older buildings and it takes more creativity to develop a good gym.
SHC: What is required of a good hotel gym?
MA: Not a huge space filled with machines, which seems to be a common misconception in the hotel industry. A good gym is more about functionality, variety, flexibility and durability. It is great when you see well-designed hotel gyms with functional equipment. There are a lot of business and leisure travellers that train regularly and know how to train. They do not need enormous facilities; most would be happy with a small, functional gym. As an example, the Address Montgomerie in Dubai makes good use of a smaller space. Exercise equipment such as a suspension trainer, functional training sets, kettle bells and stability/medicine balls do not require much space or initial capital layout, yet they can provide a great full body work-out.
SHC: How important is fitness offering in resorts?
MA: There will always be people who will want to go to a resort and collapse on a beach for a week and do nothing. There are also increasingly many people to whom training is a lifestyle and they would not stay in a resort if there were no decent training facilities available. Hotels should be mindful of this. Some hotels such as the Thanyapura Resort in Phuket have taken the game to a new level as they are built entirely to appeal to this segment. Generally, I would say that in a resort setting there should be a comprehensive fitness offering built around the hotel’s location, which can also include many outdoor options.
SHC: Is a fitness facility a must in a hotel?
MA: I would say that these days it is, but if there really is no possibility for a gym, a hotel can still take a positive approach to health and fitness. For a minimal investment, hotels can provide an in-room workout kit, which can include a suspension training system, stability balls, medicine balls etc. This kit combined with simple body weight exercises can provide a full body workout in the room, which can be enhanced with specific DVD programs outlining various options such as a 25-minute high intensity session, a comprehensive 45-minute workout or focus on travel related recovery. Hotels can also provide a special kit and program, for example, for yoga/pilates lovers. The options are endless and hotels should try to keep things fun and interesting to motivate travellers. This can go a long way to satisfy the fitness-oriented guest.
SHC: Other than the gym, what other fitness offering can hotels provide?
MA: Depending on the location of the hotel, I would suggest pre-planned running routes taking in the most scenic/interesting areas with several options such as 2.5km, 5km and 10km. If the hotel wants to go further, it could offer heart rate monitors with the routes built into the watch GPS systems. There could be mention of special places to train outdoors, for example, fitness parks along the route. The pre-set routes can also be done with bikes. As an example, the Crown Towers Hotel in Melbourne, which has a great in-house fitness facility, still promotes the external biking and running routes to the guests.
SHC: If a hotel really does not have a space for a gym, what are their options?
MA: For smaller hotels, perhaps urban boutique or historic properties, it might make more sense to partner with an existing local gym. It is sad to see shoebox gyms that are neglected with housekeeping and maintenance just for the hotel to say they have a gym. There are plenty of these in Europe and, in these cases, I would rather see no gym than a bad gym.
SHC: Is it a good idea for hotels to partner with external fitness related facilities?
MA: Absolutely. Hotels could make much better use of their neighborhoods and partner with relevant external suppliers. Travellers want to experience the destination and working with outstanding sports suppliers can help provide these unique experiences. Is there a great pool or climbing wall nearby? Or, is there a boxing studio, bikram yoga, Flywheel Stadium Cycling or CrossFit facility? It makes a lot of sense to create partnerships – this can be a real win-win situation for everyone. Mention of these nearby sporting options on hotel websites can also help with bookings as it creates the comfort that sport options are available if one so desires. A good example of this is the Hotel Zetta (Viceroy) in San Francisco, which outlines its partnerships with Barry’s Bootcamp, SoulCycle and others on their website.
Contributed by Tea Ros, Strategic Hotel Consulting, Lake Zurich, Switzerland