(This is an excerpt detailing the third edition of HOTELS blogger Peter Joehnk’s Speakeasy Salon: this one focused on the question, “What is wellness?”)
The third edition of our Speakeasy Salons took place in March, and once again a group of influential hospitality leaders gathered at our 1920s villa in Hamburg to exchange opinions and views on a topical industry issue.
Rolf Westermann, editor-in-chief of industry magazine Allgemeine Hotel-und-Gastronomie-Zeitung (AHGZ), Claudia Johannsen, division manager of the foodservice and hospitality trade show Internoga and I hosted a number of experts to consider where the wellness trend is heading next.
They were: Dietmar Müller-Elmau, managing director of Schloss Elmau/Orania Berlin-Kreuzberg, Alexander Aisenbrey, managing director at Der Öschberghof, Donaueschingen, Corinna Mühlhausen, trend researcher, Dr. Markus Doleschal, global tenant relationship manager hotel at Deka-Immobilien and Michael Altewischer, managing director, Wellness-Hotels & Resorts.
The topic for this Speakeasy Salon, “Where Next for the Wellness Wave?”, was expected to garner many different viewpoints. What was clear from the outset was that wellness is an important, integral part of modern society. With today’s world becoming increasingly fast-moving, urbanized and digital, the need for peacefulness, biophilic connection and digital detoxing is increasing in equal measure. How can these developments be brought together? Can the need for wellness really be satisfied by staying at a high-end wellness hotel that invests vast amounts of money keeping up to date with the latest trend? Is the word “wellness” really just another word for “relaxation”? What part play outdoor activity, people’s own healthiness, nutrition or sports? These are just some of the questions we were hoping to answer.
Hear the full discussion on Peter Joehnk’s blog, “Design Zeitgeists”