I can’t help feeling we’re on the cusp of a new era in spa and wellness.
As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic years and Gen Z move into adulthood, it seems that what guests are looking for is shifting.
While the days of indulgent, me-focused treatments will never completely disappear, today’s consumers are increasingly looking for journeys, transformation, healing and connection. Not that massage won’t always have a place in the spa world (though AI-assisted robots may soon be doing some of the work, see page 14), but the cutting-edge spas of today are investing in something more.
From emotional healing (see pages 21 and 104) to immersive spas (see page 17) to a rise in treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (see page 24), spas need to think beyond the treatment room to stand out in today’s marketplace.
Affordable social wellness is also coming to the fore (see page 12). This is fueling the explosion of hot springs developments around the world (see page 92 and 126), and the rise in urban social bathing (see page 83), and means global giants such as Hilton are looking at delivering wellness across all their brands – not just at the luxury end (see page 100). The Global Wellness Institute has also recently released a report that makes a strong case for democratic wellness (see page 146), showing that happiness levels and life expectancy increase when wellness expenditure grows.
Today’s consumers are looking for wellness everywhere – from the music they listen to (see page 81), to the buildings they work in (see page 156). On this note, we’re also increasingly paying attention to how a healthy workplace environment for the wellness workforce creates benefits for the people we treat in our spas.
Wisdom Works’ survey on workplace wellbeing in our industry sheds light on this (see page 134). And as millennials move into parenting, we’re seeing multi-generational wellness finally coming to the forefront, with a rise in programming dedicated to family wellness (see page 20).
This will be part of an even greater shift in years to come, as Gen Alpha grows up in a world in which wellness is everywhere.
What will that mean for you, and how are you planning – not just for tomorrow, but for 2030 and beyond? We hope this collection of insight from around the world will provide inspiration and clarity, because in the end, we’re all a part of this shift and we’ll be moving things forward together.
