Value Proposition for Marketing and Sales of Wellness in The Lodging Industry | By Po-Ju Chen – Hospitality Net

Since 2020, consumers around the world have been engaged in the battle against COVID-19. The pandemic has arguably caused significant damage to the particular hospitality industry as consumers sheltered at home – hoping to wait out the threat to their health and safety.

The particular retreat from the social and recreational activities has taken a toll on hotel guests eager to regain what was once used for granted.

Wellness Economy

In 2020, the wellness economy accounted for over $4. 4 trillion dollars of the global wellbeing economy. The wellness economy includes eleven sectors:

1. Personal Care & Beauty ($955 billion)
2. Healthy Eating, Nutrition, & Weight Loss ($946 billion)
3. Physical Activity ($738 billion)
4. Wellness Tourism ($436 billion)
5. Traditional & Complementary Medicine ($413 billion)
6. Public Health, Prevention, & Personalized Medicine ($375 billion)
7. Wellness Real Estate ($275 billion)
8. Mental Wellbeing ($131 billion)
9. Spas ($68 billion)
10. Workplace Wellness ($49 billion)
11. Thermal/Mineral Springs ($39 billion)

The health and fitness economy represented 5. 1% of global economic output in 2020 and is projected to achieve 9. 9% average annual growth, with the well being economy expected to reach nearly $7. 0 trillion in 2025 (Global Health and fitness Economy, 2020).

The hospitality and tourism sector of the global health economy accounts for $639 billion of spending globally. Hospitality and travel and leisure wellness programs contribute greatly to the particular wellness economic climate and worldwide tourism. Well being minded travelers have significant discretionary income and are willing to pay a premium for perceived physical plus mental benefits. Wellness tourists in the US spend nearly 180% more than non-wellness travelers (Global Wellness Economic climate (2020).

Despite the willingness of health and wellness minded consumer and tourists to invest on their health, or perhaps because of their own health-centric focus, the wellness economy has been not immune from the financial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019 the particular global wellbeing economy had been valued $4. 9 trillion. Following the arrival associated with the COVID-19 pandemic within 2020, the global wellness economy declined by just over 10% to $4. 4 trillion.

Marketing Health Programs to Enhance Branding, Guest Well-Being and Experiences

Hotels and spas were arguably among those businesses most severely impacted by the particular COVID-19 pandemic, and had to adapt to the new financial landscape. Since 2021, hotels plus spas have implemented measures that positively impact well-being and demonstrate a deep commitment to the health of guests and employees alike.

As the world adapts towards the COVID-19 pandemic plus tourism rebounds, hotel health and fitness programs and spas are now deemed a growing post-COVID lodging industry niche (De Vilmorin, 2022). As such, vigorously built “Health and Wellness” programs can be an effective differentiation strategy which allow hoteliers to distinguish themselves through competitors. This can directly or indirectly result in improvement associated with key performance measures (i. e., yield, stay duration, cross sell and retention rate). Resorts which develop programs with a full commitment to wellness appeal to a broader range of guests while enhancing their particular brand.

Within addition in order to benefiting from the particular overall return of guests as outbreak concerns subside, wellness- oriented hotels are now seeing premium pricing opportunities. At the peak associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, many hotels were offering deep discounts to remain in business. Now numerous examples of hotels offering well being packages ranging in price from $200 to over $9, 000 can be found. Several high-end hotels now offer all-inclusive packages ranging from $3, 700 to $9, 100 per week which include fitness, nutrition, medical, plus behavioral wellness components along with luxury 5-Star accommodations. These examples illustrate how hotels possess adapted and developed applications to generate revenue, increase occupancy rates and, the majority of importantly, make hotel visitors feel safer.

In the particular US, luxurious spa resorts with health programs are on the rise (De Souza, 2020). Many hotels right now offer newly created health and wellness packages along with prices tailored to guest needs. One 5-star high-class hotel markets a Luxury Wellness package featuring an extensive selection of massage plus restorative therapies, water therapy and outdoor treatment terraces for $4, 545. 00. It’s today common with regard to Boutique hotels to advertise new/revamped wellness facilities and wellness programs which include detox wraps, salt stone massages, Thai deep massages, yoga plus organic facials in the $300. 00 price range. Typical services and products included by US hotels are usually:

• Massage and restorative therapies: Promoted to enhance energy through massage plus meditation-based techniques. Meditation classes are also promoted for those wishing in order to learn basic breathing and visualization methods.
• Water treatment: Typically consisting of saunas, steam-rooms plus plunge pools.
• Curated experiences: Advertised as focusing on health, wellbeing and personal discovery.
• Spiritual wellbeing: Described as a process to seek meaning and purpose in life – often through prayer, meditation, yoga, as well as the careful assessment of morals, values, plus beliefs.
• Lifestyle reset: Intended to help with setting goals to achieve healthy living.
• Nutrition guidance: Tips for preparing and eating healthy foods and natural alternatives to commercial sleep medications.
• Club activities: Fitness centers, resort pools, spa treatments plus beach services.
• Outdoor actions: Guided hiking and biking; high-end hotels/resorts may include a good “adventure concierge” as well as a wide selection of fitness classes.
• Spa packages: Traditional health spa services, because well since Couples Getaway, Girlfriends Vacation, and specialized Restore and Restart sessions.
• Hotel signature wellness applications: Designed to promote location specific features such as ocean front mediation, sea sodium scrub plus honey body wrap, and local practices and traditions.

Health and wellness packages are also now attracting tourists in other parts associated with the world as well. According to the Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne (EHL) Insights , guests can enjoy the following:

• Diet detox: A common request regarding clients wishing to lose weight, diets based on advice through specialists are suggested to meet guest expectations and objectives. In addition, many resorts offer particular cuisine menus linked individual diets plus programs.
• Stress and emotional management: Hotels promote stays as an ideal opportunity to take a break and learn the most innovative relaxation, meditation and stress management strategies which are usually often described as scientifically validated.
• Integrative and personalized fitness: Tailor-made health and fitness programs designed with specific exercises supervised by a team of fitness experts to help customers meet their physical fitness goals.
• Sleep and recovery: Sleep has been shown to be an essential key to good health plus well-being. Some hotels market their properties as providing the ideal surroundings to achieve the particular daily health recovery, vitality and well-being benefits they can expect as visitors.
• Post-COVID anxiety recovery: Marketed by some hotels as a means to overcome the mental and physical effects associated with pandemic life, “body detox” are promoted with claims they stimulate the defense system, reduce stress, improve oxygenation, and increase endurance.

Even before COVID-19, hoteliers sought to improve their accommodations products plus services to increase occupancy prices and gain market share – frequently by adding technologies to improve visitor satisfaction by providing faster service, lower costs, and/or by offering new/improved products/experiences. Health focused wellness programs and health spas were among the innovations that arose from this market competition.

However, because COVID-19 had an ever-increasing impact on occupancy rates, the significance of health and fitness programs shifted from “amenities” to “necessary” safety and health solutions. Marketing and sales teams, recognizing these applications affected more than just “niche” customers, adapted simply by promoting these services since health and safety programs. These applications ultimately transformed from marketing challenges in order to marketing advantages for all those hotels able to recognize the opportunity and adjust quickly to gain the competitive advantage.

Worth Proposition for The Marketing and Sales associated with Hotel Wellness Programs

To be effective, hotel product sales and advertising teams must promote well being programs to the correct target audience. However , within order in order to communicate to the target audience, hotel sales and marketing and advertising professionals must be aware of guest needs and the hotel’s ability to meet individuals needs. Matching team awareness with evolving market demands and a hotel’s ability to fulfill those needs can deliver a competitive advantage when executed properly. Conversely, the mismatch can result in wasted investment in outdated equipment or services, lost revenue due to customers choosing the competitors, or worse – damaged brand name due to recognized obsolesce or even disregard intended for customer satisfaction or safety.

Identifying the needs plus wants of wellness travelers (the target markets) must always be considered not only during the initialize health and wellness program design phase, but must be considered during the maintenance stage as nicely. Value proposition can be a critical tool in order to accomplish these types of objectives.

A value proposition is a simple statement that summarizes why the wellness traveler or resort customer would choose a hotel, wellness system, or service. It clearly communicates the particular benefit health travelers receive by giving a hotel or hot tub their company. Every value proposition should recognize the wellness traveler’s challenges plus make the case for the hotel’s products or wellness programs as the solution. A great worth proposition ought to not only highlight what distinguishes a hotel from its competitors, but should furthermore focus on exactly how the wellness traveler perceives the value of the particular hotel’s health and wellness programs and products.

The particular Five Phases of Hotel Wellness Program Value Proposition Development

The following is a comprehensive description of the five phases that comprise the worth proposition development procedure established by Payne and colleagues (2022). These steps can be used by hotel marketing plus sales professionals to design the value task for their hotel’s health and wellness program(s):

Phase 1: Value Design and Assessment

• Assess available resources, customer and competitor research of wellness hotel business models.
• Identify/review key marketplace segments to get existing wellbeing hotels plus programs.
• Decision on granularity of resort wellness value proposition and segment concentrate.
• Determine worth proposition emphasis: benefits, favorable differences, or even resonating focus for health and fitness hotels.
• Style proposition with customer involvement in conjunction with review of competing value propositions, including evaluation of relevant health plus wellness value dimension mix, e. g., functional worth, economic value, emotional worth, and interpersonal value.
• Test and assess initial value proposition with selected customers.
• Following feedback from Phase 5, refine/redesign value propositions as necessary.

Phase 2: Value Quantification

• Quantify value task.
• Quantify competitor value proposition and compare with hotel well being value task.
• Assess qualitative as properly as quantitative health and wellness advantages.
• Select methods to communicate worth quantification, e. g., health value calculators, value studies, simulations, templates, wellness plan Return upon Investment (ROI) studies.
• Customize value quantification methodologies to key clients, e. gary the gadget guy., use customer cost allocation system, where appropriate.

Phase 3: Value Communication

• Ensure appropriate communication with health and wellness travelers, local customers and other key external actors throughout all stages.
• Integrate marketing communication using the following:
• Wellbeing programs/package sales force messages.
• Tailored hotel customer-specific Value Propositions and messaging.
• Advertising, promotion & media messaging.
• Communicate proposals/promises internally within the wellness hotel.
• Review aggressive value-based advertising and product sales messaging related to health and fitness programs.

Phase four: Value Documentation

• Document internal wellness programs/package capabilities and tools.
• Define steps to track profit, cost savings or other value features derived from wellness programs/package.
• Use associated with formal themes for client agreement plus sign off respect in order to quantified wellbeing benefits delivered.
• Implement a review cycle at appropriate intervals (e. g., quarterly, annually) to ensure value documentation is current.

Phase 5: Value Verification Review

• Evaluate customer health and fitness program/package experience/perception.
• Authenticate well being program/package worth using independent external parties such because testing authorities, standard-setting organizations, and associated organizations.
• Institute customer feedback mechanisms for value verification.
• Incorporate Lessons Learned (i. electronic., use consumer feedback to fine-tune accomplishments and resolve problems).

Conclusion

Following the retreat of consumers from the particular hospitality and tourism economic climate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, customers – weary from protracted periods of isolation – are ready to unleash pent-up demand and go on the offensive. Ironically, a large part of the offensive can be described with all the word retreat — only this time the word is defined in a hospitality context, not in military terms.

The retreat, within the hospitality context, is the place that will provides comfort and relaxation. It is a place where resort guests can revitalize and enjoy a variety of routines and encounters. Hotels, resorts, spas, restaurants and other hospitality plus tourism businesses that provide the particular most value are many likely to experience the fastest post-COVID era recoveries. Those lodging business combatants that can develop an effective wellness program strategy and mobilize it quickly can expect to turn COVID-19 pandemic era retreat into recuperation.

References:

• De Souza, C. (2020). 13 Luxury Spa Hotels along with Wellness Applications in the U. S. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
• Sobre Vilmorin, L. (2022). Health and fitness Spa: a growing food niche in a post-COVID scenery , EHL Insights.
• Payne, A., Frow, P., Steinhoff, L., & Eggert, A. (2020). Toward an extensive framework associated with value proposition development: From strategy to implementation. Industrial Marketing Management, 87, 244-255.
• The Global Well being Institute (2021). The Global Wellness Economy: Looking Beyond COVID . Accessed on April nine, 2022.

Reprinted through the Resort Business Evaluation with permission from http://www.hotelexecutive.com/

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