HEALTHY DEMAND

Hotels are working harder to help us stay fit on the road

- Hannah Brandler

We all know that life on the road can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Disrupted sleep, fast food and a fair bit of stress thrown in for good measure can affect everything from job performance to our personal wellbeing.

Meanwhile, wellness has become a buzzword. The wellness economy was valued at US$4.2 trillion in 2017 by the Global Wellness Institute, of which the travel market represents US$639 billion with a predicted growth of 7.5 per cent annually until 2022, making it the fastest-growing sector of global tourism. In response, hotels have launched a range of amenities and services, from in-room kit to ergonomic workstations and nutritional meal plans.

GOOD INTENTIONS

Before booking a hotel, do you check whether it has a fitness centre? According to the GBTA Business Traveller Sentiment Index 2019, 83 per cent of business travellers consider gyms or proximity to jogging paths when choosing a hotel. Travel management company CWT also found that hotel gyms were the most common way for business travellers to adhere to their wellness routines (49 per cent), followed by the use of in-room fitness equipment (27 per cent).

As hotel managers will tell you, however, their fitness centres are empty most of the day, making them an expensive and inefficient use of valuable real estate. To confirm this, a 2017 study by Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration found that hotel fitness amenities offered a low return on investment. And, as you’d guess, we overestimate how often we use the gym. Some 46 per cent of respondents intend to use them, but less than 22 per cent actually do, according to the study.

Emlyn Brown, vice-president of wellbeing for Accor’s luxury and upper-upscale brands, agrees: “Cornell is right. If you create and design a space to be an amenity, put it in a basement and give it little attention, it will produce no ROI [return on investment].”