Gyms have gone from being considered just another service for many hotels to being a differentiating and decisive element when choosing between one accommodation or another. Its ability to create value for the client, as well as its potential to build guest loyalty, make it an asset to be taken into account when designing the different spaces of a hotel.
As more consumers look to integrate wellness into their lifestyle, new opportunities are opening up for hotels to incorporate wellness offerings into their portfolio of experiences. This strategy not only helps them stand out from the competition, but also provides added value that puts them in a position to capture greater guest spending.
Below, we share 5 considerations that you should take into account when designing your hotel’s fitness and wellness offering:
1) FLEXIBILITY, so that your guests can train when and how they want: in the hotel’s fitness room, in an outdoor area watching the sunset or from their own room.
To do this, it is important to have equipment that can be easily moved thanks to its light weight or transport wheels so that it can be relocated quickly and effortlessly, such as rowing machines, exercise bikes and exercise benches.
If you decide to bring your wellness offering into the bedroom, we recommend adding some accessories, such as a gym ball, resistance bands or dumbbells. They provide varied training options, don’t take up much space and can be easily stored in a closet.
2) VARIETY, to offer the diversity in fitness equipment that your guests need to continue with their training routines during their stay.
According to a 2020 Life Fitness study at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the number one reason guests don’t use hotel fitness facilities is a lack of equipment variety (47%).
When choosing fitness equipment, you need to keep in mind that your guests have different fitness levels, ages and tastes. For this reason, it is essential to adapt your fitness offering and ensure that the different training areas have the necessary equipment so that everyone can train comfortably and enjoy a good training experience in your hotel.
3) PERSONALIZATION, so your guests can achieve their fitness goals at their own pace.
Users expect training to be tailored to their fitness level so they can move toward their goals without losing motivation along the way. In fact, 78% of travelers are willing to pay for personal training spaces at the hotels where they stay (source: Life Fitness and Qualtrics).
In order to offer proper advice, you need to have a team of professional fitness trainers who are trained to prescribe exercises, set goals and objectives, and motivate on an individual basis. This way, you can help your guests achieve the best results in the shortest possible time and in the safest and most effective way, as well as generating a secondary source of income.
4) ENTERTAINMENT, to keep your guests motivated through unique and interactive training experiences.
A happy customer is 14% more likely to book the same hotel in the future (Accor: It’s a wellness world). And not only that, according to this same study carried out by Accor, 38% of customers who declared themselves satisfied with their training experience were more likely to rate their hotel with the highest score.
And how do we ensure that guests are happy and satisfied? There are many factors that determine a guest’s experience, but there is no doubt that one of them is the training experience. Exercising is important for improving our health, but it is also a unique alternative to have fun and disconnect from the responsibilities of everyday life.
Make sure you incorporate fun workout programs into your offerings and have entertainment options on your equipment – Check out Life Fitness on Demand, our wide variety of online cardio classes, designed for different categories and difficulty levels.
5) SPACE DESIGN, to create a space where your guests will truly enjoy training.
Creating a fitness room is not just about placing fitness machines around the room. There are many other factors to consider, such as lighting, music, flooring, décor, etc. These elements can help you define different areas, creating different workout atmospheres and helping guests successfully complete their workout routine.
Additionally, to create a functional space you need to consider the workout flow within the room, i.e. how people will move around the gym. This way, you will be able to create a good transition between the different areas of the gym so that your guests enjoy the best workout experience.
Would you like to receive more information?
At Life Fitness we are committed to providing you with the best fitness and wellness solutions for your hotel. Whether you need to upgrade your fitness equipment, remodel your gym area or receive personalized advice to improve your wellness offering, Life Fitness is here to help you increase guest satisfaction. Let’s talk!