I think wellness and well-being is a little over used these days when it comes to promoting spa services. I get very excited when I see new articles online promoting the latest wellness programs, then disappointment hits me immediately when I read:
Massage
Detox juice
Yoga
Meditation
This is wellness - a classic form but that doesn’t suit everyone. I have been harping on for some time now to Spa Managers and Directors to create a wellness program that is more than just what everyone else is offering. Have you asked your guests ‘what wellness actually means to them?’
I loved an article I read recently by Trent Munday where he was asked what wellness meant to him and he said ‘sitting under a palm tree, looking at the sea, drinking a glass of red wine’, I loved that – honesty! Everyone’s idea of wellness is different.
For me it’s when I’m hiking up the mountains in my home town Killarney in Ireland – Reason: I am able to switch off, look at the beautiful views and each step I take is like a meditation.
Another example is when I am snorkelling in the Maldives – Reason: Firstly the snorkel makes me regulate my breathing, I have to breathe slower and align my body in the water, second when I watch the beautiful marine life it just warms my heart and makes me feel so at ease and happy.
Wellness is different for everyone and it’s about time spas woke up to this and catered for everyone not just the hard core meditating/yogi community.
A recent experience I had was at a weekend personal development workshop I attended. We did about an hour of meditation, which was amazing as no one has ever showed me how to mediate properly without falling asleep, I felt fantastic after. But when one of the students asked how often we should me meditating, I felt a surge of anxiety come over me when the tutor said ‘every day if you can’.
Every day?! I was planning once a year maybe!! This to me sounded like torture. Then we discussed further and I said that I feel more at peace when I am in the ocean or walking a mountain, to which my tutor explained – this is a form of meditation too if that works for you. Immediately my blood pressure lowered!
So you must understand that we don’t need to follow the masses and create generic wellness programs. We need to ask our clients what wellness means to them and how we, as therapists can improve their well-being.
The wellness trend is exploding at a ferocious rate, but if you just follow everyone else you will get lost in the hype. Remember you need to have a USP – Unique Selling Point, why should I use your business instead of your competitor? What benefits will I get with you that your competitor can’t give me.
We are loving our journey of helping our consulting clients create amazing and WOW wellness journeys and even villages! Watch this space because there is a new wellness explosion about to happen.
For more details on our services check out https://www.innovationmanagementltd.com/
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