SALES & MARKETING
ASK THIS QUESTION :
What are we doing that ’ s working but that could be better if the parent was there ?
“ Celebration is , I think , a really big part of what wellness is . Family and connecting .
I think ( hotels ) need to stop having those 9-to-3 programs where they ’ re basically just warehousing .” and lose weight . I have to go to a resort and have a bunch of treatments . I have to go and I can ’ t drink .’ Celebration is , I think , a really big part of what wellness is . Family and connecting . It doesn ’ t have to be for an hour or a day or a week . H : What should hotels stop doing ? AM : I think they need to stop having those 9-to-3 programs where they ’ re basically just warehousing . Parents are spending a lot of money . ( Kids are ) eating off a ridiculous kids ’ menu with the same greasy food . I think that they need to stop and look at that program . I think some parents still want that all day , but how do they bring wellness into it ? Can they get them out for a more meaningful hike ? Can they get them to learn how to get herbs from a garden and come back in and make something ?
H : What might hotels with established wellness programs be missing ?
AM : ( What ’ s rare is ) for a hotel to step back and really look at the talent they have in their spa … What I am encouraging clients to do is to not see the boundary . Wellness doesn ’ t happen only in a treatment room . Wellness happens at sunrise . At sunset . At turndown . In the room … You could put a sleep package together , where it ’ s delivered to the room . Let ’ s say it ’ s a family . Maybe they have an add-on room because they ’ re traveling with kids , but ( the hotel offers ) a fun , interactive package about how to improve your sleep . It ’ s brought to the room as an upgrade package .
Why can ’ t we do really interesting self-care workshops , where the therapist , someone really great , comes over ? Maybe it ’ s before cocktail time or whatever . ( The therapist could say ) ‘ You know the next time your mom is in a really bad mood and you really want to do something or you want to run away ? Try this acupuncture point . Try this head massage . When you start to get a headache , because you ’ re 13 , here ’ s what your mom could be doing to help you . Here ’ s what you could be doing to help yourself now .’
H : What about including kids in spa services already offered ?
AM : ( Girls ) bite their fingernails . So doing something that ’ s really sweet — this is more superficial , but if I can go to a resort and get my daughter to have a manicure ... She ’ s too embarrassed to go where we live . In a resort , she would . If I could go to a manicurist that actually talks about self-care , where we both went and it ’ s a mommy-daughter ( event ) ... It ’ s taking things a little bit further . You ’ re going to have a manicure , but don ’ t make it just about beauty . Make it about where you could book a little bit longer treatment , where the manicurist talks about what you could be doing . Sometimes , our kids , they won ’ t listen to us , but they ’ ll listen to a stranger .
H : How would you advise hotel companies considering implementing a kids ’ wellness program ?
AM : We ’ ve observed this moment of frustration when we realize that the parents can engage in all these different activities , but the kids have to go to the kids ’ club . There ’ s a couple of different areas . I typically have ( hotels ) look at the kids ’ club . Think about it as ‘ What are you doing at your kid ’ s club that you could bring parents in and make it meaningful for them ?’
Obviously , it ’ s age-specific . I think there is opportunity . Not just say , ‘ Hey , parents . We ’ re encouraging you to come .’ Make it so that it ’ s better because a parent is there . Ask that question : ‘ What are we doing that ’ s working but that could be better if the parent was there ?’ Let ’ s face it : Parents don ’ t have a lot of time … Where is that compromise ? By creating something that ’ s going to be beneficial for the parent and the kids , individually and collectively , that ’ s important .
50 hotelsmag . com October 2018