By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com)
Entering yet another unprecedented travel period with a
looming recession and the sputtering end of the post-pandemic travel recovery,
there are nevertheless a myriad of trends that are strongly converging to offer
hotels a path to profitability no matter the economic climate. In this case, we
are talking about the growth in demand for wellness products as well as the
emergence of newer search platforms to cut through the exhaustion of digital
noise in the travel space.
To shed some light on this evolution, we interviewed Mary
Blackmon, founder of Farm toWellness Retreats™. As you may be able to tell from its namesake, the
platform is dedicated to helping wellness-motivated travelers escape this
overabundance of brand choice on the internet by presenting users with a
curated selection of hotels, spas and resorts that meet certain criteria
centered around locally sourced, farm-to-table cuisine and wellness
experiences.
To elaborate on these criteria, the platform aggregates
properties that offer a farm, garden or vineyard on premises, along with those
that work directly with local producers to provide farm-to-table cuisine or spa
services using all natural ingredients. Complementing this core driver, Farm to
Wellness Retreats looks for places that also offer transformative activities or
excursions focused on clarity of mind and holistic healing in a natural setting
(think horseback rides, rainforest hikes, glamping, stargazing or even goat
yoga).
Strict Criteria Breed Exclusivity
While aggregators like this website within the broader wellness space
are not exactly novel – a foremost example would be Spafinder which has existed
since 1986 – what is unique is the highly specialized nature of property
prerequisites for display on the platform. Blackmon’s team personally
researches and approves each new property, whereby each qualifying hotel or
resort must deliver onsite experiences that bring together at least one aspect
of this farm-fresh twist and niche criteria. The bonus for interested hotels is
that the website is free to join, with premium, paid-for display and marketing
opportunities available once onboarded.
At a glance, it’s easy to say to yourself that such
narrowcasting means it isn’t for you or your hotel brand. And that’s probably
true! But that’s also why Farm to Wellness Retreats and its ilk will boom in
the decade ahead. Most hotel distribution channels aren’t curated with such an
intention for exclusivity and thus aren’t nearly as memorable. Or, as the two
of us say, “When you aim to appease everyone, you end up appealing to no one.”
In this sense, Blackmon has created a website with a highly
targeted core audience and this precision of messaging is what hoteliers can
learn to guide their brand vision going forward. While it would indeed to a
noble and profitable initiative to set up a full garden for your kitchen on
premises or redesign the entire F&B supply chain around minimalizing food
miles and wholly organic, this example touches on far more than that. It’s
about thinking of new distribution strategies to cut through the digital noise
and appeal to new audiences without hemorrhaging marketing costs.
The Overwhelmed Guest
To understand the crucial importance of cutting through the digital
noise right now, just consider the average consumer who is bombarded by texts,
social media, emails, videoconferences, streaming services and other
screen-based, attention-seeking channels on a daily basis. Within the travel
landscape, the plethora of OTAs, metasearch, brand names, tour operators, home
sharing platforms and hotel associations have made today’s travelers outright fatigued.
This is what’s often called the paradox of choice or shopper’s paralysis. Yes,
there will always be price-hunters who gravitate to the best online deal or
those tied in with a loyalty program, but there are still innumerous others who
now spend an untenable amount of time discovering destinations and lodgings
prior to any actual bookings. Some of this can be fun, but often it’s a slog.
The vastness of this ecosystem has thus created a deep sense
of inconvenience with travelers spending a significant amount of time
researching and filtering down to the exact trip they want. This agonized time
sink in part explains the resurgence of trusted travel advisors as well as the
proliferation of both curated multi-night travel packages and cruise lines. A central
conceit amongst these trends is saving customers time and stress by taking care
of as much of the logistics as possible.
“Consumers have lamented how searching Google is
overwhelming and having an easily navigable resource offering such
individualized wellness experiences is time-saving,” commented Blackmon.
“Bespoke travel search websites like ours now represent a real opportunity for
hotels to get around this too-much-choice situation and break through the
clutter. But more than that, our cherrypicked – and importantly easy to find –
hotels, spas and resorts offer inspiration and a variety of wellness
experiences to improve guests’ overall well-being.”
The Booming Wellness Travel Market
“You either pay the farmer or you pay the doctor,” added Blackmon.
During our interview, we talked about why wellness is booming right now, and it
all comes back to the pandemic. During lockdown, people got off the proverbial
hamster wheel and separately yet collectively started to wake up to the host of
wellness options at their disposal. Eating foods fresh from the farm that are
significantly higher in nutritional quality is but one aspect of this movement
that Farm to Wellness Retreats has tapped into by integrating this demand into
its mission and messaging.
You see this farm-to-table explosion in the grocery store
with the growth of organic food sections and the popularity of brands like
Whole Foods. It’s not a quantum leap to assume that many of those people who
value healthy eating would also be keen to extend this interest into their
travel selections. With the pandemic as a sort of tipping point, prioritizing
wellness will only increase from here out as awareness builds one conversation
at a time.
While Farm to Wellness Retreats is only a few months old
since launch, the groundswell of applications and organic growth of customers –
as measured through website analytics, newsletters, press releases and social
media engagement – already demonstrate that Blackmon is addressing something
that people really want. For reference and your own homework, other key areas
outside of cuisine as a form of healing include, but are not limited to,
exercise, traditional spa treatments, meditation, breathwork, yoga, sound
therapy, extreme temperature exposure and all forms of nature therapy
(otherwise known as ‘humans are meant to be outside’).
While it would be absurd to ask every hotel to put a farm
onsite or reorient the brand DNA around wellness, the broader trends will
inevitably impact the entire industry. Firstly, in the face of this paradox of
choice, distribution is changing, favoring niches or curated recommendations
rather than aggregates. And secondly, people are increasingly taking their
health into their own hands by voting with their wallets for brands that align
with their core, wellness-driven identities.
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About Larry Mogelsonsky
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| Larry Mogelsonsky |
Media Contact:
Larry Mogelonsky
Email: larry@hotelmogel.com
Website: https://hotelmogel.com/
