i + D - July/August 2020 - 27

Ask anyone what they've missed most during this year's COVID-19
pandemic shutdown, and the answer is likely to involve travel. Milestone
birthday vacations, family reunions, honeymoons, annual trips were all
cancelled or postponed back in March when the world realized the deadly
effects of the coronavirus.
Now, as people cautiously plan to resume their lives in a changed world, a
shining star is emerging in the hospitality sector: the wellness travel industry.
It makes perfect sense: After the year we've had, where better to entrust
our health and personal safety than spas and resorts that already specialize
in wellbeing? And, in what undeniably will go down in history as one of the
most stressful years in our lifetimes, where better to recharge, destress, and
decompress than at a hotel that's expressly designed with this very purpose
in mind?
Wellness hospitality has been steadily increasing for years. A 2017 report
from the interior design firm WATG called it the fastest-growing sub-sector
of the hospitality industry, as it had grown an estimated 10.6 percent from
2013 to 2015 and is only on the rise.
"Even more so now, spas and wellness businesses are no longer a 'nice to have'
but a 'need to have,'" says Jennifer Findlay, founder and CEO of Core Essence,
a design and consulting firm that specializes in spas and wellness. "The demand
for wellness was already booming globally-an estimated $4.5 trillion economy
[as of October 2019, according to the Global Wellness Institute]-and there
was a huge spotlight on health and wellness before the pandemic happened.
COVID-19 has shone that light even brighter now."
Jennifer Findlay and her sister, Kathryn Findlay, the design director for
Core Essence, started their business in late 2016 with an integrated approach
to the interior planning and design of a space, concurrent with the concept
and development of core service offerings. "It used to be that spas were an
afterthought, the last thing considered, so they'd end up in a basement,
just a checkbox on an operator's need list," says Jennifer Findlay.

In a post-pandemic
world, wellness
travel takes on
new significance

Tranquil surroundings, calming views
of nature, and indoor/outdoor spaces,
like those at Hotel San Luis Obispo,
are more important now than ever.
(Image: Tanveer Badal)

378_022_i+D-July_August_v1.indd 27

Instead, notes Kathryn Findlay, Core Essence takes the approach that a space
and its built environment have the potential to positively impact people on a
psychological, emotional, and spiritual level. She says, "We try to incorporate
design principles that will positively impact the environment of every space
we touch," whether it's through lighting levels, color temperature, air quality,
physical comfort, or biophilic elements.
As spas and other wellness businesses have begun reopening, the Findlays
believe that not everyone will feel comfortable traveling, "but when they do,
they'll gravitate to brands they trust," says Jennifer Findlay. "The message
needs to be front and center to the marketing strategy about what they're doing
[to protect customers]. I think it will demand a level of innovation that is exciting,
and we'll see tremendous growth in this sector."

i+D - July/August 2020

27
20-07-30 18:55
i + D - July/August 2020

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