HSMAI Marketing Review August 2009 - 34

SELLING THE BED Nothing is more indicative of our insomniac society than hotel guests’ desire to bring home the bed that gave them a good night’s sleep. Westin was the first to tap into this demand. Within weeks of introducing their Heavenly Bed in 1999, Westin guests were calling to ask where they could buy one. Westin moved quickly to establish a Web site and hotline to take orders. Three years ago, Nordstrom began carrying the Heavenly Bed, making Westin the first hotel chain to sell beds through a major retailer. This year, Westin partnered with United Airlines to offer the plush Heavenly blankets and pillows to business and first-class travelers on bicoastal flights. There are now more than 81,000 Heavenly beds in Westin guestrooms worldwide and consumers have purchased more than 30,000 Heavenly Beds, 100,000 pillows, 32,000 sheets, and 13,000 shower heads over the past decade. Every major hotel brand followed suit, developing signature beds and bedding to sell online and via in-room catalog. Bedding has become one of the most lucrative components of many hoteliers’ retail operations. And why not? A hotel is one place where people can actually try out the merchandise for a night before committing. For hoteliers, it’s a win-win situation. Not only do they get a lucrative add-on sale—a king-size Heavenly mattress and box spring costs $1,495 on Westin’s site, plus $225 for shipping—but the purchased bed becomes a constant reminder of the hotel’s brand. but he recognizes that not everyone loves yoga. You have to start with what people are comfortable with.” Hedley has participants fill out extensive questionnaires, designed with the help of psychologists and sleep specialists, choosing from an extensive menu of alternative approaches including tai chi, yoga, labyrinth walks, dream analysis, journal writing, nutritional counseling, and self massage. “We work with people to help them figure out what’s going on in their lives that might be affecting their sleep,” says Hedley. “It’s important to personalize these things and realize that what you can achieve at the Mayflower is very different from what you can achieve at home.” Polysomnography and a Round of Golf Canyon Ranch was probably the first major resort in the United States to offer comprehensive overnight polysomnography tests, where leads are attached to a patient’s head and body to monitor heart and brain waves during sleep. Phil Eichling MD, director of the executive health program at Canyon Ranch, began performing portable in-room sleep studies at the Tucson resort in 1993 and set up a dedicated sleep lab ten years ago. “Sleeping, eating, exercise habits,and emotional/spiritual life management are core to everyone’s health,” Dr. Eichling says. “Early on, I realized that sleep was an essential component of the mix.” At that time, Dr. Eichling was working with diabetics and heart disease patients who couldn’t make lifestyle changes because they were so sleepy. “Sleep apnea is as big a heart risk factor as smoking,” he says. “I wanted to treat sleep both to reduce heart risk directly HSMAI MARKETING REVIEW • AUGUST 2009 ments, particularly regarding the guaranteed wake-up call. Sleep-Inducing Spa Treatments You may have noticed the word “sleep” cropping up in spa treatment menus. Relaxation has always been at the core of massage with its scented oils, dim lights, and soothing music, but lately resorts are taking the de-stressing mission a step further. At Sundara Inn & Spa in Utah, guests are encouraged to nap for 20 minutes after a spa treatment. 34 Sundara also offers workshops run by the San Francisco-based “sleep guru” Robert de Stefano, whose drug-free approach, emphasizing diet, yoga, meditation, and massage, fits nicely with the New Age ethos of many destination spas. In February 2009, De Stefano conducted a workshop at the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington Depot, Connecticut designed to help couples sleep better together. De Stefano has run several workshops at the Mayflower since Lisa Hedley, director of the Mayflower Spa, invited him to be part of her “Sleep Better, Sleep Well” program. “My interest in sleep grew out of an enormous demand,” says Hedley. “Robert is a yogi like me

HSMAI Marketing Review August 2009

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