While the benefits of spa and wellness activities have long been known to reduce stress and help us recharge our batteries, recently, there has been an increased focus on adopting a more holistic, mindful living approach all round. Today, it seems, we’re looking beyond beauty and fitness, and embracing the broader concept of wellness as part of a longer-term investment in our physical and mental health needs. Chirine Salha, senior consultant at Ulysses Consulting, tells us more

Eco-friendly consumers want health clubs, spas and resort hotels to be as sustainable as possible. More operators are providing healthy food offerings, with gluten-free and vegan menus. Fitness wise, a rise in the popularity of organic and fair-trade sportswear, as well as clean eating, have led many gyms to dedicate space to incremental spends, such as juice bars and retail. Wellness destinations are now also collaborating with neuroscientists and psychotherapists for part-mind and part-body workouts.

Spas and fitness centers stand to benefit from adapting to this changing wellness perception, which prompts several questions, including: what are consumers now demanding as part of their wellness experience and how is this changing the offerings of spas and gyms? And which trends are currently impacting the wellness industry or look likely to in the future?

Wellness coaching
Fast gaining in popularity, wellness coaching focuses mostly on the mental aspects of wellbeing. Personal trainers are increasingly implementing the techniques of wellness coaching into their fitness practices, such as goal-setting.

Hi-tech future
It is imperative that spa and health club operators embrace and keep up to date with technology. This area is now seen as so critical to success that new managerial posts have been created to drive and support it, such as head of personal analytics and chief digital officer.

Forward-thinking operators will realise the hi-tech future rests not just with their own equipment, but with the gadgets their members bring with them, such as apps and wearable technology. The wellness pairing with technology will further manifest itself through myriad adaptations. These include:
– Group exercise will be more of an audio-visual experience, with live ‘on-screen’ instructors, such as the F45 concept, which offers worldwide simultaneous workouts from a database of over 3,000 different exercises. This approach allows access to a larger pool of experts through virtual trainers, which enables facilities to offer world-class instructors and a variety of skills and workouts.
– Spas and health clubs are moving away from the traditional reception desk, instead welcoming guests with a tablet computer equipped with cloud software and sensors that can identify their latest workouts or treatments and personalise them.
– Although not yet a familiar sight in the Middle East, on-site 3D printing of beauty products, such as spa products and cosmetics, is poised to be a huge trend. 3D printing on site has a range of benefits, resulting in consumer products that are bespoke, fresher and with fewer preservatives, while also reducing storage space requirements, and shipping and delivery costs. This will have a significant impact on the relationship between suppliers and operators.

Small is beautiful
Boutique gyms and micro gyms are taking the market by storm. These centers specialize in one specific area of fitness, such as cycling studios, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) studios, boutique boxing studios and functional training circuits. Fitness enthusiasts increasingly want to feel part of a community and know they are getting value for money by paying for exactly what they need and nothing more. This has led to consumers becoming more targeted and seeking out a specific type of workout or equipment at clubs before joining.

The gym market is witnessing rapid growth in the low-cost gym segment, with less floor space dedicated to luxury amenities, such as large pools and bespoke facilities. Low-cost gyms are focusing more on body-weight training and less on equipment. This means less investment in equipment which can quickly become obsolete, and easy-to-learn workouts that are suitable for any age group and level of ability.

Hyper-personalized beauty
New opportunities to customize treatments are set to emerge. Beauty brands are offering online skin coaching and using in-store computer technology to create personalized treatments and products. Today’s mindset is that customers are now collaborators and involved right from the start of the treatment or experience creation, not just on the receiving end of it.

Fast and effective: medi-spas and short wellness breaks
Patrons want immediate results and instant visible improvements. Medi-spas offer non-surgical treatments for face and body enhancement. Medi-spas in the Middle East are especially popular with local residents, while their prices are more competitive than those for facilities found elsewhere. Treatments offered range from Botox to Cryotherapy and Ultherapy, provided by visiting doctors and licensed dermatologists.

However, medi-spas require heavy investment for the purchasing of machines and involve high consumable costs per treatment. They are also often on the receiving end of fast-advancing technology, which can lead to machines quickly becoming obsolete, driving down selling prices.

Another trend popular with health enthusiasts who are pushed for time is the mini wellness break. This option enables customers to maintain wellbeing and enjoy a recharge over a shorter period of time, usually without needing to travel far.

Hotel spas and health clubs
Hotel spas were traditionally located in dead spaces or basements and given limited importance. However, today they have been repositioned with a high profile on the back of the rise of the wellness movement. In fact, these facilities are championing their lifestyle and expertise offerings beyond the spa’s facilities and into the overall programming of the hotel, through room amenities, pre-booked treatments, and spa and room packages. Reflecting the prominence spas are now being given, hotel operators are even introducing new high-ranking posts in their organizational structures; for example, Six Senses and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts International (FRHI), have introduced spa and health club vice presidents at the corporate level. So how does the Middle East wellness industry compare with the more developed European markets? European facilities are characterized by a more clinical experience, such as medi-spas, health farms, and prescribed exercise and diet programs. They enjoy climate therapy at high altitudes, pure air, healing and relaxation concepts, or water therapy with thermal spring and thalassotherapy treatments. In contrast, Middle Eastern spas focus more on design, space and luxury. The supply is channeled more toward hotel and day spas than resort and wellness centers. Social and lifestyle aspects are another big consideration.

The major challenge faced by the wellness industry in the Middle East has been finding skilled manpower. This may be due to the fact that the industry has very few spa-specific and physical education college-level courses and training programs. Nevertheless, these beauty and fitness movements represent a significant opportunity to remain relevant and ahead of the game in a changing environment. The wellness landscape is evolving at such a pace that we could soon witness the emergence of wellness cities on a par with Dubai’s sustainable city; hubs where everything has been designed with wellness in mind and wellbeing is the core value of the community living there. Given this possible trend, the Middle East region could definitely benefit from a stronger online presence and better wellness awareness through fitness and beauty events, and sponsors, at a regional level.

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