For decades, luxury club practices have been built on offering elite lifestyle experiences for a demographic of affluent communities and club members. However, with today’s new generation of members seeking advanced ways to improve the quality of their overall health and lifestyle, there is a new aspect of luxury: Wellness. The framework of indulgence is being redefined and directly correlates between the ability to live-well and maintain an effervescent, healthy, quality lifestyle centered on personal well being and improving health.
Wellness programs provide an array of new luxury lifestyle amenities with an impact and influence that reaches beyond the traditional club offerings of the past. With an extensive focus on wellness worldwide, clubs now have the ability to empower their members to significantly increase their vitality and quality of life. Offering a lush selection of new wellness elements can motivate engagement, inspire loyalty and increases the profitability, value and success of the club. Moreover, the ability to provide insight and sustenance that improves the health, happiness and lives of your members has intrinsic value.
As evidenced in the widespread redevelopment and acquisitions of outdated properties and stagnant clubs, this wellness trend spans a broad range of clubs and communities. While the core of a profitable, well-respected club will always include fun, social and leisure activities, the outcry for wellness amenities is a rewarding and lucrative commodity in today’s club development.
Some of the reasons for this momentum in the club and community arena include the rising number of multigenerational households, prevalent chronic health conditions and an aging population of communities and families who are seeking access to wellness alternatives and lifestyle tools. According to an analysis of Census data by the Pew Research Center, “A record 57 million Americans—or 18.1% of the population were living in multi-generational households in 2012.” This number has seen steady growth and directly relates to the needs of more than 18 percent of the domestic housing market, including clubs and communities.
Choosing Your Approach to Wellness Integration
There are a variety of things to consider in choosing to add wellness services to your facility. This can be as simple as adding services that create a healthy, active, lifestyle environment for your members or as extreme as including personalized medicine, bio-feedback and on-call private physicians. There are a number of ways to do this with the unique specifications of any property despite its size, square footage or budget.
First, it’s important to know your members. Discover what they need and what you can you do to support them. Are they teachable? Are they retired, baby boomers or young families? Are they interested in experiencing new things, or are they comfortable with the current offerings, programs and schedules? Knowing your members and understanding their needs is critical to selecting which wellness aspects would be the best complement, fit and value for your club.
Next, what is the participation and utilization level at the club? What are the community occupancy rates (year-round or seasonally)? How do your members engage and interact as a community? Are they outgoing? Would a new calendar that included cooking classes, instructional yoga or guided meditation be welcomed and well attended?
Last, how will your choice to make the investment to provide these new wellness services, smile on your bottom line and secure your ROI? How will they increase your capture rates and add long-term value to your club? There are multiple ways to assess this and integrate wellness features into any club. As all clubs are different this requires proper planning, smart strategies and selecting the right wellness partnerships. You can offer more. You can have it all, and so can your members!
Inspire, Empower and Enhance
Wellness spas across the country are adding health experts such as nutritionists, physical therapists, physiologists and dermatologists to counsel, coach, and customize programs for men and women in the nonthreatening environment of spas and wellness centers. By subcontracting properly trained and certified professionals this not only increases services and revenues, but it also provides new and rewarding wellness options. Private clubs can create third party vendor agreements to provide these services in a manner that is consistent with the private nature of the club and tax exempt structure.
Wellness Programs may include:
- Culinary classes (cooking and juicing classes)
- Holistic Approaches to Healing (acupuncture and energy healing)
- Fitness Challenges (strength training and muscle building)
- Flexibility and Stress Reduction (yoga, deep breathing and meditation)
- Detox and Nutrition (body cleansing and nourishment classes)
- Iridology, bio feed back and diagnostics (practices that support early diagnosis’)
- Biosciences and technology (programs and tools for better health management)
Adding wellness services to your club setting can truly provide healing, depth and enhanced well-being for your members. These services can also provide the opportunity to recognize early signs of health concerns and take member health to the next level of personal wellness through helpful lifestyle recommendations. The club can play a pivotal role in a member’s journey to wellness by providing the right tools, support and inspiration.
Various wellness features have been included in private club settings for more than twenty years. The notable difference between then and now is that members are actively seeking them, embracing them and there is a heightened impact and awareness of proven results as well as an experienced value.
For example, adding a certified nutritionist or raw food chef who offers regular, enjoyable classes on meal preparation can help educate and inform people on how food can be used to support better health. Organic and raw foods are proven to rejuvenate cellular health and boost immune system functions. Teaching people how to make small adjustments to their routines, with easy recipes and recommending delicious food substitutions supports a balanced way of eating.
Juicing is another popular food trend. This is a method of extracting live nutrients and enzymes from fresh food to maintain the optimal benefits. Juicing is known for its cleansing and rejuvenating health benefits. It’s also widely known for effectively treating a number of chronic health symptoms. These types of classes provide dietary life-skills that encourage healthier eating in a fun and social setting.
Another example is to add skilled physical therapists, fitness instructors, health coaches or qualified physiologists who can teach people how to reshape their bodies, without the need for surgery. They can also recommend safe, effective activities that will burn calories and increase energy and stamina. A yoga instructor can also add value in regards to low impact fitness, stress management, deep breathing and improving overall fitness and flexibility.
Turnberry Isle in Miami, Fla., is currently adding wellness programming such as anti-aging medicine, IV therapy, hormonal therapy for men and women and digestive health analyses. They will also be adding a top-rated cardiologist for heart health and life enhancements such as sound therapy for lymphatic cleansing, acupuncture and a raw food chef. In addition to these wellness features will be iridology, life coaching, bio-feed back diagnostics, detoxing and cleansing programs for the 5 major organ functions (kidneys, skin, liver, colon, lymphatic system).
As trends in wellness continue to thrive, this holistic approach club-life will be an invaluable asset to both clubs and members everywhere.
Mia A. Mackman is the founder and president of the Arizona Spa & Wellness Association and president of Spa Management Solutions, a full service spa management company with a proven track record working with 4-5 star hotels, resorts and resort clubs. She specializes in business planning, concept design and wellness strategies for the spa, wellness and lifestyle markets. You can reach her at [email protected].
Tammy Pahel is the founder of Spa Management Solutions and the Spa Director for Turnberry Isle in Miami, Fla. She specializes in resort spa development and wellness integration. Tammy can be reached at [email protected].
For more information, visit www.spamgmtsolutions.com.
