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010 Biofit on Hotel Gyms
77 Plays5 years ago
HOST: MATT MORLEY, FOUNDER OF BIOFIT GYM ADVISORY
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Transcript
Episode Introduction: Sustainability & Wellness in Hospitality
00:00:15
Speaker
Welcome to episode 10 of the Green and Healthy Places podcast, in which we take a deep dive into the world of sustainability and wellness in the hospitality and real estate sectors.
00:00:27
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This episode, number 10, is going to go a bit differently.
Sustainable Trends in Hotel Gyms
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I'm taking you through one section of the recent Hotel Gym Report 2021 that I published under my bio-fed name, specifically focusing on the sustainability, the biophilia and healthy design aspects of what I see happening in the hotel sector today.
00:00:48
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If you like this type of content, please consider subscribing or sharing with a friend because it really does help. So another must, let's jump straight into it. So I'm going to stick my neck out here. Before we get on to the top 10 trends in the hotel industry, I'm going to do a little piece on sustainability taking center stage, really looking at the health benefits of eco-friendly gyms.
00:01:15
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So first up, biophilic design. I wanted to talk about how biophilic design in an eco-friendly gym is effectively a really simple concept that equates to using natural, sustainable and healthy interiors. Fundamental insight here is the value in applying a triple bottom line approach to a gym.
00:01:35
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one that considers in other words its environmental impact as well as the physical and mental well-being to deliver a positive impact on the hotel industry or the hotel businesses bottom line.
Eco-Friendly Gym Equipment & Flooring
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There's then a concept of people and planet friendly gyms. So a biophilic design within a gym gives you an indoor environment that's inherently in tune with nature.
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other words. It's about bringing the outside world in whilst respecting and protecting the planet around us. This strategy is unique though and then it also brings a number of wealth mental well-being health benefits such as enhanced mood, reduction in stress levels and a sense of vitality. I've actually done a research project with the University of Essex in the UK on precisely that. I will link the
00:02:28
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research study in the show notes for anyone who's interested. There's also then eco-friendly gym equipment and a small but growing market out there for such gym equipment is proving ever more interesting from my perspective. It has a natural aesthetic meaning there are simply far more alternatives around for those looking to break away from convention.
00:02:51
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It remains, however, a long way to go in terms of reducing plastics in gym equipment and replacing those with more natural or at least upcycled, perhaps definitely non-plastic alternative materials. But the first movers have started to make their mark and it's my guess that this trend will continue in coming years. It may even be that I need to play some role in making that happen.
00:03:18
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So what about flooring options? Well, eco-rubber floor tiles are a solid and reliable option, as are linoleum tiles, or indeed cork, one of our favourites, or wood panel floor solutions. Depending on the type of training that's taking place in each gym, each zone of the gym even, different materials can in fact be used to break up a space, both visually and in terms of its function.
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A mobility zone for example might benefit from softer flooring whilst the strength training area needs something far more resistant and hard wearing for when that barbell first comes crashing down from shoulder height.
Air Purification & Lighting Solutions in Gyms
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Purified natural air from a green and healthy perspective in a gym
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requires certain plant species that can do a lot of work in purifying the air, removing pollutants and off gases, but a gym needs them in such huge quantities because of the amount of heavy breathing going on, especially in spaces where there's no obvious natural ventilation, such as an underground gym space. A single plant in the corner of your gym is just not going to deliver
00:04:26
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the kind of functional benefits that we need in that sense. A mini indoor forest would if you have the natural light. That would also serve a decorative purpose but beyond that you're going to need to think more about air purification and we'll come on to that later on with the trends piece.
00:04:42
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Finally then, healthy light levels. So, GM locations with no natural light may not be ideal, but they are very often the only option available. In which case, typically our biofit recommendation is to use a smart lighting system that follows the body's natural flow during a 24-hour cycle to deliver blue-white light that energizes by day and softer amber light after dark. Again, we'll touch on that with the hotel trends.
00:05:09
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These smart lights do not deliver the type of lux to maintain plant life however, for that a different type of fixture would be needed with far greater intensity.
00:05:19
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Alternatively, there are also things like preserved plants or moss, visual representations of nature in wallpaper formats, or natural fiber wall coverings, or even cork wall panels that can easily resolve this issue of having limited natural light and therefore struggling to get enough natural materials into the space.
00:05:40
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Okay well that's it in terms of giving you a brief introduction to some of the ideas that BioFit sends to deliver around sustainability in green and healthy gyms.
2021 Hotel Gym Trends & Biophilic Design
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Now let's jump into the next section of episode 10 where we're looking at hotel trends affecting the hotel gym industry around the world. I'm going to set the scene here with
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top 10 hotel gym trends of 2021 as per the biofit perspective. So first up we're looking at healthy interior design. Healthy design practices, also known as wellness design principles, integrate elements of biophilia or biophilic design that's designed that connects directly with nature
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with an element of biohacking to create environments that have been optimized to deliver health benefits to the user by getting as close to a state of nature as possible or in some cases trying to go even a little bit beyond the natural environment. For example circadian lighting that follows the body's natural rhythm with blue-white tones during the middle of the day to energize
00:06:51
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and amber hues later on so as not to disrupt sleeping patterns for hotel guests who work out after dark. That's one of the things that I implement in all of the gyms that we put out under BioFit. Equally, indoor air purification systems.
00:07:08
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Thinking now about high-grade HEPA, that's H-E-P-A, or MIRV-13 filters in the HVAC system, so that's basically like super high-grade air conditioning filters that ensure protection against airborne particles, CO2 levels, and volatile organic compounds, AKA VOCs. Whilst organic aromatherapy
00:07:32
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can also add in healthy forest fighting sides and air purifying plant species can add an extra dose of vitamin nature. But first of all, let's make sure that the air inside the gym space is as pure as possible.
Personalized Gym Experiences Post-COVID
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Connected to that then is the idea of using natural and non-toxic materials in the gym space, such as cork, bamboo, eco-rubber, sustainably sourced wood,
00:08:00
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canvas and to some extent leather. All of these can help to reduce the need to introduce plastics or other materials that might be carrying toxic components inside the gym space. That not only ensures a consistent aesthetic
00:08:18
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that's designed to nurture and restore it also establishes a baseline in terms of the chemical or the presence of chemicals within that space at any one time. Second trend then is taking the gym out to the guest. So the first of several COVID related hotel gym trends that I see
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that is illustrating really just how profound an impact the pandemic has had on this sector. There's now clearly an opportunity to completely rethink the previously immutable relationship between a guest's workout and the one physical space referred to as a gym.
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In the short term, forward thinking properties looking to anticipate a guest's needs may well need to choose to offer a curated box of stylish gym equipment, for example, delivered to the room or to one of a number of dedicated outdoor workout locations on the property if that is available.
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This closed system allows for the hotel gym equipment selection to be tweaked according to the overall aesthetic of the hotel as well as for male and female guests and perhaps even adding a housekeeping seal of hygiene
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in between each use. For anyone lacking in motivation or hotel guests specifically lacking in motivation, a range of pre-programmed guest workouts could be uploaded onto a tablet that's delivered with that gym box or indeed onto a web page access via a QR code from the guest's own device to provide them with just enough guidance to make sure they get their workout done.
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when they're not necessarily in a dedicated workout space such as a gym. Remember, at least from my perspective, a lot of what a gym offers is that sense of motivation and an extra push to get the job done.
Impact of Amateur Athletes on Hotel Gyms
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So the third trend we're going to be looking at is what I call the tribe of amateur athletes. So this one is less
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specifically related to the interior design or architecture of a space and more to do with the demographics and the user profiles of the people participating in using those spaces, which in turn, from my perspective, when thinking about how to create the gems of the future, understanding the consumer or user trends is fundamental to staying one step ahead of the game and knowing exactly what
00:10:49
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type of kit we want to be putting into these green and healthy gyms at hotels in the future. So my theory is that there's a recent boom in the number of amateur athletes or non-professionals who take their preferred activity very seriously indeed and when they travel that doesn't change. Examples might be road cycling fans, triathletes,
00:11:15
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newcomer, kitesurfing, as well as another big one now. Social media has helped to fuel the flames of interest in these respective groups, especially YouTube and Instagram, where stories of physical excellence can be most powerfully shared online in a visual format. This demographic of mid 30 to 60 somethings identifies strongly with their chosen activity. There's a strong bond, a sense of community there, and they aim to compete often, but not always, in
00:11:44
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let's call them semi-pro or amateur athlete level events such as the Ironmans. So therefore they appreciate a hotel going out of its way to cater to their needs. Many will in fact travel for training camps out of season, hire expensive equipment in the resort or pay to bring all of their necessary equipment such as a bike with them to train on site.
00:12:11
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For luxury hotel and resort management then, this means expectations are simply higher than ever, not only in terms of gym equipment itself, but the full fitness landscape on offer during a stay.
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Hotel gyms that think a mere treadmill reclined bike and some deadmills, deadmills, dumbbells, is enough to satisfy such amateur athletes will simply be left behind, whilst others that aim to tap into their passion and enthusiasm will be richly rewarded with customer loyalty. So whether that be upgrading to a sports performance level training facility, such as the one, for example, at Quinta do Lago in Portugal, known as the campus gym,
00:12:55
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It can be as much as going to a top bike brand, for example, as an equipment partner, hosting triathlon retreats, setting up swimming lanes with distance markers in a bay. The opportunities are endless. It's about understanding the unmet needs of that particular customer group and adapting the green and healthy strategies around fitness within a resort and hotel facility for that group.
Multisensory Wellness Rooms in Luxury Hotels
00:13:25
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Fourth trend we're going to look at then is one called multisensory wellness rooms. So just as cyclists and triathletes have their own perception of what their ideal hotel gym might look like, so too does the yoga and pilates crowd, except this time they're more likely to appreciate peace, quiet and a multisensory setting with elements of nature. Equally fanatical,
00:13:50
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These holistic tribes retain a prominent place on the health and wellness charts, with barre classes riding on their coattails as an easy, almost no equipment needed add-on to make extra use of that same space. A yoga pilates barre can often be practiced in one
00:14:09
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similar room. In order to extract maximum value from a hotel wellness room, a little consideration for the look and feel is going to go a long way. Yoga equipment needs are relatively limited to a smart set of mats, cushions, blocks and ropes, meaning the budget can be focused on other things such as thermal comfort,
00:14:33
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We can think about the acoustics, we can think about the lighting and primarily the decor components. Great examples of studios that are doing just this in an urban context are places like Mindful and Inscape in New York. The fifth trend we're looking at then is around upgraded eco-cleaning protocols. Sounds dull, but bear with me.
00:14:57
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Healthy building interiors are best maintained using eco cleaning products that are toxin free and ideally stored in reusable containers rather than single use plastic bottles. I hope that much is obvious. Green cleaning protocols and healthy building certification systems such as well and fit well, specify eco-friendly products in all of the cleaning procedures implemented either via facilities management or in this case, a hotel SOP or standing operating procedure.
00:15:27
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For hotel gyms, this shouldn't represent a problem beyond a switch and procurement of the cleaning materials, ideally for the entire property at this point, but let's focus on the gym. In this instance, there might be a modest premium on that, but I think there is surely value to be had at the backend as well in terms of communications and brand image.
00:15:48
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Twice daily cleaning schedules of all equipment as a minimum help to prevent the potential transmission of viral or bacterial infections. You might want to look at every hour, frankly, right at the moment, meaning new standard operating procedures are just going to stay in place to ensure suitable levels of hygiene, as well as additional signage asking guests to continue wiping down their cardio machines or their dumbbells after use.
00:16:15
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Provision of extra hand towels, sanitizer spray and a corresponding number of waste bins are unlikely to disappear even post COVID. So all these minor changes that gyms have had to roll out in something of a panic over the last year are likely to stick around for a long while yet. Next up, trend number six, indoor-outdoor hybrid gyms.
00:16:38
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Previously the domain of children only, jungle gyms or public parks, the global pandemic has brought renewed interest in indoor outdoor gym spaces that benefit from natural ventilation, quite obviously, and generally feel less of a risk. I think we've all sensed that being outdoors, training outdoors
00:16:57
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preferably with some kind of canopy or shade structure, but not always depending on the exact location is just a better place to be and frankly an all-round more pleasurable experience in many instances, but it needs to be done in the right way. So we see a middle path emerging of semi-permanent shading combined with rugged gym floor tiles and if not a full equipment setup, a good chunk of the original equipment minus the strength machines set up in that outdoor environment.
00:17:28
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If you add in appropriate levels of outdoor lighting and a sound system, you're pretty much good to go.
00:17:34
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This approach is in line with the Equinox Into the Wild concept in Los Angeles, for example, where they transported an entire functional fitness gym outdoors, undercover, laying down some soft gym flooring and simply letting guests have some fun. From what I can gather, that was effectively the rooftop and unused rooftop car park area that they converted from their original building. And it may well be that it sticks around.
00:18:00
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and becomes a part of the Equinox location in the long term too. The seventh trend we're looking at in the gym sphere for 2021 is an extended range of gym partnerships.
Collaborations with Fitness Studios
00:18:15
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Few luxury hotels or resort brands can really match the cultural cachet of a dedicated fitness studio targeting a specific tribe of fitness fans with a highly experiential workout.
00:18:28
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Just as management have learnt the benefits of bringing in an outside brand to add appeal to a hotel's F&B offering, might there also be a case for more adventurous hotels and resorts to collaborate with fitness studios in the same way? It's possible a hybrid model or like partnership might be the best way to go in most instances as the deal has to work clearly for both sides as well as the guests.
00:18:53
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As a first step, a co-branded retreat, such as the one BioFit ran at the Regent Port of Montenegro in Montenegro a couple of years ago, could help to establish and test the waters, establish the levels of demand and equally allows the hotel and the fitness brand to begin a collaboration on a modest scale before deciding whether to go further with a dedicated facility or a regular program of such retreats.
00:19:20
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Having a soul cycle on the ground floor of the One Hotel South Beach in Miami, for example, has a certain logic to it. As the location there, it's a full-time retail setup, makes the operation viable all year round thanks to the local residential market and the myriad of other hotels nearby. So that's some sense of where specific hotels in the right locations can make it work. From the One Hotel team's perspective,
00:19:47
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The Solstyles Studio brings cool factor. It's a value add for their guests who get to experience the original cult spinning workout whilst the studio themselves have a chance of building a year-round business and hopefully doing a good deal on the retail site. These boutique fitness studio brands
00:20:05
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do require considerable upfront investment in equipment, interiors, and staff training, not to mention marketing to specific demographic and psychographic audiences, typically only really present in larger cities. A seasonal resort location therefore immediately renders that business model questionable. There is also the question of brand fit. How well do the two target audiences of a host hotel and target fitness studio really and truly overlap?
00:20:34
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What percentage of those might use a hotel gym? Would they convert into customers of the fitness studio if they were to use it? Would its appeal convert those who might not usually use a hotel gym into actually getting down there and putting their trainers on and getting a workout in? We have questions around this one, but there's clearly a lot of movement in this space, so expect to see more things happening.
Diversifying Equipment in Hotel Gyms
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The eighth hotel train we're looking at then is Equipment Brands' challenging techno gym.
00:21:04
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I've written in previous blog posts about the remarkable dominance of Technogym equipment in the luxury hotel sphere in terms of hotel gym fit-outs. Typically the way that works is that hotel general managers would contact Technogym. Technogym would then undertake what they term to be a gym design service that would entail effectively selling and the hotel purchasing
00:21:33
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a range of Technogym equipment and installing flooring, lighting, mirrors in the walls and some sound system and off they go. You really don't need to work with a hotel gym designer or a gym design specialist on that basis.
00:21:49
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So what's the problem? From my perspective, it's that gyms are just not incorporating equipment from other brands. So it's all starting to look the same. It's frankly becoming repetitive, it's vanilla, and there's just not much likelihood of hotel gym floor space being left empty, i.e. not packed full of techno gym equipment on that basis. Why do you need empty floor space? Because it's space to move.
00:22:15
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It's space to stretch, to yoga, or simply to train in a slightly different way to training while sat down on a machine or engaged in a very linear movement, which is typically how it works once you start working with a piece of strength training equipment or on a cardio machine.
00:22:34
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There are a whole range of manual treadmills now from the likes of Woodway. They're becoming increasingly common in urban gyms as are wooden rowers, performance spin bikes, vintage leather, boxing bags, sandbags made of genuine leather. There's a whole bunch of different and aesthetically appealing products out there on the market that are just ignored by the hotel gym sector at the moment.
00:23:00
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A curated equipment collection that draws upon multiple brands might be slightly more work at the front end for a hotelier, but can result in cost savings too, whilst opening up endless possibilities in terms of the overall aesthetic.
00:23:15
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As it happens, manual treadmills and rowers are also pretty hard for a guest to break in our experience, meaning that after-sales service needs are minimal compared to the multimedia-heavy Wi-Fi-connected high-end treadmills of Technogym.
Redefining Personal Space in Gyms Post-COVID
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The ninth trend in our list is space to breathe.
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closely aligned with the portable hotel gym box concept that we're seeing rolled out in a number of properties, is the idea of personal space as the new luxury. So in hotel gym terms that translate to not being met by a row of treadmill space just 30 centimetres apart, no matter what angle they are positioned at.
00:23:56
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In most hotels or resort gyms, space is already at premium from day one. This is where the hybrid indoor-outdoor gym solution could come in, perhaps combined with operational strategies to alleviate pressure or use a density in the confined gym space, such as group classes or personal training sessions in other locations within the property.
00:24:18
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If anything, the new awareness of hygiene as it relates to personal space will only encourage hotel management to look again at their gym layout and the sheer amount of equipment on offer. Reading between the lines here, clearly what I'm saying is that hotel gyms are often packed full of equipment that they don't necessarily need and can actually get away with a lot less and perhaps should get away with a lot less, reducing their overall budget, selecting the right equipment that people really are using today and that the future generations coming through are going to be using
00:24:48
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and tapping into more recent trends rather than just loading gyms up with strength equipment. Post-COVID is going to be preferable to have a treadmill taped off from use or simply to allow a metre or metre and a half either side of a treadmill instead. There is surely value in considering reconfiguration options especially in luxury hotel properties. The tenth and final trend we're looking at then is one I call in-room smart workouts.
00:25:18
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Lulu Lemon's acquisition of the mirror interactive home gym and the popularity of Peloton bikes with live spin class content as they call them to follow along with has coincided with the closure of gyms during the pandemic, giving both of these brands the chance to make an even greater mark on fitness routines around the world. We therefore believe there's a place for both pieces of smart gym equipment in hotels, whether it be in suite or in room options if space allows.
00:25:47
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or indeed in the standard gym. The caveat there being that commercial peloton bikes are currently only available in a number of countries, not everywhere. A mirror wool combined with a capsule collection of beautiful handcrafted gym equipment perhaps with some natural material finishes delivered to a suite upon request would effectively provide a suitably wide range of in-room workout options to satisfy guests and already a number of hotel brands are jumping on that bandwagon.
00:26:17
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There remains, however, far more motivation factor in a dedicated place of practice with a wide selection of equipment, suitable temperature, invigorating scent, carefully curated music selection, and healthy decal and biophilic design such as plants and nature-inspired
00:26:37
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aesthetics. So in our view the hotel gym is definitely not dead yet but it clearly does need to up its game and rethink things for the next five to ten years.