Amping up for the next phase of real "Hospitality" in Wellness, Health & Cleanliness (Series 1)

OPINION PIECE BY MIKI TAKASHIMA (Osaka, JAPAN)

June 13th, 2020

I've previously mentioned in my blog that I adore the WESTIN hotel brand, as they focus their hospitality efforts on wellness and enabling their end-users to stay on their exercise routines as they travel through the world. The consistency throughout is really the brand's value proposition, and I have seen the health-conscious branding seep over meaningfully to the ELEMENT brand as well.

(On a quick side note, Osaka continues to keep infection rates of COVID-19 patients to zero or 1 on a daily basis; which means business as usual, and masks are not required unless specified. For me, the central government issued masks have yet to be delivered.)

The world is ever changing, and this will continue to develop even more rapidly as humans feed into the digital world. I don't deny that I am spending too much time on my computer (as I write this entry!) and looking for necessities on my cell phone, while getting an alert that my friend on the other side of the world wants to say hello. How can we balance our time? What will be the "next" step in terms of travel? Is this a need or desire? How can we stay healthy while doing a great job at work? Do we need to travel for meetings? What is it that we are discovering when we are outside of our comfort zone?

I greatly appreciate the technology that is available now, and with COVID-19's affect on the world, it is increasingly difficult (or so it seems) to not be dependent on the internet and remote work. Managing expectations can help with stress, anxiety, feelings of sadness, and any other negative feeling which is not healthy, both physically and psychologically. What is the new normal? Why is the world changing so much?

I am no doctor or health professional in the traditional sense, but I like to think that I know a bit of information given my family's medical background and my hefty, long years in the hospitality and culinary world.

What I want to see in next phase hospitality is wellness of the customer, and of course, the employees of these fabulous corporations that have so much knowledge of operating hotels and outlets over the years. I've seen it done in top hotels like the Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and Park Hyatt; where the F&B staff will "do their best" to customize orders or answer to your strange cravings in the middle of the night. What does it mean to battle time differences for your body? How will hotels anticipate guest needs?

As I wrap up this introductory post on Wellness and Health in Hospitality, I am gearing up my juicer and washing those veggies to prep for my daily green juice routine...!

I look forward to hearing from industry colleagues or friends who may have any information on this interesting topic!

#wellnessinhotels #newhospitality #newnormal #health #travel #jetlag #managinganxiety