PARIS—A good night’s rest has always been the hallmark of a positive hotel stay. Now, a feeling of well-being is the latest status symbol of health and a memorable trip. With this in mind, SO/ Hotels & Resorts has launched the SO/ Wellness Experience, which is inspired by the brand’s rebellious interpretation of luxury.
“The overall goals are aligned with the brand’s wellness pillars, which include sleep, food, sport and spa,” said Aldina Duarte Ramos, director of well-being, Accor Luxury Brands.
“The intention behind our SO/ Wellness program is to help our guests, who we call Stylish Socializers, to achieve the have-it-all lifestyle: the best of everything in life, guilt-free, which our well-being products and services aim to provide in a playful, stylish, balanced and effective way,” said Matthias Tan, brand manager, SO/ Hotels & Resorts. “We wanted to create a wellness experience at SO/ that restores the guests’ energy and zest for life.”
The elements of the SO/ Wellness program include the following:
- Playful, an eclectic experience that blends fashion, lifestyle and wellness with a sociable vibe and experimental treatments that shake up the senses
- Stylish, a tribe of experts and unique offers putting a creative twist on global trends and innovations
- Balanced, living life to the fullest: cleanse and crave, party and sleep, rebellion and relaxation
- Effective, experiences and treatments that get results, and partnerships with fashion-forward spa, beauty and fitness brands
“We are targeting our hotel guests, as well as the local market, by offering short, effective treatments and innovative experiences,” said Ramos. “Our guests want it all, with balance. Our Cleanse & Crave concept is the perfect example as guests often want to maintain their healthy routines while staying with us, and we have the perfect healthy Cleanse food options for them. Other times, guests simply want to indulge with our delicious Crave dining options. Another example is our Glow Bar, where guests can experience effective treatments and excellent results in record time. Beauty treatments at the Glow Bar are for those with a fast-paced lifestyle, who don’t always have the time for longer treatments. We see the Glow Bar as a teaser, while being very accessible to our guests who want a taste of ‘me-time.’”
According to Tan, the brand’s Stylish Socializers live a have-it-all lifestyle.
“They want to rejuvenate and re-energize themselves in order to live a playful and audacious life, to feel the pulse of the destination, to meet the tribe with a different vibe, and to continuously find new ways to excite and live life to the fullest,” he said. “As Aldina pointed out, Cleanse & Crave is an excellent example of how our guests see life. They decide: choose one or have them both—either way, life is great. Another great example is our SO/ Reset turndown service: guests can party hard into the night, go to sleep with our Kiss-goodnight Detox Mask, and wake up with our Morning-After Booster Serum. There is no need to compromise on a healthy glow just because our guests want to have a night of fun.”
The SO/ Wellness philosophy seeks to bring balance to guests, who live fast and play hard.
“We want to be bold and innovative, both in terms of equipment (for example, our light infrared treatments) and settings,” Ramos said. “One exciting example of this was our teaser of the Glow Bar available through a virtual reality experience.”
Tan added, “We want to provide a wellness experience that restores our guests’ energy and zest for life. We plan to accomplish this goal with surprising innovations underpinned by proven techniques; contemporary beauty that puts a twist on global trends; a have-it-all lifestyle with a reset button.”
The new program is being piloted at SO/ Vienna and the team is seeing positive results for guest satisfaction and the brand’s bottom line.
“Our partnership with the beauty product brand and skin regimen has gone extremely well, and we are already seeing a 30% increase in retail sales,” Ramos said. “The SO/ Vienna Legally Stoned local treatment is very attractive and promising, as are infrared treatments available at the Glow Bar or as an extra booster during facials.”
“Many guests have been eager to photograph the Cleanse & Crave setups at the SO/ Vienna breakfast buffet. Bowl for the Soul items on our menus are also gaining popularity,” Tan said. “We are always looking for innovative fitness programs that blends performance with playfulness. During the pilot launch, we partnered with Sound Off to bring deep-flow yoga to life through a radical journey of flowing movement and sound, using noise isolating wireless LED headphones, which lets our guests hear the instructor at the perfect level while the curated set takes our guests on a musical journey into sound. This is the kind of fitness experiences SO/ is looking at to offer our stylish socializers in the near future.”
Ramos added, “The pilot at SO/ Vienna is still ongoing in order to monitor the initial approach. The program will be adapted to each destination and all best practices will be implemented gradually throughout 2020.”