The 2014 Trends Report is Spafinder Wellness 365's 11th annual Trends Forecast for the spa and wellness industry.

1. Top 10 Global
Spa and Wellness
Trends Forecast
2014 Trends Report
© 2014 Spafinder Wellness, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Information and data extracted from this report is to be accompanied by a
statement identifying Spafinder Wellness, Inc. as the publisher and source.

2. 2014 Trends Report
As Presented By:
Mia Kyricos
Chief Brand Officer
Spafinder Wellness, Inc.
Susie Ellis
President
Spafinder Wellness, Inc.

3. Top 10 Trends
1 Healthy Hotels 2.0
2 Wired Wellness
3 Hot Springs Heat Up
4 Suspending Gravity
5 Ferocious Fitness
6 “Natural” Beauty Meets Social Media
7 Aromatherapy: Scent with Intent
8 Wellness Retreats Rise… & Urbanize
9
Death & Spas: Thriving During Life’s
Transitions
10
Top 10 Surprising Spa & Wellness
Destinations

4. Über Trend:
Your Mind is
What Matters

5. Healthy
Hotels 2.0
1
MGM Grand (U.S.)
triples its number of
“Stay Well” rooms.

6. Fueling the Trend
• $439 Billion Wellness
Tourism Industry
• A Need to Rejuvenate
– Americans only take
10 of 14 vacation days
– Japanese 7 of 18
– South Koreans 7 of 10
• Rising Healthcare Costs
Wellness
65% More
Wellness
130% More
Tourism Spending (2012)

7. Stronger Fitness
Wyndham’s TRYP Hotels
(International)

8. Sleep Programming
Hotel Benjamin (U.S.)

9. Healthier Food
EVEN Hotels (U.S.)

10. PURE Rooms
Hypoallergenic Rooms by PURE®
At Hyatt, Marriott and more

11. Healthy Hotels 2.0
• Top trend in 2013
– Hotels branding & rebranding around wellness
• Top megatrend in 2014
– Deeper, multi-faceted programming
• Moving from the exception to hospitality
vernacular
• Driven by demand & hotel response
• More than just a marketing differentiator

12. The Future:
From Exception
to the Rule

13. Wired
Wellness
Heapsylone’s
SmartSocks
2

14. Fueling the Trend
• “Quantified Self”: Our
Need To Track Data
– Project to sell 252 million
tracking devices by 2017
– 100,000 Health Apps
– 62 App Stores
• Rise in Virtual Classes
– 30+ million results when you
Google “Online Yoga”
• mHealth
– 40% annual growth
– $10.2 billion by 2017

15. Untie the Bands
Strava

16. Employee Wellness
GetHealth

17. mHealth
Mendor Discreet, Diabetic
Monitoring Device

18. Meditation Apps
Smiling Mind

19. Wired Wellness
• Are wired and wellness counterintuitive?
• Technology plays a significant role in:
– Healthy living
– Lowering health care costs
• Growing significantly:
– Fitness & Wellness Trackers
– Fitness & Wellness Apps
– Online Booking

20. The Future: Spa &
Wellness Providers
Get Wired for Long-
Term Relationships

21. Hot Springs
Heat Up
The Banjaran
Hotsprings Retreat
3

22. Fueling the Trend
• Authentic, local travel
experiences
• Inherent sustainability
• Rise in people seeking
social experiences
• Economically affordable,
stress reliever
“The rub-off
business
associated
with hot
springs is
staggering.”
– Cary Collier, principal,
Blue Spas, Inc.

23. Old Become New
Tauern Spa (Austrian Alps)

24. New & Improved
Evason Ma’In Hot Springs (Jordan)

25. Luxurious Onsens
Hoshino Resorts (Japan)

26. “Trendy” Replaces “Funky”
Two Bunch Palms (U.S.)

27. Hot Springs Heat Up
• Dates back to Roman times
• Exist all over the world
• There has never been a hotter moment for
thermal spas
• Affordable, social, beneficial and natural
• Hundreds of new, exciting projects

28. The Future: Hot
Springs are the
Hot Spot for the Spa
Industry

29. Suspending
Gravity
Aerial yoga at
Fairmont Scottsdale’s
Well&Being Spa
4

30. Fueling the Trend
• Gravity’s Heavy Toll
– Backaches, swollen feet, varicose veins
– Compresses our organs
• Flotations Medical Benefits
– Reduces stress, chronic pain, swelling, depression
and insomnia
– Lowers blood pressure
– Improves Skin
• New Weightless Fitness Approaches

31. Flotation Tanks/Rooms
Aman Resort (U.S.)

32. Flotation Pools
Nordik Spa-Nature (Canada)

33. Aerial Yoga
Fairmont Scottsdale’s Well&Being Spa

34. Anti-Gravity
Fitness Equipment
AlterG

35. Floating Spas
Floating Gardens (Amsterdam)

36. Suspending Gravity
• Desire to disconnect from the “weight”
of the world
• Escape from gravity’s pull by “suspending it”
• Flotation tanks, chambers, pools
• Ariel & antigravity classes, treadmills

37. The Future:
Space – A Spa Frontier

38. Ferocious
Fitness
5
Tough Mudder

39. Fueling the Trend
• Walks, Runs & Marathons
– Thousands of events
– Millions of participants
• $2.2 Trillion Entertainment Industry
– A "Ripped' celebrity culture
– Reality TV: The Biggest Loser,
Extreme Makeover, Survivor
and more
• Out-of-Shape Global Population
– One billion adults are overweight
– 475 million are obese
• A World Pressed For Time
– High intensity interval training in
short timeframes
OUR COMPETITIVE NATURE
60%
Boys
47%
Girls
On Sports Teams By Age 6

40. Ferocious with a Cause
JDRF’s Ride to Cure Diabetes

41. Ferocious Competitions
Tough Mudder

42. Ferocious Interval Training
Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat (Australia)

43. Ferocious Fun
GROOV3 (U.S.)

44. Ferocious Fitness
• Like fashion, fitness is ever-changing
• More intense workouts & training
• Real & sometimes quick results
• Important part of social life
• Fun is a key ingredient

45. The Future:
More Fun.
More Competitive.
More Hardcore.

46. “Natural”
Beauty Meets Social
Media
6

47. Fueling the Trend
• Demand for Organic
– 2011, 15% rise in natural
personal care products
– $23 billion market
• Consumers Want Less-
Invasive Treatments
– Non-surgical cosmetics
procedures grew 500%
over last 20 years
• All-Natural Looks in
Fashion
“1 in 5 of all [beauty]
products contain
chemicals linked to
cancer, 80% contain
ingredients that
commonly contain
hazardous
impurities, and 56%
contain penetration
enhancers.”
– Environmental Working Group

48. Hands & Feet
Bastien Gonzalez Pedicures
(Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo)

49. Scalp Treatments

50. “No-Poo” Movement
Argan Oil

51. Nutritional
Supplements
REVIV (U.S.)

52. Acupuncture: Now for Skin
Tiffani Kim Institute (U.S.)

53. Technology
& Science

54. “Natural” Beauty
• People are expected to look their best 24/7
• Leaving the era of faux beauty
• Organic products, science & technology
intersect to deliver seemingly natural results
• Less chemical products, more nature &
technology
• Spas are the clean-beauty torchbearers

55. The Future:
As the Selfie Takes
Over, Beauty is an
Expected Constant

56. Aromatherapy:
Scent with
Intent
7
Aromatherapy
Associates

57. Fueling the Trend
• Aromatherapy market grew 15% annually over
past 2 years
• Proven Health Benefits
– Topical application: Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory
and analgesic effects
– Aromatherapy: Reduces stress, anxiety, insomnia,
depression, tension headaches, systolic and diastolic
blood pressure
• Mood-boosting & Brain-engaging

58. Custom
Blending
Spa Matilda (Mexico)

59. Scent Goes High Tech
Body Bliss, Intentional Aromatherapy App

60. Beyond the Spa
Aromatherapy Artist Persephenie Lee

61. Even in Cars
Mercedes-Benz 2014 S-Class AIR-BALANCE System

62. Aromatherapy:
Scent with Intent
• Essential component of spa treatments
– Spas helped aromatherapy become mainstream
• Now being reimagined, from pleasant to
personalized and transformative
• New aromatherapy of intention treats pain,
depression and more
• Botanists and digital technology are playing a
key role
• Well beyond sachets and cinnamon candles

63. The Future: Move
Away from “Spray &
Pray” Approaches to
More Intentional Uses

64. Wellness
Retreats
Rise… &
Urbanize
8
Salamander
Resort & Spa

65. Fueling the Trend
• Wellness Retreats Offer What’s Missing in
Traditional Medical Care
– Supportive environment for making lifestyle changes
– Obesity rate 2x higher since 1980
– Preventable diseases cause 63% of deaths
• 50% of the World Live in Urban Areas
– # will double by 2050
• Travelers Taking Shorter Vacations,
Closer to Home
– “Near-Away” Destination Spas

66. Immersive Wellness
VANA (India)

67. Brand Expansion – Rural…
Lanserhof Tegernsee (Bavarian Alps)

68. …And Urban
Lans Medicum in Hamburg

69. Brand Expansion
Miraval at Natirar to open in 2015
(New Jersey, less than 1 hour from NYC)

70. Urban-Close Destinations
Salamander Resort & Spa
(Virginia, near Washington D.C.)

71. Urban-Close Destinations
GOCO Retreat
(50 kms from 11.5 million people in Beijing)

72. Wellness Retreats Rise…
& Urbanize
• Exciting growth after years of recession
• New locations with personalized, immersive
wellness programming
• All new brands
• New expansion of classic destination spas
• New urban-close wellness retreats

73. The Future:
Destination Spas
& Retreats Fill a
Healthcare Void

74. Death & Spas:
Thriving
During Life’s
Transitions
9

75. Fueling the Trend
• Core identity of spa is healing, personal connection
and helping people cope with pain and stress
• Spas are a natural extension of Hospice care
• Enlightened attitudes: People are increasingly
accepting that death is as much a part of life as birth
• Spiritual awareness, including more acceptance of
Eastern philosophies (mindfulness)
– People are more open to getting help with stress, pain, life
issues
• And once again…an aging population

76. Hospitals Go Spa
Clodagh Design International

77. Caring is the DNA of Spas
Spa4ThePink

78. Safe Places for Change…
Green Valley Spa & Resort (U.S.)

79. …And Fresh Starts
Spa Eastman (Canada)

80. Death & Spas: Thriving
During Life’s Transitions
• Baby boomers are thinking seriously about
aging & death
• Spas are returning to core strengths
– Touch, healing and caring
• Hospitals & care centers are introducing
spa elements
• Death isn’t the only challenge
– Divorce, illness, job loss, PTS

81. The Future: People
Embrace the Healing
Power of Spa

82. Top 10 Surprising
Spa & Wellness
Destinations
10
The Nam Hai
(Vietnam)

83. Fueling the Trend
• 2013 State of Spa Travel Top 2 Trends:
– People desire more exotic, off-the-beaten-path
destinations
– People want immersion in local cultural experiences
vs. “generic luxury”
• Investing By Tourism Boards
• More Wellness Tourists
• Wellness-Obsessed Baby Boomers
• Global Consciousness & Social Interest

84. 1. Bhutan
Uma by COMO, Paro

85. 2. Ghana
Kempinski Hotel opening in 2014
(Hotel rendering)

86. 3. Nicaragua
Mukul, Beach Golf & Spa

87. 4. Portugal
Longevity Wellness Resort Monchique

88. 5. Vietnam
The Nam Hai

89. And 5 More
6. Colombia
7. Croatia
8. Lithuania
9. Morocco
10. Saudi Arabia

90. Top 10 Surprising
Spa & Wellness Destinations
• Spa-goers and wellness seekers have “been
there, done that” mentality
• Seeking exotic destinations and indigenous
experiences
• Countries that were off-limits due to war, crime
and social/political issues are re-branding
around spa
• A “wellness halo” drives tourism dollars
• Wellness tourism is an important element

91. The Future: More New
Destinations on the
Spa & Wellness Map

92. Top 10 Trends
1 Healthy Hotels 2.0
2 Wired Wellness
3 Hot Springs Heat Up
4 Suspending Gravity
5 Ferocious Fitness
6 “Natural” Beauty Meets Social Media
7 Aromatherapy: Scent with Intent
8 Wellness Retreats Rise… & Urbanize
9 Death & Spas: Thriving During Life’s Transitions
10 Top 10 Surprising Spa & Wellness Destinations

93. Be sure to download the full report at:
www.spafinder.com/trends2014
www.spafinder.ca/trends2014
www.spafinder.co.uk/trends2014
If you’re a member of the press, contact:
Beth McGroarty, Research Director & Editor
(213) 300-0107 or beth@rbicom.com
© 2014 Spafinder Wellness, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Information and data extracted from this report is to be accompanied by a
statement identifying Spafinder Wellness, Inc. as the publisher and source.