In the past year and a half, the wellness hotel industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. Due to the month-long lockdown, business collapsed, short-time work was the order of the day, and many employees had to look for other jobs.
“The situation is bizarre: the guests are streaming back, willing to spend good money, but there is a lack of employees everywhere,” says Christian Werner, the publisher of the“Relax Guide 2022” on the occasion of the publication of the 21st edition. The staff shortage is not only the case with service and gastro employees, but also with health service providers for massages or cosmetics. In some hospitals, up to a third of the staff did not return from short-time work.
The guests now feel the associated loss of quality. “Especially with the service and in the kitchen, in some cases we even thought we could hardly recognize the hotel,” said Werner. For the new edition of the “Wellness Bible”, 1181 hotels with wellness and health offers were scrutinized.
Two new trends in the wellness hotel industry
The testers noted positively that the hosts give regionality and sustainability a much higher priority than in previous years. It starts on the menu with meat and vegetables from organic farmers to switching to natural cosmetics.
The “artificially lush spa landscapes” have also lost their appeal. “Forests and meadows are the new oases of wellbeing. We have been observing for years that guests are increasingly leaving the fitness rooms of the wellness hotels and wanting to exercise in the great outdoors instead,” explains Werner.
Up to 20 points and four lilies as an award
As always, the guide book only includes houses that are rated with at least 13 out of a maximum of 20 points. Of the pre-selected wellness hotels, only around twelve percent were awarded at least one lily. None of these had to close due to the Corona crisis. “That shows that quality wins at the end of the day,” says Werner.
On the following pages of the photo series, we present all the hotels that scored three lilies (“excellent”) and four lilies (“top hotel” at 19 points, “top rating” at 20 points) in the ranking.
For more information on all of the homes that have been awarded a “Lily”, see www.relax-guide.com
Also read:
– Raffles & Co: This is how luxurious Asia’s legendary colonial hotels are
– All employees dismissed: The Hotel Atlantis has disappeared again
– “The most beautiful hotels in Switzerland”: When high building culture meets hospitality
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