Guest Wellness Suggestions for Small Tourist Accommodations Businesses
Are we relying on equipment (like fancy coffee machines) to create happy guests at the expense of ignoring their emotional needs? Guests are often searching for personalised experiences which help them de-stress or achieve personal goals. So as hosts we need to help guests achieve a deeper level of satisfaction beyond what amenities can do to enhance their Wellness. This doesn’t need to cost money. Using My Green Butler I have found offering Wellness tips can be a great way to engage guests and a method to generate new ideas that can make my accommodation more competitive.
What is Wellness? Sometimes people associate Wellness with intense yoga sessions and the like, but it is much more than that. It is a scientifically studied approach which combines physical, mental and spiritual well-being. See our At A Glance guide below to set you on your way to coming up with great suggestions and help you generate new ideas.
Wellness recommendations can be low cost, such as encouraging guests to slow down (which also helps them reduce their travel footprint) and to try local services (like massages which increase community financial benefits). Guests’ experience is enhanced through Wellness suggestions because they feel you are empathising with their needs. It also helps them to relax, so appreciating the efforts you make.
We have all meet guests that arrive stressed out and under pressure to have the “perfect stay”. Wellness suggestions can help to ease that pressure. Guests need help to escape the daily stress of their lives. Emotions can positively change by igniting a change in actions. This lends to happy guests and perhaps a more memorable stay that will bring them back again.
At a glance guide to wellness
| Types of Wellness | Explanation | Example accommodation suggestions |
| Social Wellness | Able to relate and connect to others like maintaining positive relationships with family and friends (something which is at the core of holidays!) | Activities for grandparents and children. Restyle the lounge to make it inviting for small family groups |
| Emotional Wellness | Ability to understand ourselves and share emotions in a positive manner | Reflective books and broader range of thought provoking movies |
| Spiritual Wellness | Creating peace and harmony by realising a common purpose that binds us all, and to create consistency between our values and actions | Quiet spaces in the garden or reflective rooms, using scents and sounds and then invite guests to visit |
| Environmental Wellness | Recognising our own responsibility for the quality of water, land and nature around us | Share your environmental programmes and thank guests for their help in saving resources and reducing waste |
| Occupational Wellness | To get personal fulfilment from our jobs and to have a positive impact on the organisation you work for | Apply high employment standards and share the stories of your staff and how they make a personal difference at your accommodation |
| Intellectual Wellness | Able to open our minds to new ideas and the desire to learn new concepts | Offer a library of imaginative books or recommend places to visit that can stimulate creative thinking |
| Physical Wellness | Maintain healthy quality of life and adopting healthy habits | Suggest healthy activities and recommend healthy menu options |
Table of contents
- Description
- Season
- Rotation
- Report Type
- When
- Outside Temperature
- Who
- Accessible
- Dietary Requirements
- Precipitation
Description
I have already prepared a selection of Wellness suggestions for guests so you could make a few edits to my ideas. Overtime using the At A Glace guide you might come up with some really new ideas which work well for your accommodation.
Season
Use the season changes to help you finetune new ideas that work better with the climate at that time of year. No point in suggesting a relaxed wander round the garden in deepest winter when it’s too cold to walk slowly! However you could suggest it in Autumn when the colours are beautiful and the weather not quite as cold.
Rotation
For variety’s sake it is best to have a variety of ideas, and then rotate them, rather than seeing the same idea everyday
Report Type
Destination Service users can only pick one option here, but if you have upgraded use the options to fine-tune your words to reflect when guests are reading your suggestions; like when they arrive, during their stay, or on the last morning. It makes the whole My Green Butler experience even more personal and relevant. For example when welcoming guests you want them to change from the rush of travel to calming down, while that last morning might be more a reflective moment. Holidays can help us see our lives differently after a few days.
When (time of day)
The mobile app is updated hourly so the messages can appear throughout the day and you can therefore offer time relevant suggestions for afternoons and evening. Like visiting a special place at sundown.
Outside temperature
It is not just about suggesting things when the weather is fine, as hospitality professionals we also need to especially cater for when it is too hot or cold. These are the times when our suggestions have greatest benefit to smooth over the disappointment of the weather and help guests focus.
Who
Think about what would be pertinent for guests travelling on their own and parents of young children verses couples. Use the options to personalise your messages. You can duplicate messages and then make minor modifications to save time.
Accessible
About 1 in 10 guests will have a physical disadvantage, be elderly, or heavily pregnant. Writing your suggestions wisely you can gently modify your text so that ideas are easier for those who are not as mobile.
Dietary requirements
Healthy eating is a key feature of Wellness and this option gives you the ability to refine your suggestions to better suit guests’ dietary needs. I have found they greatly appreciate this as many in hospitality tend to ignore the large number of guests who have special dietary requirements. This is a great way to empathise with your guests and show you care.
Precipitation
This helps you manage how the guest reacts to pouring rain or showers which can put a dampener on their leisure time. So use the suggestions for indoor activities or actually go out and enjoy the rain! Or suggest places that are still fun whatever the weather. Using positive language when writing your suggestion can help guests’ moods move on.
For more information on how WISE Sustainability’s My Green Butler service can help you increase guest satisfaction through tailored wellness suggestions, click here.
