“Yoga is becoming a must-have amenity for luxury hotels,”

Yoga has long been a traditional amenity at spas and retreat centers, but in recent years it has spread to mainstream hotels, resorts and tour operators.  Below is an except from the New York Times on this subject.

 “ Long popular at spas and retreat centers, yoga classes have been spreading to mainstream hotels, resorts and tour operators over the last several years. As the ancient stretching and meditation practice gained popularity, the travel industry began seeing dollar signs in sun salutations. Soon, yoga classes were showing up on the on-demand channels in Hyatts and Marriotts, and at the Kimpton hotel chain mats and straps were available to guests who asked.

Now, with yoga becoming so mainstream, properties from chain hotels to bed-and-breakfasts are looking for new ways to incorporate it into their programs to pique guests’ interest and reach their wallets.

“Yoga is becoming a must-have amenity,” on the order of Internet access, said Chekitan S. Dev, a professor of marketing at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. “Guests want to be able to stress out and go on the Internet and check e-mail, and then take five minutes and do yoga.”

The InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz., which contracted Mr. Romanelli’s company to teach daily classes at the resort in September, is hosting a four-day Chocolate Sabbatical.

Hotels typically don’t track yoga as a separate revenue stream. Rather it’s often lumped into spa services. In luxury hotels, for example, yoga classes are increasingly being offered through the spa, often for a fee. “To have a spa can mean 5 to 10 percent incremental occupied rooms and an even greater amount of incremental revenue as those guests tend to spend more than the average guest,” said Bjorn Hanson, a hospitality professor at New York University.

Whatever the form, however, yoga seems to be here to stay. “We wouldn’t build a spa or gym today without planning a space for an area where you can do yoga,” said Christopher W. Norton, chairman of Four Seasons’ Global Spa Task Force. “It’s a very important component.”

Part of its staying power may have to do with its low overhead. “I’d say there’s a demand for yoga,” said Niki Leondakis, chief operating officer at Kimpton Hotels. “It’s also something that’s operationally easy to offer, relatively speaking. “It doesn’t require expensive gear or lots of space. The beauty is in its simplicity.”

Ms Mac Thuy Lien is the spa and yoga director at Natural Joint Stock Company.  She currently manages 8 spas as well as teaches yoga at Saigon Pearl, The Manor, Vincharm gym.  She also works with hotels when there are celebrity and VIP guests that would like a private yoga session. 

For more information on how we can help your hotel set up a yoga program please contact info@njscvietnam.com

“Yoga is becoming a must-have amenity for luxury hotels,”

Yoga has long been a traditional amenity at spas and retreat centers, but in recent years it has spread to mainstream hotels, resorts and tour operators.  Below is an except from the New York Times on this subject.

 “ Long popular at spas and retreat centers, yoga classes have been spreading to mainstream hotels, resorts and tour operators over the last several years. As the ancient stretching and meditation practice gained popularity, the travel industry began seeing dollar signs in sun salutations. Soon, yoga classes were showing up on the on-demand channels in Hyatts and Marriotts, and at the Kimpton hotel chain mats and straps were available to guests who asked.

Now, with yoga becoming so mainstream, properties from chain hotels to bed-and-breakfasts are looking for new ways to incorporate it into their programs to pique guests’ interest and reach their wallets.

“Yoga is becoming a must-have amenity,” on the order of Internet access, said Chekitan S. Dev, a professor of marketing at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. “Guests want to be able to stress out and go on the Internet and check e-mail, and then take five minutes and do yoga.”

The InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz., which contracted Mr. Romanelli’s company to teach daily classes at the resort in September, is hosting a four-day Chocolate Sabbatical.

Hotels typically don’t track yoga as a separate revenue stream. Rather it’s often lumped into spa services. In luxury hotels, for example, yoga classes are increasingly being offered through the spa, often for a fee. “To have a spa can mean 5 to 10 percent incremental occupied rooms and an even greater amount of incremental revenue as those guests tend to spend more than the average guest,” said Bjorn Hanson, a hospitality professor at New York University.

Whatever the form, however, yoga seems to be here to stay. “We wouldn’t build a spa or gym today without planning a space for an area where you can do yoga,” said Christopher W. Norton, chairman of Four Seasons’ Global Spa Task Force. “It’s a very important component.”

Part of its staying power may have to do with its low overhead. “I’d say there’s a demand for yoga,” said Niki Leondakis, chief operating officer at Kimpton Hotels. “It’s also something that’s operationally easy to offer, relatively speaking. “It doesn’t require expensive gear or lots of space. The beauty is in its simplicity.”

Ms Mac Thuy Lien is the spa and yoga director at Natural Joint Stock Company.  She currently manages 8 spas as well as teaches yoga at Saigon Pearl, The Manor, Vincharm gym.  She also works with hotels when there are celebrity and VIP guests that would like a private yoga session. 

For more information on how we can help your hotel set up a yoga program please contact info@njscvietnam.com