Our Contrarian Take on Wellness

We're in the middle of a generational shift in what people travel for. The wellness tourism market is already over $1 trillion globally and growing at nearly twice the rate of overall tourism…

With travelers spending up to 41% more on wellness experiences than traditional trips.

And hospitality brands are scrambling to capture this demand, with new wellness offerings consistently hitting the hospitality market. 

But a lot of people are focused on the wrong opportunity entirely.

For many hotels, the consensus is clear: the future of wellness means going bigger, more advanced, more tech-focused.

Some of the most celebrated wellness-hotels are betting everything on this approach:

Take SIRO in Dubai. They've turned hotel floors into athlete recovery centers with millions of dollars of technology, training programs designed by professional athletes and olympic-grade recovery facilities.

Chenot Palace Weggis in Switzerland goes full medical with physician-led detox protocols, clinical lab work, and device-enhanced therapeutic sessions.

Carillon Miami Wellness Resort has built an entire medical campus with Prism Light Pods, touchless wellness circuits, and IV therapy clinics.

And there's absolutely a place for high-tech wellness…

But the real untapped opportunity lies in nature-immersed, accessible wellness.

While everyone's building medical spas that could double as research facilities, there's a massive gap in the market for wellness experiences that don't intimidate guests.

Most travelers aren't looking to optimize every biomarker or reverse their biological age. They want to come away feeling rejuvenated, restored, and good about themselves…

Without feeling like they need a medical degree to understand the amenities.

Nature already delivers everything most guests are looking for: Fresh air that actually fills your lungs, natural light that regulates your circadian rhythms, the sound of water or wind through trees that drops your stress levels instantly. 

These things restore us without having to decode any protocols. 

Most guests aren’t Bryan Johnson trying to live forever, they just want to feel a little better than when they checked-in. 

And the best way to achieve that? Simple nature immersion.

Compare a sterile hotel spa tucked into a basement to a yoga deck suspended in the treetops. 

Or a clinical cold therapy chamber versus a natural cold plunge by a creek. The nature-immersed experience doesn't just feel more authentic—it accelerates the benefits guests are looking to receive.

There's something about being surrounded by living, breathing environments that amplifies restoration in ways those sterile hotel spas we were used to in the past simply can't match.

These experiences feel restorative, not clinical, which is exactly what most travelers are craving.

The hospitality industry has been slow to evolve beyond transactional experiences.

Big-box hotels focus on loyalty points and cookie-cutter amenities.

Wellness gets siloed in urban luxury hotels or intimidating destination spas.

Aman and Six Senses are arguably the most focused on nature-immersed wellness, but for 99% of travelers, these properties are out of reach at $2,000+ per night.

That leaves a massive gap for accessible, modern-traveler-friendly properties that actually marry wellness with immersive nature.

While there's absolutely a place for high-tech, all-in wellness retreats, we think the bigger opportunity lies in making wellness feel natural, accessible, and transformative.

The industry just hasn't caught on yet.