Are spas and wellness still considered luxurious in today’s world?
I am curious in exploring the buisness behind wellness practices, specifically luxury spas. This article shared the idea of luxury and how it might be changing with the increase of people perceiving wellness as a necessity. This related to my capstone because of how companies may market off of these mindful practices seems relevant when incorporating these into Honda's buisness model.
"spas and wellness — a world of extravagance based on “health” and in other cases “beauty”. Similarly, the concept of luxury — a world of desire and pleasure according to Berry (1992). It could be argued that both run parallel to one another. The concept of spas as a luxurious idea especially within a hotel environment has been questioned.
In today’s world, we could argue it is a necessity for the longevity of life - especially in an era whereby pandemics such as CoVID 19 and in some mental health cases BReXIT originate. The need for greater health (both physical and mental) accessories is at the forefront of the everyday well-being of life.
The Global Wellness Institute (2020) specifies that consumers have been operating a more holistic and natural approach to their health by utilizing preventative care and self-healing, which has brought the wellness movement into the forefront for wellness in the 21st century.
As wellness has evolved by consumers adopting aspects such as self-care, nutrition, and meditation practices, wellness could now be seen as a necessity for healthy living instead of a luxury due to a shift in population attitude and approach based on government attitudes and references towards sustaining healthy living.
uberoi (2014) agrees that the spa industry business proprietors will find that development in the industry will continue to concentrate on the perception of wellness, making wellness more accessible to more people throughout the world.
Burkholder (2007) says that spas are no longer strictly for use by the wealthy, and that the spa experience has become more accessible for the typical consumer, expanding the market potential.
Wellness therapies remain a fundamental part of the consumer lifestyle, with the wellness paradigm shaping the sector and consumer behavior influencing innovation in the market.
In today’s experiential economy, consumers are now looking for something more than just “good” treatment in a manner of speaking — the essence of feeling fit, healthy and wholehearted are of high interest, suggesting that intangibility has an extensive part to play in the luxury domain.
The Asian systems of medicine such as Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine planted the seeds of the health and wellness concept (Wilkinson, 2020). Ancient China was renowned for using nature to heal the body and promote well-being, which could mean that wellness is a part of everyday life, and not seen as a luxury by consumers. (Tsang, 2015).
Consumers are becoming more aware of their health and well-being, which could encourage them to travel to meet their personal wellness requirements. Providing that business owners present the new age tourism model in an attractive way to both primary and secondary consumers, the spa industry could continue to be advantageous and still retain luxury demand. As more consumers take preventative measures to maintain psychological and physiological health, the demand for wellness products and services can only intensify with growth (Thorne, 2021)."
The article describes the business model of wellness practices, including luxury spas. It suggests the idea of luxury may be changing due to wellness being prioritized in daily life. This shifts the model from an out-of-reach item to something that is accessible and prioritized. This allows for a new type of market, companies that are promoting a healthier lifestyle in general. This is something I wanted to explore in my capstone because I am curious about how to market a mindful product to Honda. With the increase in people wanting to explore these practices, it gives more insight into how a product in the car that promotes mindfulness may be more desired than I thought. Another key idea that is important to me is accessibility. The idea of luxury puts a strain on mindfulness practices, and it is important to me to explore how to make something that is accessible to all users to create a calm environment in the car.
References:
Sophie Thorne (2021) Are spas and wellness still considered luxurious in today’s world?, Research in Hospitality Management, 11:1, 9-14, DOI: 10.1080/22243534.2020.1867379
(Citation taken from research article)
AI was used to check grammar in this reflection.
