{"id":13084,"date":"2023-03-08T09:55:09","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T15:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imegcorp.com\/?p=13084"},"modified":"2023-04-13T11:39:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T16:39:58","slug":"hospitality-update-growth-in-demand-wellness-and-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imegcorp.com\/insights\/blog\/hospitality-update-growth-in-demand-wellness-and-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospitality update: Growth in demand, wellness, and sustainability (Podcast included)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The state of the hospitality industry\u2014and the trends to watch\u2014are discussed with IMEG Director of Hospitality Bob Winter in the first in a series of episodes featuring the firm\u2019s market leaders.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, 2022, was a tremendous year in the market for design and construction,\u201d Bob says, citing the recovery of occupancy rates as the industry emerged from the pandemic. \u201cI have seen a little bit of a headwind this year with some of our projects due to the cost of construction and the cost of money.\u201d However, he adds, there are still a lot of \u201cpent-up opportunities that are coming online,\u201d along with growing demand for more hotels in urban and resort environments.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bob also sees a growing focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, as well as continued growth in properties with a focus on wellness. \u201cMany of the major brands have wellness hotels that are really retreats and are located in places like Sedona or Palm Springs or in wilderness settings, but they’re also in top urban markets, too. These are places where people can go to experience various mind and body rejuvenation or even a much more focused healing and recovery experience, with medical staff and licensed therapists.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bob is no stranger to the concept of wellness retreats. In 1912 his great grandfather opened the <\/span>Hotel Thermia Palace<\/span><\/a> in Czechoslovakia, one of the world\u2019s first wellness resorts.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was built on natural hot springs and there were mud baths; people from throughout central Europe would go there for treatment, primarily for rheumatism,\u201d he says. Though no longer owned by the Winter family, the Thermia Palace exists to this day as a luxury spa and wellness hotel catering to clients worldwide. Those who cross the bridge onto the property pass a statue of a man breaking his crutch\u2014a likeness of Bob\u2019s great grandfather and a symbol of the retreat\u2019s long-standing healing properties.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still a very popular place,\u201d says Bob, who has visited the site.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Winter family\u2019s hospitality legacy transferred to the U.S. at the outbreak of World War 2, when Bob\u2019s grandmother emigrated with her sons to the U.S. She soon became the country\u2019s first female general manager of a major urban hotel, the Hotel Pearson in Chicago. Bob continues the family legacy today as IMEG\u2019s director of hospitality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s the \u2018giant circle\u2019,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s been an interesting journey.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast:<\/p>\n