Banyan Tree is planning to enhance the wellbeing journey for its guests with the launch of Onsen bathrooms to differentiate the business and deepen customer engagement with the brand.

Speaking in the latest issue of Spa Business magazine, Paul Hawco, global director of integrated wellbeing, says Banyan Tree founder Ho Kwon Ping’s passion for Japanese bathing culture has inspired the move.

“When you go to a hotel, you expect to be inspired and learn something new,” he explains.

“Transforming guest bathrooms into Onsen experiences will be straightforward in new properties in Korea, Japan and China where they’re located around hot springs and the water can be piped directly into the rooms to create the Onsen experience,” he says.

“Where there isn’t a natural mineral water source, minerals will be added to the water before it’s pumped into the rooms.”

Local herbs and ingredients will also be added and guided breathwork rituals will be on offer to complete the experience.

Creating in-room wellness experiences is increasingly a focus for operators and in a competitive wellness hotel landscape, Hawco says Banyan Tree is pushing forward with innovations such as this based on its ‘eight pillars of wellbeing’ strategy (growth, practice, connection, nourishment, movement, groundedness, rest and mindfulness).

While ROI on intangible wellness touchpoints might not be easy to quantify, these rituals are important for the guest experience, according to Hawco. “You can measure capture rates and footfall,” he says, “but you can’t necessarily measure something that has an emotional impact, even though it drives guest loyalty.”

The group’s introduction of seven retreats led by visiting practitioners last year is another draw for wellbeing-focused consumers.

Meanwhile, guests staying in a Wellbeing Sanctuary villa (a concept introduced at 20 select properties since 2020) are given a Wellbeing Passport to document their activities. In return for their engagement, they’re rewarded with complimentary treatments and more experiences.

Hawco has a plan to raise the capture rates of spas, as well as increasing the average treatment spend over the next two to four years. In the longer term, he plans to grow Banyan’s spa portfolio with more third-party and standalone management contracts. Of its 72 spas, only nine sit outside its hotels currently. The company has a development partnership with Accor which is driving growth.

Read the Spa Business profile of Paul Hawco in the latest issue here.