Image: The eforea spa at Hilton Baku in Azerbaijan

The presence of a spa is an "important factor" for consumers booking a hotel, according to a new international trends report published by Hilton Hotels and Resorts (HHR).

Emerging Global Spa Trends - the hotel operator's comprehensive new Hilton Blue Paper - contains insights from industry experts and the founders of product brands.

The report identifies spa-goers and behaviour based on generation, as well as discussing the "increasingly savvy modern spa guest" who is more aware of treatments and products.

Meanwhile, the research underlines an increasing importance of men to the international spa industry and how successful facilities should tailor services to this particular audience.

Underlining the importance of spas, more than half of the participants in a worldwide survey of 6,000 people said wellness facilities were an important factor when choosing a hotel.

The hotel operator is in the process of rolling out its own spa concept - eforea: spa at Hilton - with Qatar and China among the nine locations in which it already has a presence.

Treatments using products from LIT'YA, Kerstin Florian, VitaMan and Peter Thomas Roth form part of the concept, which aims to provide a turnkey spa solution for owners.

HHR global head Dave Horton said: "Spa is a key differentiator for us within both the leisure and business travel segments today.

"This new research emphasises the importance of spas in the decision to book a hotel stay, particularly in the rapidly expanding Chinese market.

"Through innovative concepts like eforea: spa at Hilton we are providing unique spa experiences for our guests and best in class solutions for our owner."

Click here to read the full Hilton Blue Paper - Emerging Global Spa Trends from Hilton Hotels and Resorts.

To read more from key figures from Hilton's global spa team about the rollout of the eforea spa brand, see Spa Business 2011 Issue 3, p28

To read the current issue of Spa Business, visit: www.spabusiness.com/magazine

More details: www.hiltonglobalmediacenter.com

Image: Hilton Hotels and Resorts