Jeff Bowman’s five-day-a-week exercise regimen includes half an hour on a treadmill followed by 60 minutes on his gym’s weight machines. But when he travels, his workout routine is interrupted not only by his itinerary but also by the fitness habits of other hotel guests.
“Sometimes when I try to use the workout room at a hotel, there’s a group of people down there using the equipment I had wanted, like the treadmill or the bicycle,” said Mr. Bowman, who is an administrator for a custom publishing company in Laguna Hills, Calif. “It’s gotten to the point where I really don’t want to use the fitness facilities anymore. It’s just not worth the hassle.”
As a result, he said, he often feels like “a slug” after staying in a hotel. That is until recently, when he checked into the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago and discovered an offer on a card next to his phone: the hotel would deliver a set of dumbbells, a yoga mat and a stretch cord so he could work out in the privacy of his own room.
“It seemed like a nice option to have for those of us who don’t want to fight the crowds in the workout room,” he said.
Hotels are expanding their fitness offerings beyond their workout rooms, offering room-service delivery of fitness equipment (often at no additional charge), exercise manuals, workout DVD’s and, in some cases, they’ll send a personal trainer to your room. They are even equipping some of their guest rooms with the latest exercise equipment, like stationary bikes and treadmills.
“This is just another way that hotels are setting themselves apart from one another,” said David Murff, the director of information services for PKF Hospitality Research.
Indutry analysts say in-room fitness programs are relatively inexpensive to set up and have been enthusiastically received by guests who crave a little privacy while they are working out.
But Mr. Murff said he wondered whether these amenities would be any more popular than the average hotel fitness room. After all, most leisure travelers are on vacation from everything, including their workout routines. They expect to put on a few pounds while they’re away. For those guests, he speculates, having a piece of exercise equipment delivered to their room may be an effective feel-good amenity that reassures them they are at least doing something to prevent weight gain.
“Whether it works or not, and whether it’s enough to actually persuade someone to book a hotel room in brand A’s hotel, versus brand B’s, remains to be seen,” he said.
Omni Hotels offers an amenity called a Get Fit Kit that contains two-pound dumbbells, a floor mat, stretch cords, a miniradio headset and a bottle of water. The kit is free, but for $14.99 a day extra, guests can also upgrade to a Get Fit Room, which comes with its own treadmill, Get Fit Kit and a minibar stocked with healthy snacks and drinks.
At Marriott and Renaissance hotels in North America, travelers can request a BodyWedge21 foam exercise device that promises a full-body workout (the 21 exercises in the program are printed directly on the wedge for your convenience). Or they can exercise with a BodyRev, a hand-held exercise device that offers a strength-training workout that takes just 15 minutes. A DVD on the in-room entertainment system shows you how to use these devices.
It’s even possible to become a part of the in-room fitness fad without equipment. The Golden Door Spa sells “No Shoes, No Problem,” a DVD that shows how to turn ordinary items like furniture into fitness props. The 31-minute nonaerobic routine includes standing leg lifts, arm toning exercises and calf raises.
It can be bought at the boutique section of www.goldendoor.com for $18, and soon will be able to be downloaded from a Wyndham Hotel and Resort Web site, www.womenontheirway.com.
Perhaps one of the most ambitious personal fitness programs is offered by Westin Hotels and Resorts, which has invested more than $10 million to redesign its fitness facilities. It has begun offering Westin Workout rooms (at least two per every hotel by the end of the year) that come with a Reebok Tomahawk XL Indoor Cycle or Life Fitness Treadmill, a set of exercise DVD’s and a custom-designed fitness shelf that holds adjustable dumbbells, resistance tubing, a stability ball and a yoga mat. There are even magazines like Runner’s World and Bicycling. Cost of an upgrade: about $20 a day.
Will these in-room fitness amenities be enough to pull in new guests? Mr. Bowman, the publishing administrator, for one, thinks so (and guest surveys conducted by the likes of Marriott suggest that other travelers – especially business travelers – agree).
He said such options were much better than taking along a set of dumbbells on a trip to get a workout, as he did before airline baggage weight restrictions made him leave exercise equipment at home.
“Knowing that the equipment is there, waiting for you, is enough to make me pick one hotel over another,” he said. “And I don’t have to share my workout room with anyone else. How can you put a price on that?”
Jeff Bowman’s five-day-a-week exercise regimen includes half an hour on a treadmill followed by 60 minutes on his gym’s weight machines. But when he travels, his workout routine is interrupted not only by his itinerary but also by the fitness habits of other hotel guests.
“Sometimes when I try to use the workout room at a hotel, there’s a group of people down there using the equipment I had wanted, like the treadmill or the bicycle,” said Mr. Bowman, who is an administrator for a custom publishing company in Laguna Hills, Calif. “It’s gotten to the point where I really don’t want to use the fitness facilities anymore. It’s just not worth the hassle.”
As a result, he said, he often feels like “a slug” after staying in a hotel. That is until recently, when he checked into the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago and discovered an offer on a card next to his phone: the hotel would deliver a set of dumbbells, a yoga mat and a stretch cord so he could work out in the privacy of his own room.
“It seemed like a nice option to have for those of us who don’t want to fight the crowds in the workout room,” he said.
Hotels are expanding their fitness offerings beyond their workout rooms, offering room-service delivery of fitness equipment (often at no additional charge), exercise manuals, workout DVD’s and, in some cases, they’ll send a personal trainer to your room. They are even equipping some of their guest rooms with the latest exercise equipment, like stationary bikes and treadmills.
“This is just another way that hotels are setting themselves apart from one another,” said David Murff, the director of information services for PKF Hospitality Research.
Indutry analysts say in-room fitness programs are relatively inexpensive to set up and have been enthusiastically received by guests who crave a little privacy while they are working out.
But Mr. Murff said he wondered whether these amenities would be any more popular than the average hotel fitness room. After all, most leisure travelers are on vacation from everything, including their workout routines. They expect to put on a few pounds while they’re away. For those guests, he speculates, having a piece of exercise equipment delivered to their room may be an effective feel-good amenity that reassures them they are at least doing something to prevent weight gain.
“Whether it works or not, and whether it’s enough to actually persuade someone to book a hotel room in brand A’s hotel, versus brand B’s, remains to be seen,” he said.
Omni Hotels offers an amenity called a Get Fit Kit that contains two-pound dumbbells, a floor mat, stretch cords, a miniradio headset and a bottle of water. The kit is free, but for $14.99 a day extra, guests can also upgrade to a Get Fit Room, which comes with its own treadmill, Get Fit Kit and a minibar stocked with healthy snacks and drinks.
At Marriott and Renaissance hotels in North America, travelers can request a BodyWedge21 foam exercise device that promises a full-body workout (the 21 exercises in the program are printed directly on the wedge for your convenience). Or they can exercise with a BodyRev, a hand-held exercise device that offers a strength-training workout that takes just 15 minutes. A DVD on the in-room entertainment system shows you how to use these devices.
It’s even possible to become a part of the in-room fitness fad without equipment. The Golden Door Spa sells “No Shoes, No Problem,” a DVD that shows how to turn ordinary items like furniture into fitness props. The 31-minute nonaerobic routine includes standing leg lifts, arm toning exercises and calf raises.
It can be bought at the boutique section of www.goldendoor.com for $18, and soon will be able to be downloaded from a Wyndham Hotel and Resort Web site, www.womenontheirway.com.
Perhaps one of the most ambitious personal fitness programs is offered by Westin Hotels and Resorts, which has invested more than $10 million to redesign its fitness facilities. It has begun offering Westin Workout rooms (at least two per every hotel by the end of the year) that come with a Reebok Tomahawk XL Indoor Cycle or Life Fitness Treadmill, a set of exercise DVD’s and a custom-designed fitness shelf that holds adjustable dumbbells, resistance tubing, a stability ball and a yoga mat. There are even magazines like Runner’s World and Bicycling. Cost of an upgrade: about $20 a day.
Will these in-room fitness amenities be enough to pull in new guests? Mr. Bowman, the publishing administrator, for one, thinks so (and guest surveys conducted by the likes of Marriott suggest that other travelers – especially business travelers – agree).
He said such options were much better than taking along a set of dumbbells on a trip to get a workout, as he did before airline baggage weight restrictions made him leave exercise equipment at home.
“Knowing that the equipment is there, waiting for you, is enough to make me pick one hotel over another,” he said. “And I don’t have to share my workout room with anyone else. How can you put a price on that?”
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