Norwalk, Conn. - InterContinental Hotels Group's full-court press on the growing wellness travel trend is on display here, at one of the two first Even Hotels.
While wellness initiatives are nothing new for hotels, IHG's Even is the first brand to be built entirely around the concept. Brand head Adam Glickman said it was developed by mining insights from 4,000 travelers during the course of three years.
"We learned that it was hard for them to keep that balance when they travel, and they fall off the wagon," Glickman said. "We wanted them to feel good at the hotel, and when they leave, feel better than when they had gotten there."
Built from a gutted Four Points by Sheraton hotel, the Norwalk Even hotel was designed for travelers to keep that balance across all aspects of the stay: free flavor-infused waters available at check-in and in the lobby at all times, video and live spin classes offered as part of the hotel's extensive fitness center and healthy menus—even the cocktail listings include options with kale juice.
In-room fitness also is a brand hallmark. While other brands have had in-room fitness options—Kimpton Hotels, for example, has in-room yoga services—Even Hotels have ample in-room workout space, equipment including exercise balls and resistance bands and several channels that play nonstop, brief workout routines with which guests can follow along.
Even also puts its stairwell front-and-center for guests who want to use it instead of hotel elevators, Glickman said.
Even's Norwalk location lies right across the street from several corporate offices, and corporate travelers are a key targeted demographic. At the same time, many travel buyers are looking to incorporate wellness initiatives more directly into their travel programs, said Nicole Hackett, director of travel services at Graham Holdings.
In "so many companies with managed programs that are mature, the travel managers who get it are saying, 'What else can I do with traveler engagement?' " Hackett said. "An important part now is this work-life balance, taking care of yourself."
Hackett, who also recently helped to develop VisFit, a mobile website for traveler wellness, said maintaining wellness during travel can be particularly difficult outside of major urban markets. "You're not going to have six fitness centers and a large local market, and it takes time to vet those places," she said.
That IHG devoted an entire brand to the concept was "groundbreaking," she said, though she noted Starwood Hotels and Resorts also stands out among hotel companies in incorporating wellness in its brands and making sure that carries over to corporate events and meetings.
With only two hotels open so far—the other is in Rockville, Md.—Even remains a limited option for corporate travel buyers, though it plans two hotels in New York in mid-2015. In the meantime, however, the wellness initiatives brewed by Even could begin to bubble up across other parts of the IHG portfolio, particularly in Crowne Plaza properties, according to IHG Owners Association president Eva Ferguson.
"They're undergoing a huge transformation, and one of the things they're working on right now is the fitness center," she said. "We're taking lessons on what IHG did on Even Hotels and trying to expand those into the rest of the brand—not just Crowne, but that will be the first one it will be addressed in."