By Sarah B. Hood
Forget the saunas and spa services, the gourmet coffee stations, Wi-Fi access and chef-driven cuisine: what hotel guests want above all when they check in is the promise of a restful night’s sleep. In fact, Hilton’s 2024 Trends Report identifies that “regardless of generation, the number-1 reason people want to travel in 2024 is to rest and re-charge,” adding that “sleep tourism” is on the rise internationally.
This year, Hilton is launching Sleep Retreats at the Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Maui that include doctor-led educational sessions and relaxation-focused spa services. Other properties angling to cater to this niche include Conrad Bali, with its SWAY sleep-therapy experience (relaxation techniques that take place in a cocoon hammock) and numerous outlets offering “pillow menus.”
“A well-thought-out sleep retreat must offer an all-encompassing approach that includes nutrition, movement, mindfulness, and bespoke treatments,” says Emmanuel Arroyo, senior corporate director of Wellness at Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. “At Rosewood Abu Dhabi, the Revive in Retreat is a transformative three-day program that unlocks the ultimate in sleep quality through everything from a sound healing session to healthy cuisine and IV therapy.”
Rosewood also has a brand-wide program called Alchemy of Sleep, a roster of immersive retreats designed to promote rest through sleep. For example, at Rosewood Villa Magna in Madrid, the “Sleep Journey” massage treatment promotes deep slumber through the activation of pressure points combined with mindful breath work. Rosewood Mayakoba offers a similar “Ode to Rest” massage.
A report from HTF Market Intelligence estimates that the sleep tourism market size sits around US$640.9 billion and will grow by US$409.8 billion between 2023 and 2028, reflecting worldwide interest in improving the amount and quality of sleep that people are getting.
Another 2024 study by Oakville, Ont.-based Pearl Strategy and Innovation Design reports that the number of Canadians actively working to improve their sleep increased from 84 per cent in 2020 to 90 per cent in 2023. The report also stated that younger respondents (millennials and Gen Z) were most likely to be concerned about lack of sleep, suggesting that this is a trend that will only grow in the future.
“The hotel industry is witnessing a sustained surge in the popularity of sleep-focused stays that really picked up momentum in 2022,” says Arroyo. “As travellers become more attuned to just how important their sleep is to their holistic health and wellness needs, they’re increasingly looking for accommodations and experiences that prioritize rest and rejuvenation.”
Emlyn Brown, global senior vice-president of Well-Being, Strategy, Design, Development for Accor, says, “there’s an interest and understanding from our clients of the importance of sleep for our mental and physical health and well-being and our longevity,” noting that tech devices such as Oura Rings, FitBits and iPhones have made it easy for anyone to track their sleep patterns in detail. “People are comparing their sleep patterns; sleep is becoming competitive,” says Brown.
But first and foremost, “the hospitality industry is in the sleep business,” he says, and “what you’re seeing is this drive and move towards recovery” as post-COVID travellers take steps to improve their health and overall quality of life. After all, why suffer through jet lag if you can do something about it?
“We’ve been a little bit remiss in the way we’ve designed rooms in the past,” says Brown. Now, hoteliers are taking a second look at fundamentals such as mattresses and linens.
Sofitel’s MyBed offers a premium mattress that puts an emphasis on the pleasures of sleep. Over the 2023-2024 holiday season, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in North America offered their own high-end sleep supplies for sale to the public, such as custom-monogrammed pajamas from US$185, pillows from US$109, 300 thread-count linens from US$299 and even Fairmont beds from US$3,900. The Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons also offer their luxury bedding to the home market.
Beyond bedding, says Brown, lighting (or the lack of it) is key: “The impact of blue lighting has a great effect on your sleep. We’re bringing circadian lighting [which mirrors the changes of natural light throughout the day] to a lot of our luxury properties.”
Today’s LED technology now provides for tailored lighting in every room with affordable remote-controlled fixtures that can be regulated not only for light intensity but also for the warmth and coolness of colour.
Blackout curtains aid restful sleep, and EMF cutouts enable guests to shut down the electrical frequencies in their room. Brown says his favourite quick fix is reducing the number of tech gadgets to eliminate extra light sources.
Choice Hotels has conceived its Sleep Inn Designed to Dream properties with warm colours, soft lighting and nature-inspired designs. At the renowned Fogo Island Inn, with plentiful natural lighting, handmade textiles and the soothing sounds of the Atlantic surf, “guests report drifting off effortlessly during the nights they spend here. We’ve often heard from guests that they’ve ‘never slept better’ and pride ourselves in knowing our Inn is conducive to relaxation and reflection,” says managing director Amanda Decker-Penton.
Similarly, Rosewood creates an optimal sleep environment through blackout curtains, tranquil colour schemes and in-room amenities such as bath salts and relaxing scent sprays. “We also tapped the latest in sleep technology to provide the best experience to our guests by partnering with Bryte, a pioneer in smart mattresses that enhance sleep quality and track sleep data, at select locations including Rosewood Miramar Beach,” says Arroyo.
Accor uses Eight Sleep mattresses, which can be programmed to different temperatures on different sides of the bed, resolving an age-old dispute for many couples. A pilot room Accor conceived for Swissôtel “pulls back all the conceptions about how a room can be designed,” says Brown, providing lessons that can be incorporated into other luxury properties, from sleep-tracking aids to compression therapy boots for recovery from the physical effects of air travel.
We’ll see this as standard approach to room design. This is an area for industry growth and development as a whole.”
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