THE 16ᵉ HOTEL&SPA FORUM CELEBRATES THE BOLDNESS OF WELLNESS (France)
On 30 May, the Four Seasons Hotel George V hosted the 2024 edition of the Forum HOTSPA, the meeting place for luxury hotel and wellness professionals. |
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THE 16ᵉ HOTEL&SPA FORUM CELEBRATES THE BOLDNESS OF WELLNESS (France)
On 30 May, the Four Seasons Hotel George V hosted the 2024 edition of the Forum HOTSPA, the meeting place for luxury hotel and wellness professionals. |
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Article written by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2024-06-03
 Vladi Kovanic, the emblematic founder of the Forum HOTel&SPA
Photo credit © Forum Hotel & Spa
The event's exhibitors and sponsors took advantage of the hushed ambience of the George V lounges to present their latest innovations in wellness, combining cosmetics and technology. The wellbeing industry is playing an increasingly important role in luxury hotels, with guests increasingly looking for a multisensory experience.
The guest of honour at the HOTel&SPA 2024 Forum, Eva Maria Hasenauer, Chief Operating Officer of Lanserhof Group, opened the event with a presentation on the multi-award-winning Lanserhof property concept.
Happy teams - happy guests
This is the thrust of several speakers, which advocate paying attention to the well-being of teams, so that they themselves can create a cocoon of softness and optimize their skills with guests. From accommodation to leadership, several themes were examined by the speakers, to show just how committed everyone in the hotel industry needs to be.
Hans Peter Veit, Director of Spa & Recreation at Appenzeller Huus Gonten, and Adam Mogelonsky, Partner at Hotel Mogel Consulting Ltd, revealed the secrets of effective leadership in "Happy Staff – Happy Guests : The secrets of leadership for dreamteam". While Adam Mogelonsky highlighted the concept of biological rhythm and the importance of celebrating French savoir-vivre, Hans Peter Veit underlined the essential qualities that leaders must cultivate for the well-being of their teams.
Ultimately, the aim of this pairing was to demonstrate that taking care of spa teams is essential if the service delivered to the end guest is to be exceptional. They also illustrated the impact of a high-performance wellness centre on the length of stays. The length of stay is said to be extended by guests who use the spa, who also spend more on average than other hotel guests. An effective spa would therefore have a dual impact, on both LOS and RevPAR.
Immersive technologies for a multisensory experience
Ramy Elnagar and Tom Middleton, co-founders of White Mirror, then captivated the audience with their presentation dedicated to "Experiential wellness - Healing through immersion". Using examples, the two men illustrated how immersive technologies can transform the experience of well-being by creating spaces of sensory wonder. From submersion to the use of red light, properties that incorporate this technology create disruptive experiences and win the loyalty of guests seeking total disconnection, or even regeneration.
Beyond technology, architecture creates the ideal setting for an experience of well-being, and can even incorporate a poetic vision. This is the approach taken by architect Alexandre Pierart, founder of Suprem Architectures, who combines "From Sense of Place to Poetry of Place as a process as well as an Aim", as in the Spa at the Raffles The Palm Dubai Cinq Mondes Paris, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai or the Spa at the Beau-Rivage Palace Maison Guerlain in Lausanne.
Wellness in all its forms
It is possible to be a member of Leading Hotels of the World and include a strong wellness component in your offer, on the fringes of a medical offer. This is the case at Villa Eden in Italy, a 25-room luxury hotel whose owner, Hannes Illmer, came to share his experience of transforming a traditional hotel into a wellness refuge.
Here, healthy menus go hand in hand with wines, and meetings with the hotel's doctors complement visits to the vineyards. A combination that delighted the audience, convinced of the compatibility between well-being and epicureanism.
Finally, Jean-Guy de Gabriac, who was awarded the Red Diamond for his work in the wellness industry, spoke about the forthcoming World Wellness Weekend, which he founded. Scheduled to take place from 20 to 22 September 2024, the event will bring together industry professionals, who will take their teams and local communities into a bubble of well-being for the duration of a sensory weekend.
A historic turning point for the Forum
The highlight of the day was Vladi Kovanic's announcement that Professional Beauty Group, the company which organizes World Spa & Wellness in London, had acquired the Forum. Present for this major announcement, Mark Moloney, Managing Director of Professional Beauty Group, paid tribute to the work of excellence and passion carried out by Vladi over the last 16 years.
He told Journal des Palaces of his intention to broaden the profile of participants and refocus the event on France. Vladi Kovanic, the embodiment of the HOTel&SPA Forum, will continue to play an active role in future editions. "I'm delighted with this synergy and I'm staying on as director of the event for the next five years," she enthused. She has already given participants a date for the next edition of the forum, on 5 June 2025, at the same venue.
A source of inspiration, this 16th edition of the Forum HOTel&SPA has above all encouraged professionals to adopt bold approaches and explore new models of well-being.
Each year, the Forum is an opportunity to honour leading figures from the wellness industry. This year's winners are :
Red Diamond Award
“The Red Diamond Award is given to a person who embodies, with fierce devotion, the principles and practices of wellness throughout their life”.
The Red Diamond Award was awarded to Jean-Guy de Gabriac, Founder of World Wellness Weekend, as the wellness personality of the year.
Black Diamond Award for Spa
“The Black Diamond Award – an award designating the best Spa Manager of the year who, through a single action or their entire career, has gained the recognition of their peers”.
The Black Diamond Award was awarded to Katharina Stoeckinger, Head of Spa, Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa Oetker Collection Baden-Baden.
Blue Diamond Award for Thalassotherapy
“The Blue Diamond Award recognizes the management qualities, innovative spirit, and commercial dynamism of a personality in the thalassotherapy sector”.
The Blue Diamond Award for operational excellence in Thalassotherapy was awarded to Bruno VILT, CEO of EMERIA Hôtel Thalasso & Spa Dinard, and to Florence ROUAH, Director of the Institut Emeria Hôtel Thalasso & Spa.
The Blue Diamond Award for strategy was awarded to Cécile GEFFROY, General Manager of Forstyle Hotels Collection, and to Hervé DUPERRET, Deputy Director of Forstyle Hotels Collection.
 Each year, the Forum rewards the personalities who make the difference to wellness
Photo credit © Forum Hotel & Spa
 Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris will once again be the venue for the 2025 Forum
Photo credit © Forum Hotel & Spa
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