Scandic contributes to increased public health
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Scandic contributes to increased public health
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Category: Worldwide - Industry economy
- Trends / Expert's advice
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2008-08-18
- the hotel chain is now building new gyms at its hotels
In its drive to be the healthiest company in the travel industry, the Scandic hotel chain has adopted yet another major health initiative. It is launching a joint gym concept for all 147 hotels in the chain. The total investment amounts to SEK 60 million. This will provide new fitness facilities for Scandic’s guests and team members. The majority of gyms will be up and running by early next year.
The World Health Organization recommends 30 minutes of exercise every day. The same health benefits can also be achieved through 30 minutes of intensive exercise three times a week. In Sweden, to take one example, around 53 percent of men and 40 percent of women are overweight or obese (HLV 2007*), and this reflects a similar picture across the rest of Europe.
In 2006, Scandic therefore decided to focus seriously on becoming the travel industry’s healthiest company. Together, the hotel chain’s 6,000 team members have, on three occasions, looked into areas of improvement. This has led to an increased focus on food and exercise, subsidised programmes to give up smoking, health motivators at every hotel, and bicycles and walking poles for guests.
Now comes the next phase, with the launch of a joint gym concept for the hotels. In total, it will involve around 130 gyms and a total investment of SEK 60 million.
“Many of our hotels have long had gyms, but the quality has varied and not all our guests have been aware of their existence. This is a way for us to reach out to our guests and at the same time show that we mean business. By ensuring consistent quality and fitness facilities at all our hotels, we can add value for guests who wish to live a healthier life while on the move,” explains Martin Creydt, Senior Vice President Hotel Operations at Scandic.
The first trial gym is currently being built at Scandic Star in Sollentuna, Sweden. The roll-out of the new concept will then start after the summer. Scandic’s guests will be able to pack their gym clothes as a matter of course by early next year, when the hotel chain plans to have the new gyms installed at the majority of its hotels.
* HLV 2007 – a survey by the Swedish National Institute of Public Health
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