We all know that change is the only thing that’s certain in this world, but the speed of change – and the consequences of it – are much greater in this fast-moving, technology-centric society we live in today. No matter what industry you work in, everyone is talking about disruption; from Uber to Airbnb, start-ups are shaking up the way some of the most well-established companies are doing business.
In this annual Handbook, one of our goals is to look forward at what’s coming down the pipeline that will affect your business – whether that’s in our annual Spa Foresight section (pages 14-29), in our Development Pipeline of the most exciting spas being built around the world (pages 30-74), or in our Industry Insights section (pages 75-112), where we call on experts to enlighten us on potential new business opportunities.
This year, the idea that the spa industry is ripe for disruption was a recurring theme – from Adria Lake’s ideas for creating ‘Wellness Without Walls’ to Rohit Talwar’s thoughts on the future of augmented reality and spas, to Hayley Ard’s look at spas that blur the boundaries between comfort, fear and disgust. The millennial consumer will help to drive whatever disruption our industry sees, together with their younger counterparts, Gen Z (born after 1996), who are shaping up to be a globally minded, philanthropic, individualistic generation. By 2019, they will account for 32 per cent of the world’s population, and they will soon be your next guests. They’re growing up in this new era of wellness, and there are certainly opportunities for you to involve them in your spa even while they’re young, as several have suggested in these pages.
Baby Boomers will still have their influence on our industry – they’ll help fuel the growth in wellness communities (see pages 118-123), they’re transforming the wellness space in senior living (see page 16), and they still have more disposable income than the rest of us. But it’s the youth, as always, who will drive the change – and this next generation is ready to do things differently.
