If you had asked me as little as six months ago, I’d tell you that yoga is not for me, that I can find other ways to relax my mind and seek physical and emotional discipline. Fast forward to today, and I can’t imagine not including yoga practice in my life, even if I’m traveling.
Enter Michelle Higgins’ fabulous New York Times article on hotels offering yoga as an amenity for guests. First, it was wi-fi, then free DVD libraries, and fitness salons. Now, yoga is a sought-after amenity in hotels. Most of us who travel look up places near where we are staying so we can plan our yoga practice. However, that’s not always very conducive, so hotels have picked up on that need and are offering classes on property as part of their spa services. Of course, you can’t be particularly picky about the style of yoga offered (I can’t expect to find the hot yoga I practice in hotels), so a typical flow yoga class would fulfill the guests’ need.
There’s a big PR opportunity here for hotels to act on this emerging amenity trend. Whether it’s the frequency of the yoga classes, or the type of yoga, or even if its offered complimentary for the business traveler (I’d take yoga over free breakfast!), there is a conversation going on that hotels can successfully moderate to their advantage.