In the ever-evolving landscape of luxury wellness travel, travel advisors continually seek innovative strategies to meet the discerning demands of their clients. While quick getaways and weekend escapes remain popular, a shift towards longer stays is becoming increasingly prevalent.
Here are six compelling drivers of the trend toward longer stays, and inspiration to help you capitalize on each:
Value for Money
Longer stays often come with significant financial benefits for both clients and travel advisors. Many luxury resorts and hotels offer discounts or additional amenities for extended bookings, such as complimentary nights, upgraded services, and exclusive experiences.
By promoting longer stays, advisors can provide clients with exceptional value, ensuring they get more luxury for their money. This approach not only enhances client satisfaction but also increases the likelihood of repeat business and referrals.
Let’s take a look at a real-life scenario. Our client, a bride-to-be, was determined to shed 10 pounds, achieve radiant skin, and reduce facial lines before her wedding. Working closely with her advisor, she chose The Farm at San Benito in The Philippines as the best destination for working toward these goals.
Here are a few practices to integrate before you leave to ensure you’re fit enough to enjoy your flight and make the most of your trip.
Originally, she planned to book a seven-night stay ($5,000). After a telehealth meeting with The Farm’s onsite doctor to discuss her case, she opted for a three-week detox, weight loss, and personal fitness regimen including stem cell facials and prescribed IV drops with custom-made vitamins.
She stayed in a luxurious villa with her family, enjoying personalized beauty treatments and wellness activities. She had access to three restaurants offering health-conscious meals, with her intake monitored via a bracelet. She and her family played golf, visited markets with organic produce, and sampled an assortment of daily activities like horseback riding, shopping, and visiting a local weaving collective.
Ultimately, the bride’s investment in the experience was greater than she originally anticipated, but offered a lower per-day cost. Most importantly, she achieved 13-pound weight loss, visibly improved skin, and healthy habits to last a lifetime. The results were so dramatic, she was thrilled she’d opted for a longer stay.
Authentic Cultural Connection
A longer stay allows travelers to deeply immerse themselves in the local culture and community. Unlike short visits, extended stays provide the time needed to explore local traditions, cuisine, and daily life, fostering a genuine connection with the destination.
For clients seeking authentic experiences, this immersion enriches their travel experience, creating lasting memories and a deeper appreciation of the destination’s unique offerings. Encouraging clients to engage with local communities supports sustainable tourism practices and benefits the local economy.
Let’s consider an example. A couple was considering an extension to a business trip and debating between a packaged tour of Japan or an extended stay in Tokyo.
They ultimately booked at a top luxury hotel in Tokyo for three weeks. This longer stay allowed them to participate in various cultural activities organized by the hotel, such as tea ceremonies, calligraphy classes, and guided tours of local temples. They also had time to venture into less touristy neighborhoods, making friends with locals and discovering hidden gems.
The couple left with a profound appreciation for Japanese culture and resolved to return to Tokyo annually, something a shorter stay in Tokyo, as part of a full-country tour, would likely not have afforded.
Opportunities for Family Bonding
Extended luxury vacations offer unparalleled opportunities for family bonding and educational experiences. Families can participate in activities tailored to all age groups, from cooking classes and cultural tours to adventure sports and wellness programs.
While a family getaway can create lasting memories, the depth of connection and healthy habit formation possible during a longer stay is truly transformative, for each traveler individually and the family as a whole.
This is another great example of transformation at The Farm at San Benito, where treatments, activities, and educational opportunities all contribute to happy, healthy family stays.
Guests can stay in large villas with private pools, providing an ideal environment for relaxation and rejuvenation. The villas are dog-friendly, ensuring that even pets can be part of the experience. The presence of peacocks, ducks, and other wildlife adds to the serene and natural ambiance.
The high quality, on-property private daycare allows parents to engage in wellness activities while ensuring their children are well cared for. And, an upscale golf course next door to The Farm offers opportunities for family bonding through sports activities, which comprise one of the fastest-growing segments in the wellness travel industry.
Excellent food options, featuring organic and locally sourced ingredients appealing to all ages, enhance the overall wellness experience.
Finally, families can participate in activities that promote lifelong learning. Cooking classes, wellness workshops, and cultural tours offer enriching experiences that are both educational and enjoyable.
Superior Wellness Outcomes
In today’s fast-paced world, a longer stay at a wellness resort provides the perfect opportunity for clients to truly relax and rejuvenate.
Many luxury resorts offer comprehensive wellness programs, including spa treatments, yoga, meditation, and fitness activities, designed to promote physical and mental well-being. A prolonged stay allows clients to fully benefit from these programs, returning home feeling refreshed and revitalized.
Research indicates that it takes at least three weeks for new habits to form and for the body’s nervous system to adjust to new routines. This extended period is crucial for achieving lasting health benefits and making permanent lifestyle changes, particularly when it comes to detox programs, weight loss, and mindfulness practice adoption.
One example: A client suffering from chronic stress opted for a month-long stay at SHA Wellness Clinic in Spain. The clinic’s integrative approach, combining medical and holistic treatments, required a longer duration to achieve significant results.
The client participated in a personalized program that included detox therapies, nutritional counseling, fitness sessions, and mindfulness training, while his wife stayed by his side working remotely.
By the end of the stay, the client experienced a remarkable improvement in his overall health and well-being, something that would have been unachievable in a shorter visit
Personalized Self-Transformation
Luxury travel advisors can leverage longer stays to curate highly personalized itineraries with an eye toward self-transformation for their clients.
With more time, advisors can arrange bespoke experiences that align with clients’ interests and preferences, such as private tours, exclusive dining experiences, and tailored excursions. This level of personalization enhances the client’s overall experience and reinforces the value of booking through a knowledgeable and attentive travel advisor.
It also yields far more discernible results in terms of personal transformation, those simply not possible over a weekend or even a weeklong stay.
During longer stays, clients can take advantage of bespoke fashion consultations, private shopping tours, and exclusive fittings with renowned fashion houses like Dior and Chanel. The hotel’s proximity to some of the world’s leading fashion boutiques makes it an ideal location for those seeking to enhance their personal style.
Guests can enjoy luxurious spa treatments and personalized anti-aging programs tailored to their individual needs. The serene environment and luxurious amenities provide the perfect backdrop for relaxation and rejuvenation over an extended period.
By integrating advanced beauty treatments with personalized fashion services, extended stays provide a comprehensive and transformative experience for clients. These longer, more immersive stays ensure that all aesthetic and lifestyle needs are thoroughly addressed.
Medical Tourism, Pre- & Post-Recovery
Medical tourism is a growing sector within luxury wellness travel. Longer stays are essential for individuals seeking medical treatments abroad, as they provide adequate time for pre-treatment preparation and post-treatment recovery. .
Extended stays ensure that patients receive comprehensive care and support, including follow-up consultations and rehabilitation services, enhancing the effectiveness of medical treatments and ensuring a smoother recovery process..
Having family and friends nearby during medical treatments and recovery periods is invaluable. Longer stays allow loved ones to be present, offering emotional support and assistance throughout the journey. This support network plays a crucial role in the patient’s recovery and well-being, making the entire experience more comfortable and reassuring.
Extended stays ensure that patients receive comprehensive care and support, including follow-up consultations and rehabilitation services, enhancing the effectiveness of medical treatments and ensuring a smoother recovery process..
Here’s a real-life example, based on a client requiring extensive dental reconstruction. After her medical records and X-rays were sent to a team of top-notch dental practioners in Bangkok, the client’s dental reconstruction was planned over the course of a year.
The client had the flexibility to fly back and forth for her dental treatments or stay in Thailand between them. Ultimately, she opted to spend much of the year in Thailand and encouraged friends and family to join her there. Her advisor helped her plan their visits, which included sightseeing, five-star dining, and culturally immersive experiences.
Her savings on treatment in Thailand (vs. the US) were over 70%, but she ultimately chose to spend this money on her own and her visitors’ stays. The comprehensive approach to her dental work and overall well-being ensured that her health goals were not just met, but exceeded, while she enjoyed the highest standards of care and luxury in the company of friends and family.
Conclusion
Selling longer stays is a strategic approach for luxury travel advisors, offering numerous benefits that enhance the travel experience for clients and strengthen business outcomes.
By focusing on value, cultural immersion, family bonding, long-lasting wellness, personal transformation, and medical tourism, travel advisors can effectively promote extended stays – those that meet (and exceed!) clients’ expectations.
Encouraging longer stays not only enriches clients’ journeys but also solidifies the travel advisor’s role as a trusted advisor in the luxury travel market.