Creating the Next Generation of Wellness Hotels

Description

What happens when four of the most respected voices in global wellness hospitality gather in Milan to dissect the future of spa, hotel, and guest experience design?

This episode brings together Matteo Brusaferri, Emlyn Brown, Lynn Curry, and Laszlo Puczko for a rare, insight-packed conversation recorded live at the Wellness Hospitality Conference. From evolving guest expectations to seismic shifts in design, investment, and operational strategy, this dialogue explores how wellness is redefining the fabric of hospitality worldwide.

Listeners will walk away with a sharper understanding of the forces shaping wellness travel, the rise of new business models, and what hotels must do now to stay relevant in a transformed market.

What You'll Learn:

Why Italy is suddenly emerging as a powerhouse in global wellness hospitality
The shift from "spa as amenity" to "wellbeing as a hotel-wide operating system"
How design teams are rethinking movement, recovery, and nutrition inside luxury hotels
The critical mistakes developers make when building spas, and the fixes that prevent costly rework
Why wellness tourism needs a mindset shift from trends and technology to cultural alignment and guest resonance

Episode Highlights:

00:00 – Why the Wellness Hospitality Conference was created and what it signals about Italy's industry evolution
04:09 – How international benchmarking helped elevate Italian spa standards
09:45 – The rise of club-style wellbeing spaces and the decline of the "amenity spa"
17:28 – Designing hotels for recovery: circadian lighting, room tech, and the future of the guest room
22:56 – The unseen complexity of spa operations and why most designs fail without operator input
31:40 – Thermal areas: cost, mistakes, and what must happen early in development
37:50 – Laszlo's "hamster wheel" analogy and how hotels can break free from trend-chasing
42:30 – How to craft micro-wellness experiences guests remember months later

Meet the Guests:

Matteo Brusaferri – Founder of the Wellness Hospitality Conference and General Manager of LEMI Group, leading innovation in Italian spa equipment and wellness design.

Emlyn Brown – Group Director of Wellbeing, Mandarin Oriental. A global leader in wellness hotel development and next-generation hospitality concepts.

Lynn Curry – Founder of Curry Spa Consulting and one of the most respected spa development experts in North America.

Laszlo Puczko – Wellness tourism strategist and advisor known worldwide for integrating cultural insight, guest psychology, and destination development.

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned

"Club, not spa" membership-driven urban wellness models
Thermal bathing and pay-to-play hydrothermal concepts
Guest memory mapping for long-term emotional retention
Operational service-mapping for end-to-end spa experience
Wellness OS as an integrated, property-wide design philosophy

Closing Insight:

"Wellness isn't what you offer, it's what the guest remembers months later."

For leaders shaping the future of hospitality, this episode provides a roadmap for designing, operating, and investing in wellness experiences that matter.

Looking for expert advice in Spa Consulting, with live training and online learning?

Spa Consulting: wynnebusiness.com/spa-management-consulting

Live Training: wynnebusiness.com/live-education

Online Learning: wynnebusiness.com/spa-management-courses