It’s a fact: new technologies are making inroad in our everyday lives, including our health and wellbeing. Major companies of the Silicon Valley pouring billions in research on how to improve the longevity of the human being is just an illustration of a phenomenon that will dramatically accelerate in the years to come. Like with every revolution, there will be fruits to reap, and one of the main outcome will be the ability to hyper-personalize the client experience as well as provide holistic health and wellness recommendations, but at the same time it poses a threat on what is at the heart of the wellbeing industry: the human touch.
There are four big technology revolutions currently at stake which will affect the Spa and Wellbeing in the near future:
1. New devices and technologies enabling fine data collection about health, physical and mental conditions, such as:
– more and more popular connected devices coming from the fitness world (such as Garmin, FitBit) which measure heart pulse or number of steps to determine physical conditions, and possibly detect level of fatigue when over-worked.
– the democratization of genetic testing (via blood or saliva samples) which enables to predict whether patients are prone to develop certain diseases based on their genetic material.
– in the near future ability to “read your brain” via brain waves reading technology, able to detect the regions of our brain that are activated in response to certain stimulus and therefore deduct our moods and emotional well-being of the moment.
2. From Big Data to Smart Data: integration of information will be key to have a holistic read of the person’s health
AI (Artificial Intelligence) algorithms are able to analyse huge quantity of information for a vast number of individuals. This enables to infer “average behaviours” and detect the outliers. Smart Data refers to the ability to read information at the individual level but also to connect the different pieces of data together to deliver a complete picture of the person’s condition (physical and emotional), in the moment but also related to its historical data. Tech companies who will be able to crack the code on how to crunch variety of data in a horizontal manner (across multiple health variables over time) will certainly have an advantage versus those who are focused on collecting data in a vertical way (single parameter).
3. Artificial Intelligence will be able to integrate all above mentioned information and propose tailor made solutions with ultra-individualized programs.
From the optimal time you should set your wake up, what you should eat for breakfast to the ideal meditation program you need in that very moment. It will range from practical things such as changing the settings of the room such as light, music, air according to your mood, to the extreme of having a cobot (new generation of robot who can mimic the human gestures) delivering a personalized massage based on your overall muscular condition, blood flow, Body Mass Index, and other relevant criteria.
4. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will give endless possibilities for people to get immersive experiences, no matter where they are.
Destination resorts will face fierce competition with urban central locations offering “escapes” from the city at much greater convenience and costs, should it be a relaxing hour on the beach (on a sand and crystal bed from Gharieni) or a walk in the rain forest from your trademill by Technogym. One embryo of this is the YeloSpa in central Manhattan which offers “a sanctuary for stressed-out urbanites to turn off, re-charge, heal and unwind from the pressures of modern life”. The ability to create virtual worlds will reduce the need and desire to travel abroad and why not, could be a way to reduce carbon footprint.
So what does it mean for the Spa and wellbeing industry?
The Spa and Wellness industry is still in search of the holy-grail of “ultra-personalisation”, especially at the high end of the spectrum, in luxury destination Spa or top international Spa clinics. These facilities simply can’t offer “one-size fits all” for the price they charge and also have a strong need to differentiate themselves versus their competitors. Their clientele demands the very best experience, tailored just for them at the right time. Technology will certainly enable to go way further than we ever have been in terms of personalisation, thanks to the amount and quality of data collected around physical and mental aspects of wellbeing. As time passes, means to collect information will become more and more generic (such as genetic testing, which used to be available only to happy few and is now just a click away) and therefore not the prime way to attract clients or distinguish its establishment. However, the battle will come on how to analyse, interpret and therefore recommend suitable treatments for its client, should it be for a day, a week, a month, or even a year. The value creation for the Wellness industry will come from the ability to make the most of the information and provide adequate packages which deliver over time the betterment that is expected. Top institutes will lead the way when it comes to investing in new technologies to deliver utmost personalization, whilst the rest of the industry will look rather towards standardization of mass technology.
How will the SPA of the future look like?
In just 10 years from now, we could already imagine a very different Spa experience…Our flux of personal wellbeing data (physical and mental) is constantly uploaded on the cloud and analyzed. My personal wellbeing assistant Zena (AI) suggests to stop by tomorrow at the Urbanites Wellbeing Center for a “Recharge Package”. Based on the data collected on my sleep, my heartbeats, my daily physical exercise, the glucose level in my blood and my brain waves, it looks like I am slightly over-stressed and therefore my level of fatigue has increased dangerously over the past weeks. As I arrive at the center conveniently located in downtown, a personal assistant (real human this time!) welcomes me and serves me a detox drink whilst we review together the program that the MetaHealth software has just spitted out. It looks like I will have a 3 hours program including mediation session followed by deep sleep, a brain electrostimulation to reboost my creative side. As I am in the right place, we will do further checks on my microbiote to determine which proteins are most suitable to my body as energy fuel, so that I can adjust my diet in the next 4 weeks. We will also use my DNA profile to ensure there is no allergic potential reactions. Next, I am conducted to a pod where I will start my meditation session. As I am putting on the VR glasses (I chose a Budha Temple setting), I adjust the light intensity, air purity and position of the sensory chair in the hope to reach transcendental meditation level. If I reach deep sleep prior the end of the meditation session, the captors in the sensory chair will automatically shut down the meditation guru voice to ensure my sleep is unspoilt. Right after this powerful nap, I make a move to the FieldRoom where a session of brain electro-stimulation awaits me. The Brain Practioner welcomes me warmly and asks how I feel and whether I am still up for a creative boost. Under her supervision, I position the TransBrain helmet on my head and the machine starts the program by asking me a series of questions and showing visuals at the same time, in a playful manner. After this exercise which woke me up fully, the Brain Practioner escorts me back to the Welcome Desk where the personal assistant takes my feedback on the session. Before I leave, she shows me where to find on my personal Health Page the list of recommended nutrients as well as recipe ideas on how to cook them for maximum energy level. As I walk on my way back home, Zena is already ensuring that I will follow the diet recommendation of the MetaHealth software by programming on-line grocery shopping in correlation with the nutrients list provided. When I open the door of my apartment, a soothing music and dim light are on to foster deceleration of my heart beats and lead me into a relaxing state prior dinner.
Opportunities and challenges
Whilst early adopters of new technologies will benefit from the buzz of “disruption”, there will be a number of challenges to solve, amongst which managing the privacy and integrity of clients data, ensuring a seamless collection of information across various touchpoints and devices which have not necessarily been developed as “eco system”, and not to be forgotten the training of qualified staff to assist the client in the use of these new technologies.
I also believe in reaction to this rising high-tech trend in Spa and Wellness destination, we will see a revival of “fire camps” types of retreats, where the use of technology will be rejected and the ultimate goal will be to spend a full week amongst human without any machine (AI, VR, AR, etc) and zero data to exchange.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-new-technologies-spa-wellness-industry-astrid-dauverne