Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer interest in wellness has been booming. And, with that, hotels are taking a greater interest in providing their guests with ways to reach their physical health goals.
Xponential+ Functional Training Experiences, a new partnership between Xponential Fitness Inc., a franchisor of boutique fitness brands, and Aktiv Solutions, a functional fitness facility design and supply company, was recently launched to integrate a series of immersive exercise equipment experiences tailored specifically for hotels and resorts, as well as corporate campuses, high-end multifamily housing properties and universities.
Aktiv’s proprietary Gym Rax functional training bays will now incorporate thousands of Xponential+ on-demand classes. These digitally connected fitness spaces will provide users with the opportunity to engage with all 10 of Xponential’s boutique fitness brands—including Club Pilates, CycleBar and Pure Barre—digitally where and when they want to.
“The commercial fitness industry has become increasingly competitive, and operators of all types can no longer simply offer traditional equipment solutions; they must also deliver relevant, innovative training apparatus and content tailored to energize and guide guests in their fitness experience,” said Bryan Green, CEO, Aktiv, which has worked with Hilton and other operators to design fitness spaces, including Hilton’s Five Feet to Fitness in-room fitness campaign. “Travelers increasingly book hotels for their amenities… Together with Xponential’s world-class, instructor-led virtual experiences, we will now help our clients further elevate their fitness facility appeal by delivering this best-in-boutique offering to each fitness space we design.”
The new collaboration will allow users to have the same style of workouts they may have at their local gyms or even at home. “The trick is, always, how do you take some of the great guidance and energy that comes out of this massive wave of boutique studios that are all the rage and how do you infuse that energy and that experience into the hotel guests and their experience on the property?” said Green. “Xponential has everything from [high-intensity interval] training to Pilates to recovery [sessions]. Travelers today are much more sensitized to those nuances in fitness. This gives us almost the first opportunity to create this sort of dynamic and energetic type of environment with the integration of this content.”
The partnership allows Aktiv to offer a much wider variety of content than it previously was able to provide users. “We create content every day,” said Garrett Marshall, president, fitness streaming, Xponential Fitness LLC. “We have more than 4,000 pieces of content.”
There are three ways for guests to access that content created by the new partnership: in the guestroom, in the fitness center or on their mobile devices. “Hotels know that their guests are expecting greater awareness and opportunity for people to stay healthy when they are on property,” said Green. “Some folks are still very cautious—as they perhaps should be—and they prefer an in-room experience.”
Marshall pointed out that the mobile-first component is new to the hotel space. “The digital platform that we offer through our mobile experience allows any hotel to digitize their footprint without the need to make a big capital investment,” he said. “This new subscription would allow a guest who’s in the fitness center to download the app and search hundreds of CycleBar classes and jump on any bike without needing the bike itself to be connected.”
Green noted that the mobile option will also allow guests to work out wherever they want to be. “We’re looking at outdoor options as well, which this content is great for because people could use it on their own device and then go to an adjacent space on property,” he said. “We are trying to get creative any which way we can. The neat thing about the Xponential partnership is that it can go with you wherever you need to be, whether it’s in the room or at a fitness center.”
The partnership also addresses what guests discovered about improving their physical wellness during the pandemic.
“The net-net impact that COVID has had has been creating a much greater awareness around the digital options that exist and the importance of convenience,” said Marshall. “The biggest competitor to fitness is time… The demands on all of us now are significant, and that is especially true of people who travel regularly… The consumer expectation is having on-trend options available with just the right equipment so that when you have 20 or 25 minutes of time to get your workout in, you can.”
While the partnership had just launched at press time, both execs said that they already have commitments from several brands.
“We anticipate wide distribution from luxury to full-service brands that see one or more of these components as an integration opportunity for them,” said Green.
