“ I actually thought that spa was going to get harder hit than fitness , and we ’ re actually finding that the spa part of our business is flourishing , and people are slower to come back to the in-person fitness experience .”
– JULIA SUTTON
Because Rivers has been teaching classes in person , she spends a short time at the beginning of each class coaching guests through the health and safety protocols in place and acknowledging that some participants may feel trepidation about being in a space with other people ( maybe for the first time in months ).“ People are definitely more comfortable with [ those protocols ] now , but I ’ ve had people come to Miraval , and it ’ s actually the first time they ’ ve been inside with other people for longer periods of time , and it has felt really anxiety-ridden for them .”
For Bambi Walters , an instructor who has taught a variety of fitness classes at The Spa at Colonial Williamsburg for seven years , creating as warm and personalized an environment as possible is crucial to making guests feel comfortable and lessening those potential anxieties . “ In our in-person experience , the one thing I want everybody to feel is safe ,” says Walters .“ So , when there ’ s a new person coming into class — which we have a lot of because they ’ re hotel guests — I spend a few minutes welcoming them , getting to know their names , sharing a little bit of knowledge or trivia so that there is that connection .” Fostering that sense of connection has also been an important part of the virtual classes Walters has led , and she has been pleasantly surprised at how favorably participants have responded to the remote environment . She notes that some of the groups she leads sign on to their classes well before the instructors to catch up with one another , celebrate personal milestones and simply engage with others socially . In that way , being able to maintain a strong sense of support and community at a time when so many experiences feel fragmented and isolating has been an unexpected benefit of holding classes in a virtual environment .
Keep it Together
Maintaining her spas ’ robust and loyal community was also front-of-mind for Julia Sutton when the pandemic began and spas around the country were forced to close . Julia is COO of Exhale Enterprises , which has locations all over the U . S . in cities including New York , Boston , Atlanta and Dallas . “ We find the [ Exhale guest ] to be a very loyal guest , and with that , the moment the pandemic started , I got together with our team and said , ‘ How do we keep this community together ?’”
Initially , Exhale invited guests to participate in weekly virtual retreats , which featured estheticians leading virtual facial treatments and nutritionists offering guidance for staying healthy during quarantine , in addition to virtual fitness , yoga and Barre classes . These offerings , along with an extensive library of pre-recorded on-demand videos Exhale had developed over the previous year , helped offset
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22 PULSE ■ APRIL 2021