Elizabeth Ziemba, President, of Medical Tourism Training Inc, looks at the unique selling points for one of Canada’s leading hotels in the spa tourism sector.

FREEZING AND SALTING GUESTS – DEVELOPING A USP FOR SPA TOURISM IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

Elizabeth Ziemba, President, of Medical Tourism Training Inc, looks at the unique selling points for one of Canada’s leading hotels.

The Windsor Arms Hotel is a luxury property in the upscale section of downtown Toronto, Canada. It personifies attention to detail in its décor, food, service, and amenities. The hotel’s owner, George Friedmann, could be satisfied with providing the traditional five star hotel services. Instead, he has set the hotel apart from competitors by offering something others do not – youth and wellness by getting frozen and salted.

Cryotherapy and halotherapy for youth and wellness

As part of its spa services, the Windsor Arms Hotel offers cryotherapy and halotherapy treatments. Cryotherapy is the controlled exposure to extreme cold while halotherapy involves relaxing in a microclimate infused with salt. Both treatments promise rejuvenation and expedited healing.

At the hotel, guests are invited to step into a Cryo Chamber to expose themselves to some of the coldest temperatures on earth. Cryotherapy – literally freezing the body at temperatures as cold as -190C/-310F – causes all the blood to rush to the body’s core, constricting the peripheral blood vessels. When the brief treatment is complete, blood rushes back throughout the entire body creating a feel good blast of energy. The increased blood circulation pushes oxygen and nutrients through the body resulting in a burst of dynamism and a sense of revitalization. Hollywood stars, professional athletes and ordinary people with extra cash to spend are lining up for cryotherapy to relieve muscle pain or simply feel younger.

Along with freezing guests, the Windsor Arms offers to salt them as well. The Salt Cave treatment room is dark with lounge chairs and soothing music playing while clients breathe in the salt and negative ion infused air of this microcosm. Based on salt treatments in Poland, Europeans have long acknowledged the healing properties of halotherapy for treatment of arthritis, asthma and other respiratory ailments. Now these treatments are available in Canada and finding their way into the United States.

A brilliant unique selling proposition in a crowded market

In the crowded and competitive market of luxury hotels designing new and exotic ways to differentiate themselves from the pack, the Windsor Arms Hotel offers a brilliant unique selling proposition (USP) that is a model for other businesses to emulate. You may want to take a moment to read the article on our website in the Resources section, “What is your USP? Avoid being invisible”, to learn more about what makes a great USP.

First, the Windsor Arms offers services that are appropriate for the clientele who stay at the hotel – upscale with a desire to maintain a youthful appearance while getting heathy or healthier quickly. The services are available to anyone who books an appointment – you do not have to be a guest at the hotel to access these treatments. The USP is designed for the core market as well as a wider audience of people who live in or visit Toronto.

Second, the cryotherapy and halotherapy services tap into the wider growing trend of wanting to look younger, have a sense of greater wellness, a desire to heal faster, and a willingness to experiment with non-traditional approaches such as cosmetic or other types of surgery. According to the Pew Research Center, 10,000 baby boomers in the United States will turn 65 years of age today and every day for the next 15 years.[i] In Canada, the number of boomers turning 65 each day is about 1,000.[ii] These numbers represent a huge market with the interest in staying young and mobile and have the money to pay for ways to achieve those goals. The USP has identified a trend and the audience that is driving the trend. It is a match made in heaven. The services emphasize the benefits to be achieved through these treatments – youth, well-being and health.

Third, the services “fill a point of pain”. In the words of the actress Bette Davis, “Getting old is not for sissies”. The pressure to look younger is felt across the generations especially for women. It pains people to look in the mirror and see wrinkles, age spots, and saggy flesh. Credible solutions to dispel that pain are eagerly being sought across age groups. The services offered by the Windsor Arms look to ease that pain relatively quickly – in one hour sessions.

What is your USP?

Having a clear message that expresses your unique selling proposition is essential to cut through the noise of the marketplace to set your organization apart from your competitors. Do you have a USP? Do you need help developing one? We can help. Please contact me directly at [email protected] to build your health travel business.

PS I visited the Windsor Arms in June 2015 but did not stay as a guest. I was so impressed by what I saw that I wanted to share a great example of a USP with you, nothing more. Next time I am in Toronto, I plan to book myself for a halotherapy session. Cryotherapy is not for me – I already get cold enough.