Touchless transformation

Defined by the Touchless Wellness Association (TWA) as any treatment, therapy or experience that delivers physical, mental, emotional or spiritual benefits to wellbeing, without the need for direct physical touch, touchless technology has boomed in the last 12 months.

European Spa predicts spas will increasingly turn to these therapies – from halotherapy and infrared light treatments to snow rooms and cryotherapy – to add enhanced layers to treatments and boost their bottom line.

“Touchless wellness is a shift that takes us full circle,” explains Alina Hernandez, director of innovation at the TWA. “The most ancient healing therapies were touchless and communal; now we’re seeing the creation of new ecosystems, where wellness is reinvented and innovated using technology, and no longer relegated to a treatment room.”

Touchless therapies can help optimise treatment room utilisation and relieve pressure on therapists while helping operators manage customer flow and augment menu offerings for guests’ increasingly diverse wellness tastes. While many require significant investment, they can create new revenue streams and

increase profit margins longer term.

“Touchless wellness is creating a bridge of understanding to how spa and wellness delivery will look in the future,” says Hernandez. “The goal is not to push human touch out of the picture, it’s to radically reframe service design and add a new context to wellness delivery.”

Leading the way are products such as Robosculptor, a fully automated massage robot. Brands at the forefront of development include Metawell with its Welnamis and Satori loungers, and JK International, producer of the Wellsystem Wave.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR SPAS…

The touchless landscape will create a new, democratised context for spa and wellness service delivery. But spas must ensure touchless tech adds to a meaningful guest experience that includes holistic elements.