Last Word Tamara Lohan, Mr & Mrs Smith
A digital antidote Tamara Lohan MBE, co-founder of online boutique hotel booking website Mr & Mrs Smith, believes that spas play an important role in an increasingly connected world
UK customers, who make up 60% of our 1.5 million members, is for ‘a spa break within two hours of London’. People are looking for something that takes them away from the norm – hotels with a sense of place that offer more than a beautiful bedroom – and we are seeing a real yearning for personalised experiences. Internationally, we are seeing a huge demand for indulgent spa treatments, such as the onsen at Aman Spa, Amanemu hotel in Ise-Shima National Park, Japan, current holder of the ‘Most Spoiling Spa’ award in our Mr & Mrs Smith Hotel Awards. Previous European hotels to be shortlisted include Corinthia Hotel London and Dormy House Hotel & Spa in the Cotswolds. Also meeting these criteria for customers are: Tri, a new breed of sustainable luxury hotel on Sri Lanka’s Lake Koggala; Selman in Marrakech, Morocco with its labyrinthine stone sanctuary; and Entre Cielos in Mendoza, Argentina, which has the first traditional hamman in Latin America.
The way forward
“People are looking for something that takes them away from the norm – hotels with a sense of place that offer more than a beautiful bedroom – and we are seeing a real yearning for personalised experiences.”
D
uring my speech at the 2016 Spa Life conference I shared the story of how a spa experience helped drive the concept of Mr & Mrs Smith, launched with my husband, James (pictured), back in 2003. Being invited to talk to an international audience of spa professionals was a thrill and also an indication of the connection between the evolution of spas and hotels. I believe spas have a huge part to play in our digital age as they are viewed as an antidote to the stress-related problems we face. Couples booking through Mr & Mrs Smith are now looking for places that provide an extra element of experience – it is becoming more acceptable for people to admit they are stressed and the burgeoning wellness arena provides an essential escape. Indeed, wellness is driving online bookings for Mr & Mrs Smith – the number one request we receive from
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At Mr & Mrs Smith, we aim to combine the hi-tech with a high-touch approach in order to increase guest satisfaction. In response to demand from our customers, we are now collaborating with The School of Life, which provides workshops for guests to develop emotional intelligence and learn the skills to build long-lasting relationships. Elsewhere, I love the new trend for guest healers at spas as it keeps their offer fresh. Also, there is a real buzz, certainly in London, about salons – in the traditional sense of the word – where people gather to hear a speaker. I think that taking this into spas and hotels is a great way to engage guests and make their stay a little bit more special. Digital detox is another popular trend at the moment, but as a mum who runs her own business, total disconnection would actually make me anxious, although I totally agree with disconnecting for set periods of time. These days people want to be able to trust and feel looked after and there is a real role for hotels and spas here – our industry touches the guest in a thousand different ways, so to those that get it right, hats off to you!
Meet the expert Technology strategist and marketing entrepreneur Tamara Lohan is responsible for evolving the digital infrastructure of Mr & Mrs Smith, which currently endorses a collection of more than 1,000 hotels in 81 countries, all of them reviewed anonymously. The brand has offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Singapore. In 2014, co-founders Tamara and James Lohan were awarded MBEs for services to the British travel industry. www.mrandmrssmith.com
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