Accor and FitnessDesignGroup Join Forces to Upgrade Hotel Fitness Offerings

Global hospitality group Accor has announced a partnership with gym designer FitnessDesignGroup to tackle the future of fitness amid—and beyond—COVID-19. Drawing upon the approach of boutique studios and a wide range of hotel fitness center experiences, the two groups will conceive a hotel fitness space that promotes inclusivity and pleasure for leisure and business travelers alike. Moreover, the plan to centralize health will expand upon overall goals to promote wellness tourism, which was estimated to reach $919 billion by 2022, according to pre-pandemic research by the Global Wellness Institute. “At Accor, our wellbeing initiatives are designed to permeate into every aspect of the guest experience,” says Emlyn Brown, Accor’s global vice president of wellbeing for luxury and premium brands. “Staying fit is an increasingly substantial focus for travelers today and our approach is to elevate the offering beyond what our guests might otherwise enjoy in their gym or fitness routine at home. The best fitness facilities around the world provide a combination of instruction and energy that you can feel instantly upon entry. Stylization of space and a more thoughtful balance of equipment and apparatus is often overlooked in hotel-based gym amenities.”  To meet current health and wellness concerns with optimized fitness amenities, Accor is collaborating with FitnessDesignGroup to modernize existing properties with increased movement spaces, digitally guided exercise content, and an assortment of enhanced fitness equipment. Simple interventions, like flooring transitions, will be used to delineate training zones from higher intensity workouts to recovery sessions. Accor brands like Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, and Pullman will be impacted by these improvements, with international locations, including the forthcoming Pullman Paris Montparnasse, showcasing the functional fitness areas upon opening. “For many, the health club or boutique fitness studio experience has become a key part of their daily lifestyles,” adds Lauren Holle, director of design for FitnessDesignGroup. “Despite the current interruption to so many aspects of our daily lives, humans are eager to return to the best of communal environments outside the confines of their homes. Accor has been steadfast in maintaining a focus on reconnection to their spaces, and health and wellness remains top of the list in terms of what guests expect as they head back out into the world.”