Skift Take
The wellness market is huge, but InterContinental Hotels Group hasn't had a finger in it. Watch that change as it leverages the Six Senses acquisition for spa concepts for its brands.
The $4.2 trillion wellness market isn’t a strong suit of Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), but the chain’s acquisition of Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas is just the treatment it needs to change that.
IHG’s luxury brands do not have a dedicated spa concept, but there won’t be a Six Senses Spa in InterContinental, Regent, or Kimpton hotels. “I don’t want to do that,” said Neil Jacobs, CEO of Six Senses.
“We fought hard for years to change the perception that we’re a spa company. We’re not, we’re a hotel company. Besides, a brand like InterContinental has over 200 hotels — put Six Senses Spa in each?”
Instead, Jacobs pointed out that the Six Senses’ acquisition includes Raison d’Etre, a spa consulting company that can develop a wellness concept for some of IHG’s brands, starting probably with Regent, he said. Acquired by IHG in March last year, Regent is undergoing a rebranding journey. This week, IHG unveiled a new logo for the brand.
Raison d’Etre had created spa concepts for luxury hotel chains such as The Ama
