184. Brilliant, But Vanilla - Why “A Little Better” Is the Problem

The Wellness in Hospitality Podcast · Oct 25, 2026 · 40m

You inherited a hotel. The market now says it needs wellness, so you look at what everyone else is doing, and do it a little better. That’s exactly how luxury hospitality became what it is today: brilliant, but vanilla.

When I wrote The Wellness Asset, the challenge was clear. Most hotels were getting wellness wrong. Gyms were these decorative areas shoehorned into discarded back of house spaces, spas were an afterthought, and the offering added nothing to the value of the property. So I created a process to design wellness properly and to steward it well so its success lasts.

Years later…