Fit for Meetings

It’s January and that means many people have a New Year’s resolution to lose weight or get in shape. Planners, along with attendees, are going to be more fitness-minded than ever.

Long days, intense schedules and meals-on-the-go can make traveling for business a hassle. Luckily more hotels are helping guests, especially business travelers, eat healthy and get fit.

Rob Hager, a Dallas-based consultant, spends four days every week in places like Manhattan, Minneapolis, Minn.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Beverly Hills, Calif.

“I take health pretty seriously and that means spending time in the gym,” says Hager who typically works out every morning for an hour in his hotel’s gym.

While many travelers revel in amenities like free wireless Internet and top-notch concierge service, Hager says a hotel’s gym can be a deal breaker. “It’s the smaller things that can really make a big difference,” he says.

Hager frequently stays at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, where he enjoys the free weights at the hotel’s StayFit Athletic Club, which recently completed a $1 million renovation.

Locals and hotel guests alike are taking advantage of the club’s health and fitness offerings like massages, yoga, pilates and a steam room.

“It’s not an ordinary gym by any means,” says Katie Warburton, director of sales at the hotel. “We go a step above and beyond what the average traveler would expect.”

The gym boasts 50-inch high-definition plasma TVs as well as new cardio and strength training equipment. Add in step aerobics and kick boxing and you can be sure travelers are feeling the burn.

A one-day gym pass at the StayFit Athletic Club costs $11, but Warburton points out that many businesses these days pay their employees’ fitness expenses to encourage them to stay healthy.

“When you’re away from home you need convenience,” says Warburton.

Is it Fit to Keep you Fit?

Travelers want quality too. Still, the idea of health and fitness programs for travelers is a relatively new concept.

Ron Rosell of FitForBusiness.com has been tracking the trend for a decade. “It’s still a small minority of hotels with excellent athletic facilities,” he says.

Not all gym amenities are equal. A former business traveler himself, Rosell says many hotels advertise more than they deliver. “They’d always say they had state-of-the-art facilities, but all they’d have was a treadmill and a TV,” he says.

But nowadays, traveling clientele are more discriminating and hotel fitness programs are more sophisticated to meet the increasing demand.

Rosell’s website helps travelers find places to work out while on the road. “A hotel doesn’t get listed on our site unless it’s got a superior fitness center,” he says.

The website lists criteria such as gym fees, whether users need to bring their own towel, whether the pool is ideal for swimming laps and a description of how suitable the surrounding neighborhood is for running.

Finding a Balance

Travelers staying at Embassy Suites Hotels can expect a commitment to health and fitness as the hotel launches its “Business Balance” initiative in first-quarter 2007.

“More and more, our travelers are expected to perform in meetings and presentations while on the road for business,” says John Lee, Embassy Suites Hotels’ vice president of brand marketing and communications. “Their job performance and livelihood depend on their ability to be productive while on the road.”

With the new program, travelers receive complimentary cooked-to-order breakfasts and the opportunity to exercise in Precor-equipped fitness centers. They also rest on a high-end bedding collection known as Embassy Essentials.

Lee says the fitness-on-the-road trend is here to stay as hotels continue to offer extra amenities to guests. “Embassy Suites is constantly looking for effective and creative ways to add additional value to guests’ stays,” he says.

Business traveler Steve Mahon frequently stays at the Embassy Suites St. Louis, where he hits the gym a 5 a.m. at least twice a week for a 45-minute session. While he’s not fussy about equipment, Mahon says he needs a gym that’s open early and is convenient for his schedule.

Keeping fit on the road is a balancing act, he says.

Healthy Mini-Bars and Sneaker Valets?

New York City’s Affinia Dumont hotel bills itself as high-tech and health-conscious. Every suite in the hotel offers a healthy mini-bar — instead of candy bars, nuts and booze, this bar is stocked with bottled water, energy bars and low-fat snacks.

Affinia Dumont has four types of “Fit Kits” for guests to use in their rooms. The free kits are pre-packaged exercise equipment for running, walking, strength training and yoga such as exercise balls and resistance bands.

The hotel also offers a Fitness Concierge to help travelers arrange appointments with personal trainers, make recommendations on equipment and lead spa and fitness seminars.

The 1,100-square-foot fitness suite on the 26th floor features a private gym, sauna, cardio and strength-training equipment.

Other fitness options include running and walking route maps, “stretch of the month” tips and a “Black Book” to assist travelers in locating health and fitness resources in the Big Apple.

After your workout, your gym clothes may not exactly be in the same state as when you packed them. That’s where the Fitness Valet and Sneaker Valet come in, providing “prompt refreshing, laundering and storage of workout attire for a nominal charge,” says Colligan.

Affinia Dumont spokeswoman Michelle Colligan says travelers value their free time on the road. “Business travelers welcome the opportunity to stay at a hotel that offers them the chance to de-stress as they would at home, and retain an element of normalcy and consistency in an otherwise hectic schedule,” she says.

Don’t Forget Yourself

Erika Trimble of Event & Meeting Professionals Business Association in Delta, British Columbia, says hotels and meeting planners are looking for ways to meet their clients’ health and fitness needs.

Trimble says in a fast-paced, high-stress lifestyle, travelers need to maintain healthy routines. She suggests relaxing and keeping fit with simple strategies like stretching in the hotel room and walking the neighborhood near the hotel.

“Make sure every day you do something of this nature for 30 to 45 minutes,” she says. “Put fitness into your calendar as you would a big meeting.”

Trimble says at a recent conference for meeting planners, the day’s session started with an hour of yoga. The attendees were dressed causally and made the most of the exercise opportunity. “They really liked it,” she says.

Building Muscle and Business Relationships

Sherry Parks of Corporate Planners Unlimited Inc., in Dana Point, Calif., says break-out exercise sessions are a great way to build business relationships.

“Senior management often lead the ‘runners’ at lunch in the cities and small towns alike, and or invite their associates to healthy workouts in the racquetball courts nearby, instead of the golf course,” says Parks, who always reviews a hotel’s health and fitness opportunities when selecting properties for clients.

In cold-weather climates, she looks for indoor experiences like gyms. In warmer locales, she considers locations that offer outdoor activities like tennis courts and jogging trails.

Parks says incorporating fitness into a traveler’s schedule is definitely “thinking outside the box.” While it can be pricier than traditional travel packages, Parks says the price is worth it to keep attendees alert and focused.

Exercise can help travelers manage stress and improve their health. With so many innovative fitness programs for travelers, now there’s no excuse to miss a work out on the road. Tackling that New Year’s resolution — and your attendees’ — has never been easier.