To encourage secondary spend and boost overall business, Chi, The Spa at Edsa Shangri-La in Manila has introduced a membership scheme. The four tiers range from PHP15,000-100,000 (US$290-1,920, €230-1,560, £210-1,370) with PHP16,500-130,000 (US$320-2,500, €260-2,030, £230-1,780) worth of spa credits, plus extra hotel and wellness benefits. The credits can be used on any purchase in the spa, including Kerstin Florian and Biologique Recherche treatments and products.

Barry White, of White Living spa consultancy, created the scheme and says there’s an option to roll it out across multiple Chi, The Spas in the future.

He feels the benefits are threefold. “It’s designed in recognition of loyal guests; to give an easy way to pay for services; and to remove barriers to purchase to encourage secondary spend,” he says.

Prior to setting up White Living in 2017, White was global director of spa operations for Langham Hotel’s Chuan Spa for eight years, overseeing 14 sites.

Biomarker tests are carried out pre-arrival for Bodhimaya’s rest and restore retreat at boutique hotel Villa La Coste, Provence to customise a guest’s experience. The programme includes two daily sessions of both meditation and yoga, science-based gut-healthy menus and nutritional consultations and can focus on anything from weight-loss and body cleansing to release from stress, or burnout or simply resting.

The Bodhimaya retreat, which runs in April and September, ranges from a four- to 10-night stay and is one of seven specialist programmes curated by spa consultant Greg Payne for the idyllic hillside hideaway. He’s intentionally picked experts who “don’t do the hotel circuit”.

Payne says Villa La Coste, with its vineyard surroundings and world-famous art installations, is the perfect setting for people to “press the pause button and to have a chance to reset… to process treatments and [ultimately] shift perspectives”.

Choosing ingredients and food preparation methods that offer better digestion and absorption for a healthy microbiome is just one element of the new Eat With Six Senses programme. Chefs will create hearty and healthy menus and avoid things like flavour enhancers, lectins, lactose, gluten and sugar. Additionally, each resort has its own organic vegetable garden and sources other ingredients locally, ethically and sustainably.

“Guests not only eat well, they feel better,” says cardiac surgeon Dr Steven Gundry, founder of The Center for Restorative Medicine and Six Senses Wellness Board specialist. “It will create a culture of health and wellness through healthier meal choices… and will help them make positive, lasting life adjustments.”

We all know our real age – but what about our body’s age which reflects how we look after ourselves? The gap between our chronological age and biological age can be surprisingly large, spurring people on to make lifestyle changes. With this in mind, Heba Al-Zuhair, a nutritionist and health scientist and weight-loss specialist, held a Body Age Challenge session at Gainsborough Bath Spa, UK. She calculated participant’s true body ages and followed up with appropriate lifestyle recommendations.

The session is part of a series of programmes Gainsborough Bath Spa is hosting to position itself as a wellness destination and to attract new clients.