Opened earlier this year, Banyan Tree Veya Phuket is an entire resort dedicated to wellness, with unique programming focused on whole body movement and therapies. The spa and well-being center is about 43,000 square feet and has 20 spa villas and pavilions, each tucked away in their own private gardens. Within the well-being center is Thailand’s first White Room, which provides visitors with sensory and detoxifying experiences.
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Opened earlier this year, Banyan Tree Veya Phuket is an entire resort dedicated to wellness, with unique programming focused on whole body movement and therapies. The spa and well-being center is about 43,000 square feet and has 20 spa villas and pavilions, each tucked away in their own private gardens. Within the well-being center is Thailand’s first White Room, which provides visitors with sensory and detoxifying experiences.
Every guest visit is personalized, starting with a private consultation by “well-being hosts” who are certified in Eastern medicine, naturopathy and health coaching. From there, the hosts create a tailored wellness itinerary, which is based on the property’s bespoke approach: awareness, discovery and sustenance. Programming centers around the body and mind, with practices including breathwork, sound therapy, guided meditation, intuitive dance, yoga and other movement classes that address chronic tension and calm the nervous system. Veya also offers signature weightless therapies that involve floatation, body stretching and sound therapy.
Aside from the customized treatment plans, seemingly every aspect of Banyan Tree Veya Phuket is geared toward elevating well-being. Workshops teach guests how to incorporate various rituals into daily life, while plant-forward food options ensure dietary needs and taste buds are satisfied. Even the guest rooms are stocked with wellness amenities like aromatherapy, sleep lighting and music, yoga mats, singing bowls and more.
Here, WellSpa 360 chats with Lee Woon Hoe, senior assistant vice president and executive director of well-being at Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, to learn more about the success of Banyan Tree, how it supports its staff and Veya’s most popular wellness offerings.
How are you marketing the spa?
Banyan Tree is synonymous with spa and well-being, and has been recognized over the last two decades with numerous international and regional awards. We are grateful to both our guests and media for their kind and generous support in promoting our brand. As our guests’ lifestyle has evolved, we now provide online platforms that offer a range of simple yet impactful well-being guides and videos, which empower guests to increase well-being in their daily lives.
How do you retain repeat clients?
First and foremost, credit goes to our Banyan Tree spa therapists. Each undergoes more than 300 hours of foundational training. We continue to upgrade their skills and knowledge on the different pillars of well-being so that they not only care for the soul, but actuate long-term changes that will empower our guests to continue living well.
Modern problems also require modern solutions, so our new range of purposeful well-being experiences and therapeutic massages address and alleviate today’s issues of sleep deprivation, chronic physical tension and mental fatigue. Drawing on science-based techniques derived from years of research and experience, these new massage treatments relieve the body of toxins, tension and mental strain.
How do you hire quality staff?
We consciously seek applicants with intention and an innate desire to heal and care for others. Skills can be learned, but heart and intention are the soul of a good associate.
What do you do to retain quality spa professionals?
We are blessed to attract exceptional talent, because applicants are confident about the quality and rigor of our training and development. As we expand worldwide, many of our spa professionals are able to expand their horizons in different countries. We continue to upgrade their skill set over the course of their career with opportunities to grow into management positions. We are proud that we have associates who have been with us since our inception, and they are now leading the management of spas and resorts around the world.
How do you support employee wellness?
At Banyan Tree, we believe that well-being should be accessible to everyone, including our associates. Stemming from the belief that the ability to deliver truly transformative treatments starts with a balanced connection between oneself, others and nature, we support our associates on their personal journeys by empowering them with tools and training to foster self-care, empathy and resilience.
Trainings are available for all associates to improve their well-being learning and practice at their own time and pace. Modules on empathy, positive psychology and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) teach them about stress management techniques, resilience and self-care. Each year, we also conduct a global associate survey to continuously create a more supportive corporate structure and working environment conducive to improving well-being.
The brand’s service culture motto of “I Am With You,” representing the connection of self, others and nature, begins with our associates, who are the heart and soul of the Banyan Tree experience.
What is your most unique wellness offering?
Banyan Tree’s new Weightless Therapy combines rehabilitative floatation with body stretch massage techniques and meditational sound therapy for a unique sensory experience. Aimed at alleviating mental stress and improving physical well-being, this range of treatments centers around a weightless experience in water. By removing distracting stimuli from the environment and harnessing the benefits of the body’s innate connection with water, the treatments help regenerate body and mind, relieve muscle tension and improve functional movements.
Various studies have highlighted the usefulness of weightless therapy. Water-based relaxation methods can lower cortisol (a stress hormone) and increase serotonin (a happiness-inducing hormone). Moreover, weightless therapy positively affects sleep quality and aids tissue regeneration in sore muscles.
What is your most popular wellness treatment?
Our holistic Asian healing traditions continue to be our most popular offerings. Our new purposeful massages are gaining traction, as people are now more conscious of their needs and seek solutions to issues like sleep deprivation, chronic physical tension and mental fatigue. Each treatment relieves the body of toxins, tension and mental strain.
What is most important for running a successful wellness facility?
Innovation, training and relevance. You must create experiences that are relevant to guests’ needs and the times, as well as supply vigorous, continuous training to ensure that talents are retained and nurtured. Be bold and pioneer new experiences.
How do you stay up to date with industry trends and changes?
Our Spa Academy, which recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary, follows industry trends and developments, and works closely with operations to listen to our guests’ needs. It was recently renamed as the Spa and Wellbeing Academy in recognition of our mission for an even more holistic and scientific approach to supporting guests in their well-being journeys.
