The Wellness in Hospitality Podcast

Wellness is no longer something guests do on holiday.  It’s something they expect to be supported in , from the moment they book to long after they leave.  In this episode, I’m joined by Emma Sleight, Head of Content at The World’s 50 Best Hotels, to explore how hospitality is being reshaped by changing guest expectations, deeper definitions of wellness, and a growing demand for meaning, connectio...

Consulting does  work.  But only when you stop using it as an escape and start building it like a business.  If Part 1 showed you why most wellness consultants fail, this episode shows you the path that actually works.  In the first part of this series, we looked at the uncomfortable truth:  90% of wellness consultants fail in their first year. It’s not because they lack expertise, it’s because th...

Most wellness leaders don’t fail at consulting because they lack expertise.  They fail because they use consulting to solve a problem it was never designed to fix.  If you’re thinking about consulting as your way out of burnout, frustration, or feeling stuck, this episode may change how you see everything.  This is the first episode in a two-part series.  In Part 1, my goal isn’t to convince you t...

Most new consultants think the safest way to price their work is by the hour or by the day. It feels logical, familiar, and measurable.​    But the truth is pricing by time is the fastest way to stay underpaid, undervalued, and stuck in your old employee identity, no matter how talented you are.    Let’s look at how this actually shows up for new wellness consultants in real life.    When new cons...

Most wellness leaders think consulting will finally free them: from operations, chaos, long hours, and everyone else’s demands. You don’t escape the fires; you trade the operational fires you know for business fires you’ve never handled before, and that’s what makes the transition feel so disorienting.  Here’s how that plays out when you actually leave operations and step into consulting.  When yo...

If you’re standing at the top of your wellness career and quietly wondering, “How do I move into consulting without losing the security I’ve worked so hard for?”, this episode gives you the answer with clarity and honesty.    I’ve watched so many senior wellness leaders reach the highest point of their careers, great salaries, respected roles, global exposure, only to realise the excitement is gon...

Most wellness leaders feel the pull toward consulting, and then freeze on one simple question:  “But what would I actually do?”    In this episode, I break it down clearly and practically, so you finally understand what the role really looks like.    When wellness leaders ask me, “Sonal, what does a wellness consultant actually do?” I always smile because I remember being in that exact place mysel...

What if the reason you feel stuck isn’t your job, your boss, or your hotel but the story you’re telling yourself about everything you’ve already invested?  In this episode, I share a pattern I see over and over again with wellness leaders, and one I lived myself.  You pour years into a role. You stay loyal. You work harder. You deliver more. You wait for the next position, the recognition, the tit...

What does it take to move from managing spa menus to running an entire wellness resort?    Dr Rajesh Bail’s story is proof that when you blend scientific curiosity with commercial acumen, wellness stops being a “department” and becomes the heartbeat of the business.  In this conversation, I sit down with Dr Rajesh Bail, General Manager of Swastik Wellbeing in Pune, India, a resort that’s redefinin...

Most wellness leaders build their offers around fixing pain:   👉🏽 stress, burnout, imbalance.    But the consultants who create real impact and longevity build around aspiration:   👉🏽 who their clients want to become, not just what they want to fix.    This idea came up during a live training with students inside The Wellness Consultant Blueprint.    We were discussing how to create a signatur...

Most hotels still ask: Where do our guests want to go?    But the next generation of travellers is asking something entirely different:  👉🏽  Why am I going?  The next era of travel isn’t about where we go, it’s about why.  In today’s episode, I sit down with Richard Lindberg, the founder of One Planet Journey, and we explore the rise of the Deep Traveller: the purpose-driven guest reshaping how...

Why do some wellness concepts thrive for decades while others fade within a year? It's not the brand.  It's not the bling facilities.  It's not even the talent. There's a deeper model at play, and today, I'm breaking it down. After 20+ years in wellness and hospitality, I've seen both sides of the story: -- the simple concepts that endure, and  -- the beautiful ones t...

Most wellness directors dream about consulting, creating concepts they love, working with clients they choose, and finally having freedom of time and place. But most never make the leap. Not because they’re don’t have the right expertise or wellness knowledge. But because they don’t know how. When I first designed the Wellness Consultant Blueprint, I knew I didn’t want to create another course pac...

If you’re dreaming about becoming a consultant because you think it’ll finally free you from burnout, politics, and being undervalued, this episode is for you. Because here’s the truth:  Consulting won’t save you. It will only amplify who you already are. After nearly two decades in consulting, I’ve seen brilliant wellness directors make the leap, and crash just as quickly.  Why?  Because they tho...

“There are already too many spa consultants out there.” That’s the belief I keep hearing from talented wellness leaders, and it’s the very thought that’s keeping them from tapping into their full potential.  When I put out a call for help a few years ago, I had 384 applications from wellness leaders. After rounds of shortlisting, I test-drove 4 incredibly talented candidates. And yet, not one of t...

Most wellness directors dream about becoming consultants.    Creating concepts they love, working with clients they choose, and enjoying freedom of time and place.     But the leap feels risky.     What if you don’t know what to offer?   What if you can’t find clients?   What if you can’t replace your steady paycheck?  That’s why I created the Wellness Consultant Blueprint: the roadmap I wish I’d...

Most wellness directors dream about becoming consultants, but few understand the reality of stepping into the Strategic Consultant role.     It looks glamorous from the outside: freedom, recognition, unlimited earning potential.     But behind the scenes? It’s a high-stakes game that makes or breaks most consultants within 18 months.    In this episode, I share the third and final exit route in my...

What if you could turn your wellness expertise into adventure, freedom, and premium income, without being tied to one property?   That’s exactly what Exit Route 2, the Project-Based Consultant, makes possible.  In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of my own early consulting years, when I went from pre-opening to pre-opening across the globe. It was exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting a...

January 2008. The key moment when I finally took the leap and set up shop as a consultant. I remember I signed my first hotel group as an internal consultant, and it became the safest bet I ever made.   Here's why this could be your softest landing from operations hell to strategic freedom.    If you’re tired of juggling 10 jobs while your talent gets wasted on putting out operational fires a...

Have you ever felt like the more successful you become as a wellness director, the more trapped you feel?     You're not alone.     In this today’s episode, we dive deep into the paradox that keeps talented wellness professionals stuck beneath an invisible glass ceiling, despite having years of experience and proven success.    In today’s episode, here are the 3 things we’ll cover:    1. The...

What if the spaces we design could do more than impress the eye?  What if they could heal, connect, and transform?     In this episode, architect and visionary Rachael Grochowski reveals why true wellness design goes far beyond aesthetics, and how land, culture, and spirit must guide the process.    Today, we’ll cover:    → The evolution of wellness in design - from luxury amenities to regenerativ...

Wellness is no longer a side offering.   We know it’s becoming a core expectation in hospitality.   But as “wellness” gets attached to anything from a yoga mat in a room to a lobby diffuser, the word is at risk of losing its meaning.   In this episode, I invite Mark Kohoot, founder and CEO of Aeroscena, to discuss how the hospitality industry can protect the integrity of wellness, make it evidence...

 What happens when a burned-out strategy consultant travels the world seeking wellness solutions, only to discover they're all treating symptoms instead of root causes?   Vickum Nawagamuwage's journey from corporate burnout to founding Santani Wellness in Sri Lanka reveals his much-needed approach to wellness that challenges everything hotels think they know about spa and wellness progra...

How one landowner stopped making expensive mistakes and started building a legacy. What happens when you've spent tens of thousands on hotel designs that feel completely wrong? In this episode, I share the story of Corey Beckwith, a successful real estate developer who stood on a beautiful piece of beachfront land in Ghana with an undeniable sense of calling... and no idea how to honour it. H...

What no one tells you about building a wellness legacy. What happens after the clarity? After the vision brief? After the moment where it all starts to feel real? You hit the valley. That quiet, uncomfortable, often terrifying stretch between the dream you’ve held for so long… and the decisions it now demands. This episode is about that valley, and how to move through it. You’ve watched the storie...