Travel and Hospitality Marketing
Why Should Hotels
Be Fitness-Friendly?
Be Fitness-Friendly?
The fitness industry is booming, bringing with it a growing audience of travelers who prioritize an active lifestyle and well-being.
A hotel’s primary goal is to maximize occupancy rates and generate additional revenue from dining, spa services, and other on-site experiences. The higher the occupancy and the more guests spend on amenities, the more profitable the hotel becomes.
Below, I’ll outline how strategic positioning can help countryside and resort hotels attract fitness-focused guests—a high-value audience willing to spend on premium experiences.
Below, I’ll outline how strategic positioning can help countryside and resort hotels attract fitness-focused guests—a high-value audience willing to spend on premium experiences.
Being Fitness-Friendly: It’s About Positioning, Not Just Infrastructure
Let’s be clear—a hotel doesn’t need a state-of-the-art fitness facility to attract fitness-conscious travelers, though having one is certainly an advantage. Being fitness-friendly is more about positioning than infrastructure.
It’s about shaping the hotel’s brand to say, “We welcome and support active lifestyles.” This is where product and content marketing play a crucial role. By integrating fitness-friendly messaging and tailored guest experiences, hotels can effectively tap into this lucrative market segment.
It’s about shaping the hotel’s brand to say, “We welcome and support active lifestyles.” This is where product and content marketing play a crucial role. By integrating fitness-friendly messaging and tailored guest experiences, hotels can effectively tap into this lucrative market segment.
How to Attract Fitness Travelers Without a Full Gym
To appeal to fitness-conscious guests, hotels need to create fitness opportunities, consistently communicate them, and make these messages part of their long-term marketing strategy.
Understanding the Fitness Traveler Mindset
Fitness-focused guests are regular people with everyday routines, but they prefer destinations that support their active lifestyle. They don’t necessarily require a state-of-the-art gym—what they seek is the ability to stay active while traveling.
Becoming Fitness-Friendly: A Strategic Approach
Being Fitness-Friendly means thoughtfully designing fitness experiences and actively promoting them to attract guests who prioritize movement and well-being. It’s about positioning your hotel as a place where fitness is welcomed and encouraged.
To appeal to fitness-conscious guests, hotels need to create fitness opportunities, consistently communicate them, and make these messages part of their long-term marketing strategy.
Understanding the Fitness Traveler Mindset
Fitness-focused guests are regular people with everyday routines, but they prefer destinations that support their active lifestyle. They don’t necessarily require a state-of-the-art gym—what they seek is the ability to stay active while traveling.
Becoming Fitness-Friendly: A Strategic Approach
Being Fitness-Friendly means thoughtfully designing fitness experiences and actively promoting them to attract guests who prioritize movement and well-being. It’s about positioning your hotel as a place where fitness is welcomed and encouraged.
How to Become a Fitness-Friendly Hotel
1
If your hotel doesn’t have its own fitness facilities, that’s not a problem. You can still attract fitness-conscious guests by curating and promoting fitness opportunities nearby.
1. Map Out Fitness-Friendly Locations Around Your Hotel
Identify all nearby places that could appeal to active travelers:
Your job is to do the thinking for your guests by identifying fitness opportunities and showcasing them in a way that makes it easy and appealing for travelers to stay active.
Many people want to incorporate fitness into their trips, but they won’t take the time to research where and how to do it. A hotel that proactively provides this information already stands out and increases its appeal to active travelers.
1. Map Out Fitness-Friendly Locations Around Your Hotel
Identify all nearby places that could appeal to active travelers:
- Outdoor workout areas – Public fitness stations, parks with exercise equipment
- Running routes – Scenic paths, city loops, or trails
- Cycling options – Bike rental stations, designated cycling routes
- Hiking trails – Urban or nature-based trekking paths, which you can also create yourself
- Include a dedicated page titled “Fitness at [Your Hotel’s Name]”
- Provide descriptions, photos, and links to mapped routes (via Yandex Maps or Google Maps)
- Highlight convenient fitness spots, including distances from the hotel
Your job is to do the thinking for your guests by identifying fitness opportunities and showcasing them in a way that makes it easy and appealing for travelers to stay active.
Many people want to incorporate fitness into their trips, but they won’t take the time to research where and how to do it. A hotel that proactively provides this information already stands out and increases its appeal to active travelers.
2
If possible, create fitness-friendly spaces within your property. Even small hotels can integrate smart, functional workout areas that cater to fitness-conscious travelers.
1. Design Compact Yet Effective Fitness Spaces
New hotels should prioritize training logic over gym size. A fully functional workout space can fit within 60 square meters if designed efficiently.
Here’s an example of a well-designed fitness area created for a small boutique hotel:
1. Design Compact Yet Effective Fitness Spaces
New hotels should prioritize training logic over gym size. A fully functional workout space can fit within 60 square meters if designed efficiently.
Here’s an example of a well-designed fitness area created for a small boutique hotel:
- UFC Equipment Functional Zone – A branded, high-performance training space tailored for functional fitness and martial arts enthusiasts. This setup can serve as a differentiation point that attracts guests specifically looking for combat-style or HIIT workouts. Triggers like this drive bookings.
- Personal Training Areas – A dedicated space with yoga mats, TRX suspension trainers, and resistance bands. A simple yet effective setup for personal or small-group training.
- Outdoor Fitness Spots – If you have available land, consider installing an outdoor workout zone, a running track, or a yoga deck.
- Position your hotel as a Fitness-Friendly destination by branding your on-site fitness offerings.
- Promote your unique fitness facilities through website content, social media, and partnerships with fitness influencers.
- Develop seasonal fitness retreats or weekend workout programs to attract active travelers.
3
Want to make your hotel irresistible to fitness-focused travelers? Gamify the experience. People love challenges, rewards, and competition—especially in fitness. By integrating gamification into your hotel's fitness offerings, you can increase engagement, encourage spending, and enhance guest satisfaction.
1. Integrate Fitness Apps & Wearables
Encourage guests to try additional services by linking them to fitness challenges:
1. Integrate Fitness Apps & Wearables
- Use fitness tracking apps that sync with guests' smartwatches and fitness bands (Apple Health, Google Fit, Garmin, Strava, etc.).
- Offer daily challenges based on steps, calories burned, or workout sessions.
- Partner with existing fitness challenge platforms or build a simple custom app for guests.
- Daily Step Challenge – The guest with the most steps in 24 hours wins a free coffee or smoothie.
- Weekend Step Race – The top stepper on Saturday & Sunday gets a free 20-minute massage.
- Outdoor Fitness Quest – Guests complete a scenic running or cycling route and earn discounts at the hotel spa or restaurant.
- Hotel Gym Leaderboard – Track workouts and reward the most active guest of the week.
Encourage guests to try additional services by linking them to fitness challenges:
- Hit 15,000 steps in a day? Get 20 minutes of free massage.
- Attend three yoga classes? Earn a free smoothie.
- Complete a hiking trail? Get a discount on spa treatments.
- Make sure your website, social media, and in-room materials promote your fitness gamification features.
- Let guests know that staying active at your hotel isn’t just easy—it’s fun and rewarding!
How to Attract a Fitness-Conscious Audience to Your Hotel
Some hoteliers complain to me:
"Why bother with fitness? I have a gym, but no one uses it!"
So, I say, "Let’s go, show me." We walk in, and there it is—a windowless room with a random selection of outdated machines that no one knows how to use.
No, guys, being Fitness-Friendly means being interesting to a fitness audience. That requires thoughtful design, positioning, and continuous storytelling about why your hotel is a great choice for fitness-conscious guests.
What’s important to understand is that fitness travelers will choose hotels that welcome their lifestyle, but once they arrive, they will relax like any other guests. The key difference? They are more willing to spend.
Promote your fitness offerings on your website and social media.
Visit all the local fitness clubs, introduce yourself to the managers, offer a promo code for their clients, and provide valuable content.
Remember, vacation is not a competitor to training. Fitness clubs won’t see you as competition if you offer solutions, not just ask for referrals with a generic "Send us your clients."
"Why bother with fitness? I have a gym, but no one uses it!"
So, I say, "Let’s go, show me." We walk in, and there it is—a windowless room with a random selection of outdated machines that no one knows how to use.
No, guys, being Fitness-Friendly means being interesting to a fitness audience. That requires thoughtful design, positioning, and continuous storytelling about why your hotel is a great choice for fitness-conscious guests.
What’s important to understand is that fitness travelers will choose hotels that welcome their lifestyle, but once they arrive, they will relax like any other guests. The key difference? They are more willing to spend.
Promote your fitness offerings on your website and social media.
Visit all the local fitness clubs, introduce yourself to the managers, offer a promo code for their clients, and provide valuable content.
Remember, vacation is not a competitor to training. Fitness clubs won’t see you as competition if you offer solutions, not just ask for referrals with a generic "Send us your clients."
Find popular fitness trainers on Instagram who work in local gyms and invite them to your hotel privately. Offer them a deal: a free stay and relaxation in exchange for 2–4 posts. They are not bloggers—they have a real, engaged audience of fitness enthusiasts.
Consistently share stories about why your hotel is a great destination for fitness lovers. Over time, people will notice—and they will come. They will come.
Partner with a well-known fitness chain in your city and create a regular fitness-focused offering tailored to their audience.
Consistently share stories about why your hotel is a great destination for fitness lovers. Over time, people will notice—and they will come. They will come.
Partner with a well-known fitness chain in your city and create a regular fitness-focused offering tailored to their audience.
The fitness industry is growing, and fitness marketing actively invests in engaging people with fitness. This creates a community of individuals focused on self-improvement and an active lifestyle.
Hotels can support the fitness industry by helping fitness clubs retain their audience’s engagement, offering joint experiences instead of competing for the same traffic. However, to do this successfully, hotels must become Fitness-Friendly.
Hotels can support the fitness industry by helping fitness clubs retain their audience’s engagement, offering joint experiences instead of competing for the same traffic. However, to do this successfully, hotels must become Fitness-Friendly.
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