Abstract
The stress of the pandemic has prompted a spike in demand for mental health services, and as the need continues to climb, hotels are responding with beefed‐up staff and programming, Condé Nast Traveler reported on Jan. 17. Raj Mahal is the founder of Plan More Trips, an app that helps travelers book low‐cost travel. The stress of running a startup, he said, was beginning to take a toll on his mental health. In his hotel room, he saw a flier for a partnership that Kimpton Gray Hotel in Chicago was rolling out with Talkspace, a company that offers virtual, online psychotherapy. The partnership offered guests at Kimpton properties a free video therapy session with licensed counselors at Talkspace. Mahal logged on and did his first session there in the hotel room, connecting with a therapist who listened to his concerns. The Global Wellness Institute projects that the wellness tourism sector will grow by 21% annually through 2025, thanks in no small part to the pandemic. Beyond Kimpton — whose Talkspace partnership concluded at the end of January — the holistic wellness‐minded Miraval Resorts is collaborating with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to create virtual events and video content, all designed to increase awareness of mental well‐being and widen access to resources for travelers who might be struggling with their own mental health.
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