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Nicole Mickelow calls herself a "cardio junkie." So, during the four years she travelled on business across Canada and the United States, she made a point of keeping up her workout routine. The only problem: avoiding hotel gyms.
Mickelow, now 29, found the easiest way to keep up her healthy lifestyle was to find jogging routes and head outside for a run. In many hotels, "The gym is terrible. It's in a closet somewhere," says the television producer.
Her experience is similar to that of many frequent-flyer fitness buffs. But recently, many hoteliers have begun to supply an answer, with workout gear that guests can use in the privacy of their own rooms. That means exercise equipment such as mats or weights, along with instructional videos and even athletic clothes if you forget to bring yours.
Glenn Colarossi, president of hospitality for fitness equipment manufacturer Cybex International, says this is a sensible way to fix a long-time problem.
Providing a quality gym "always was the tail end" of hotel priorities, says Colarossi, a long-time fitness consultant in the United States who has developed fitness programs and facilities for Four Seasons and others.
"Hoteliers always focused on heads or beds," he says. "It was always about revenue. They didn't understand fitness."
An often-cited survey by U.S.-based Lieberman Research Worldwide found that most guests agreed. Sixty-four per cent of business travellers in the 2003 survey agreed that workout rooms were "uninspiring," and 55 per cent said that they had skipped using a gym entirely after seeing its quality.
That said, many travellers are eager to fit in a workout. A January Travelocity.ca poll found that 86 per cent of Canadian travellers make an effort to exercise while travelling, and 35 per cent said that they will find a way to fit in a workout, no matter what.
Research shows that female travellers, in particular, are less comfortable using the exercise facilities in resorts, particularly late at night. As well, Colarossi says, women are less likely to want to use a room where they weren't familiar with the equipment, or are self-conscious about exercising in front of others.
That includes Lindsay Falk, a 31-year-old retail development manager for Ralph Lauren in Vancouver who travels often within Western Canada. Falk has never seen a hotel offer in-room workouts - but she's developed her own routine of abdominal crunches and push-ups, which she does in her own room because she's too self-conscious to do them in front of other gym-goers.
Falk says she uses hotel gyms about half the time, but avoids them if they're crowded. "I hate it when there are three guys in there and me," she says. "I feel like I'm being stared at."
Some hotels, such as Westin Hotels & Resorts, are responding actively to that desire. Specially appointed "Westin Workout Rooms" in each Westin property can be reserved for an additional $60 a night.
They come equipped with either a high-end treadmill or exercise bicycle, along with a shelf containing a stability ball, medicine ball, weights, resistance tubing and a yoga mat. There are also fitness books on yoga, pilates and running, and pilates and yoga DVDs.
Other hotels offer a more low-key experience. The Hyatt chain offers guests access to a yoga mat, a stability ball and yoga block, and its in-room TVs include yoga programs.
Select Hyatt hotels offer yoga classes and private, in-room sessions. Guests can even call the "fitness concierge" and have clothing and shoes delivered - for a price, that is, starting around $20 for a T-shirt.
Karen Mulder, a 35-year-old management consultant at CIBC, says she recently chose a Hyatt while accompanying her husband on a business trip partly because of its in-room yoga offerings.
Mulder likes not having to get dressed up to go to a gym, she says. And as a mother of two young sons, she says in-room fitness is a lifesaver for parents on the road.
"I can put the kids to bed and still do yoga without having to leave the room," she says.
Hilton Garden Inns in the U.S. and Canada offer a similar "Stay-Fit Kit," which contains yoga mats, resistance bands, yoga bricks and other items, along with the option of following along with workout programs purchased on the in-room entertainment systems for a small fee.
But chains are not the only hotels focused on improving guests' fitness experiences; boutique hotels are also getting in on the act. At Hotel Nelligan in Montreal, workout buffs can request a personal trainer to go through a routine with them.
And at the Opus Vancouver, guests can choose from yoga mats, resistance bands and free weights to use in their rooms, says spokeswoman Annabel Hawksworth. Or they can choose a complimentary mountain or city bike from the hotel and go for a spin around the Seawall.
Hawskworth says guests are increasingly asking for in-room workout alternatives, including personal trainers. "We have a lot of visitors from the film industry, including a lot of visitors from L.A.," she says.
"They tend to favour an [in-room] yoga workout. Certainly for the talent of the music and film industry, they want their privacy."
Even ordinary guests are now treating fitness programs as basic amenities, says Hala Beisha of the Four Seasons in Toronto - which offers private trainers, along with pool fitness classes and iPod training. "It's one of those expected services, just like you would have dry cleaning, or calling for pancakes at 2 a.m."
But fitness trainer Yuri Elkman, who helped develop the iPod workout now used at Four Seasons hotels in Canada, says trainers and elaborate facilities aren't really necessary to stay in shape on the road. Even 15 minutes three times a week will help, he says, and using what's in the room is a great way to stay fit.
He suggests doing abdominal exercises, squats and pushups on the floor, using a chair or bench for triceps dips and even doing floor-based movements, such as squats, on the bed for extra core training.
"Business travellers, if they can get in a good, 15-minute workout, their energy level is going to skyrocket," Elkman says.
These days, that's much easier, with all the in-room exercise options available to guests - but Mulder says they come with one drawback. "There really is no excuse," she says.
"It's just staring you in the face. You have to do it."
What the chains offer
WESTIN HOTELS
Westin Workout rooms include a treadmill or bicycle as well as a mat, weights, stability ball and various fitness books and DVDs. The rooms cost an extra $60 a night, plus applicable taxes. And, in May, 10 Westins in Canada and the United States launched Wii Sports and Wii Fit in their exercise rooms.
westin/workout/
HILTON GARDEN INNS
Guests can request a complimentary Stay Fit Kit - which includes a yoga mat, bricks and strap, a Pilates band, resistance cord, hand weights and a medicine ball. Guests can request a fitness DVD.
http://www.hiltongardeninn.com
FAIRMONT HOTELS & RESORTS
Guests can leave their fitness gear at home if they join a loyalty program called Fairmont Fit. Once they're signed up, they can request Adidas clothes and shoes - which can be used free as part of the program, or purchased. They can also request MP3 players pre-loaded with a variety of workout music.
SHERATON HOTELS
Sheraton hotels in Canada launched a new, in-room, on-demand fitness program in April. Core Performance includes training programs guests can do in their rooms, as well as access to on-line training programs.
HYATT
In addition to in-room equipment and TV programs, Hyatt offers joggers complimentary GPS armbands, with guided navigation back to the hotel.
http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/about/stay-fit-at-hyatt.jsp
MARRIOTT HOTELS
Marriott and Renaissance hotels have complimentary fitness kits that can be requested from the front desk, including a "Body Rev" - a piece of equipment that you can use for both cardio and resistance workouts.
