Westin grows its running and fitness programs for hotel guests
NEW YORK - You've heard of a typical hotel concierge. But at many Westin hotels, you'll find a running concierge—an onsite expert who engages with fellow runners by either jogging alongside them, recommending local running routes, or training them to run marathons.
"When you travel, I can attest to this, it's very hard to maintain your routine," Chris Heuisler, the brand's global run concierge, told FOX 5 NY. "Maybe you're on a different time zone, maybe you didn't bring your shoes, you don't know where to go."
Heuisler, who oversees the hotel fitness program, said it has been growing from the get-go. The brand hosts a run concierge summit in a different location every 18 months to strengthen its growing community of wellness ambassadors.
"It's evolved because the trend of wellness has evolved," Heuisler said. "The demand from the consumer has evolved."
Westin Hotels launched the health and wellness initiative about 10 years ago. Today, it has more than 200 run concierges across the globe. The service is available to all guests.
"We usually get about three to four guests and we go down the Hudson River Greenway," said Eric Amador, a run concierge at Westin New York at Times Square.
If you forgot your workout gear at home, you can have housekeeping deliver a T-shirt, shorts, socks, and a pair of running shoes to your room for just $5.
But the program isn't exclusive to runners. At select locations, athletes can even go for a spin on a Peloton bike in their very own hotel room.
Danielle Denlein, a hotel guest and a heart attack survivor, called the program a life-changing opportunity.
"It's extremely important to me because I know that the day I had my heart attack, when I arrived to the ER, had I not been healthy and working out, I would not have survived," Denlein said.
The hotel chain has a surf concierge in Maui, a hike concierge at its resort at Mammoth Mountain, California, and plans to recruit even more wellness coaches in the near future.
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