Checking In: Why Kimpton Hotels Made Therapy a Guest Amenity

Travel bookings are almost back to normal—even as our stressful times remain anything but. Room service, bars and restaurants, and access to a pool and spa are among the normal hotel guest comforts disrupted by the pandemic that have returned. But Kimpton Hotels, the IHG-owned boutique chain, knows those perks simply won’t cut it for the anguished traveler these days. So it’s partnering with online mental health provider Talkspace to offer virtual counseling sessions to its visitors. If hospitality providers can provide fitness rooms for guests’ physical health, why not mental health amenities as well? Given the increased numbers of bookings, Kimpton could be onto something as hospitality brands try to stand out. According to hotel industry analytics company STR, hotels were 62% full during the last week in February, the most recent period for available data. That’s up from 47.5% occupancy from the same week in 2021. The U.S. Travel Association industry group points out that leisure travel grew from 77% of its pre-pandemic total in 2020 to 97% in 2021. While business and international travel aren’t expected to come back to 2019 levels until 2024 at the earliest, the number of people taking vacations or visiting friends and family is expected to return to normal levels this year. Many people today really continue to grapple with the stress and anxiety stemming from our time in lockdown or the emotional impact of losing loved ones during the pandemic.Kate Rosenblatt, senior clinical manager, Talkspace That may be of little comfort to the one in five U.S. adults who—according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness—experienced a mental illness during the pandemic. Anxiety and depression symptoms have more than tripled since Covid-19 first appeared. The ensuing consequences are now considered unacceptable collateral damage among some members of the travel industry. Do not disturb: Therapy in progress More than 60 Kimpton Hotels locations are handing out a total of 1,000 free video therapy sessions with Talkspace counselors. The chain is also providing a $100 discount on Talkspace plans through December 2022 and free year-long subscriptions to more than 4,000 U.S. employees. According to both Kimpton and Talkspace representatives, the goal isn’t to market mental health to travelers, but to get both guests and employees alike as comfortable as they can be with returning to pre-pandemic activities. “Many people today really continue to grapple with the stress and anxiety stemming from our time in lockdown or the emotional impact of losing loved ones during the pandemic,” said Kate Rosenblatt, senior clinical manager at Talkspace. “These feelings can really impact our daily activities, including our comfort level with social events and traveling: Even traveling to go see loved ones, which is traveling people really want to do.” The travel sector was hit hard by Covid-19. And those working in the industry dealt with depression, anxiety, hopelessness and lack of confidence when business slowed and jobs disappeared. Kathleen Reidenbach, chief commercial officer at Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, noted that Kimpton had more than 800 job openings at the pandemic’s peak as burnt out employers sought refuge elsewhere. Forget Business or Leisure: It’s All About Essential Travelers No safe haven Talkspace’s business branch commissioned a study with The Harris Poll —Employee Stress Check 2021—addressing employees’ attitudes toward health and well-being during the pandemic. It found that 67% of workers who’d considered leaving their job agreed that their employers had not followed through on early pandemic promises to address workers’ mental health. Another 41% of all employees said they’d switch jobs specifically to avoid stress. “For essential workers, it's been incredibly hard,” Reidenbach said. “You're stuck behind a mask, and you can't even see if your coworker is smiling at you or frowning at you, and you’re navigating things in such an isolated way with your social distancing.” The experience hasn’t been much better for pandemic travelers either. While most are staying at hotels for leisure, they’re far from relaxed: Use of Kimpton’s Kipsu guest messaging service increased 13% from 3.9 messages per visitor in 2019 to 4.4 in 2021. In Florida, where the vacation market reopened much earlier than in the rest of the U.S., guest messages increased 51% from 289,621 in 2019 to 438,574 in 2021. During that same span, the number of customer service conversations throughout the Kimpton system rose 47%. Both Kimpton and Talkspace attribute those increases to “anxiety people were feeling about traveling and staying somewhere other than home.” “Some people really feel excited to travel again and be back in person again,” Talkspace’s Rosenblatt said. “However, for some people, the rates of anxiety have definitely increased and while they might feel excited, they're feeling a little trepidation.” 5 Ways to Keep Employees From Burning Out During the Pandemic Founder-approved Less than a month into the partnership, Talkspace has seen an above-average registration rate for its services as a result of Kimpton’s efforts. The hotel chain, meanwhile, has earned raves on social media for offering mental health services. Kimpton’s founder likely would’ve approved. Bill Kimpton struggled with severe depression before dying of complications from leukemia in 2001. Five years earlier, however, he founded the Mental Insight Foundation in 1996 to treat mental illnesses through natural therapy and meditation. “Our founder, Bill Kimpton, was very open and honest about his own struggles with mental health,” Kimpton’s Reidenbach said. “For our employees, there’s the stress of upholding safety protocols, but there’s the anxiety that we noticed that our guests had about being on the road, and perhaps all of us shifting gears going from sort of isolation in the pandemic and dealing with some of the stresses at home.” What Agencies Are Doing to Support the Mental Health of Their Employees Room service When Covid-19 made most in-person therapy options difficult to impossible, video-based services like Talkspace became a staple for those in need. According to a survey by SilverCloud conducted last year, 78% of those pursuing behavioral healthcare preferred virtual options over in-person visits. That demand increased Talkspace’s membership 110% from the beginning of 2021 to roughly 60,000 users. Companies including Citi, Expedia Group and Cigna—which has an in-network mental health care provider agreement with Talkspace—have begun adopting the company’s services. For Talkspace, the Kimpton partnership advances its argument that mental health care shouldn’t require visiting a particular therapist or waiting weeks or months for an appointment. It’s a reminder that even as travel returns to the old normal, new norms for mental health care include help available on the nearest screen. Whether you’re holed up at home or hunkered away on holiday, you’re not alone. “Access is really a major part of the step for people to be able to take part in therapy, and specifically digital mental health care,” Talkspace’s Rosenblatt said. “It's being able to see a therapist from the comfort and convenience of where you're traveling from or your hotel room.” How Covid-19 Has Redefined the Ideal Traveler