I reached around the horse’s neck for a cuddle. We stood on an empty beach with waves lapping at our feet and the setting sun shooting yellow rays in the distance. I was the calmest I’d felt in months.
I was at Sugar Beach Ranch, a beach-front ranch in Ballina, NSW with retreats focusing on equine wellness (provided by Maxime Willems Therapy) to help better physical and mental health. The retreat is part of a growing trend of niche wellness escapes in Australia.
It’s just one of the growing trends I’ve noticed in our hotel industry over the past few years. Below, I’m sharing a few other big hotel trends we’re expecting to see take off throughout 2025.
Wellness Travel Will Niche Down
The equine wellness retreat I visited is part of a trend of niche wellness stays in Australia. Historically, wellness retreats have been focused on movement or eating well, but now they’re going niche. Culinary, sleep and silent retreats will be more common in Australia than ever before.
Currently, cooking classes play a major role in retreats at Spicers Tamarind Retreat and Gaia Retreat. The Reef House offers 3-8-night sleep retreats, while Tasmania’s MAC01 has a Slumber Suite package that includes sleep drops, bath salts and sleepy teas. Happy Buddha Retreats in the Blue Mountains holds silent meditation retreats that help guests find their inner calm.
Airport Hotels Will Defy Stereotypes
Gone are the days when airport hotels were synonymous with drab buildings and dated rooms. The latest airport hotels to open in the last few years include Moxy Sydney Airport, Novotel and Mercure Darwin Airport Resort and Novotel and Ibis Melbourne.
The airport hotels have spaces to work, bars and restaurants. The Melbourne hotels also have a wellbeing club with an infrared sauna, pool, yoga studio and spa treatment room while the Darwin hotels form Australia’s first airport resort.
This month, Holiday Inn Sydney Airport will be rebranded to a more upscale Crowne Plaza Sydney Airport. And in 2026, a $55 million NH Hotel is set to open at Sydney Airport as is a $70 million Courtyard by Marriott Western Sydney.
Hotel Décor Will Be More Playful
Maximalist décor has been a big home décor trend in recent years and that’s hit hotels too. While there will always be a place for hotel lobbies that are minimalist and make you feel a sense of relief right when you step in, many are opting for colour and texture instead — and I think that number will only increase.
New Australian hotels with lobbies best described as “funky” include the Ace Hotel and W Hotel in Sydney, The StandardX Hotel in Melbourne and Hotel Indigo in Adelaide. Judging by home designs, no doubt this group will only increase next year.
More Chances For Cultural Immersion
Hotels are already starting to offer more ways guests can get to know the local culture and my thinking is that will only continue in 2025.
Many hotels now have theatre packages including pre-theatre dinner, tickets to a show at a nearby theatre and a night’s stay. Capella Sydney has a team called Capella Culturists that can book you into existing Sydney cultural activities and events or guest-only experiences. They include an Aboriginal Dreaming Tour, a tour of Sydney Opera House with architect Eoghan Lewis and a Coffee Is Life tour.
Sun Ranch in Byron Bay holds regular workshops and has a general store with provisions from some of the region’s best suppliers and producers. Sofitel Melbourne on Collins offers a Cultural Getaway Package which includes an overnight stay and breakfast plus tickets to a nearby exhibition. Fullerton Hotel Sydney offers guests complimentary tours of the former Sydney General Post Office, built in 1866.
Sustainability Will Be a Given
In 2025, I predict basic sustainability efforts from hotels will be a given and that guests will be expecting hotels — particularly luxury offerings — to do more. Hotels will offer guests more regeneration experiences that see them leaving the place better than they found it.
Guests at Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley, three hours outside Sydney, can take part in conservation activities and initiatives including seed collection, habitat reconstruction and animal surveys.
Wander, which offers off-grid pods around Australia, uses only local suppliers and $10 from every booking goes to Bush Heritage Australia regeneration projects. And guests at Rosalita’s Rest on the NSW north coast are invited to plant a tree in an area called People’s Forest.
More Work Spaces
Many Australians are still not working in the office full-time and many hotels are accommodating that by offering spaces to work. Though it’s worth noting guests have long worked in hotel lobbies, as argued in this piece stating hotels were co-working spaces before co-working was even a thing.
Still, I see more hotels creating dedicated workspaces or marketing that they’re remote worker-friendly. Novotel and Ibis Styles Melbourne Airport has a co-working space called Aerofoil. Alex Hotel in Perth has a co-working space designed to enhance productivity and inspire innovation with greenery and natural light. And The Calile in Brisbane has a library where you can read or work.
Hotel Loyalty Programs Will Expand
In May, Marriott Asia-Pacific’s boss told AFR that 70% of Adelaide Marriott’s occupancy at that time were its loyalty program members. Hotel loyalty programs aren’t to be messed up with and hotels, realising their value, are launching more ways to earn and use points.
In June this year, Accor and Everyday Rewards announced a partnership that sees guests collecting 4000 Everyday Rewards points for every 2000 Accor points earnt. In March, IHG launched a limited-time sale for guests IHG One Rewards members who booked Book Now, Pay Later. They could save 20% and earn triple points from their stay.
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