We’re being handed a powerful new tool that will become a channel for creativity and innovation – pioneering wellness operators are already getting to grips with its exciting potential
Wellness operator Wund is extending its operations into the metaverse / photo: Happy Finish
When the starchitects get involved, you know things are getting real.
News that Bjarke Ingels is designing an ‘office’ for Vice Media in the Decentraland metaverse and that Grimshaw has been commissioned to create four new blockchain-based lands for metaverse pax.world, mean 2022 is likely to go down in history as the year the metaverse hit the mainstream.
The Metaverse isn’t new, having been first conceptualised in the 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash and brought to fruition by Second Life in 2003, but technology has now caught up with the concept and put it within reach of the average business.
McKinsey says explosive growth will see the metaverse being worth US$5tr by 2030 and with such reputable thought leaders taking this kind of bullish stance, the big money is pouring in, making it more likely this prediction will come to pass.
In spite of all this heavy-duty activity, however, some are still dismissing the metaverse as a fad – as they did with the internet in the early 90s – but this is missing the point. The metaverse is simply another tool and when humans are given new tools and creativity kicks in, the opportunities are limitless.
You’ll be able to own, build and – very importantly – monetise virtual experiences to be enjoyed by consumers in VR-based parallel internet worlds that enable the creation of avatars and real-time interactions and payments.
On page 52, we get inspiration from tech expert, Rainer Usselmann, who’s working on metaverse-based immersive experiences for German wellness operator, Wund.
These services could include digital therapeutics, curated content to alter mood and improve wellbeing and things such as interactive wellness installations and experiential relaxation programmes.
The metaverse presents many opportunities and threats – the opportunity to develop revenue streams, undertake brand extension and explore new digital frontiers, for example, but also the threat that non-facility-based businesses will develop rival brands or leverage existing properties to build competitive businesses.
Now’s the time to be making your brain ache thinking through what the metaverse will mean for you.
Liz Terry, Spa Business editorial director [email protected]
@elizterry
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2022 issue 2
Editor's letter: The wellness metaverse
We’re being handed a powerful new tool that will become a channel for creativity and innovation – pioneering wellness operators are already getting to grips with its exciting potential
Spa People: Michael Stusser
The wellness pioneer explains how he created an authentic Japanese bathing experience in the heart of the California hills
Spa People: Scot Toon
The Asia MD of The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts unveils the company's latest island development plans
Project preview: Off-grid
Svart Six Senses is set to open in Norway in 2024, and redefine the meaning of sustainable wellness tourism and regenerative travel
Sponsored: Myrtha Wellness: watertight expertise
Myrtha has transformed the world of aquatics over the last 60 years. Now it’s bringing its ingenuity-driven expertise to the international wellness industry
Interview: Rainer Usselmann
Tech business Happy Finish is bringing metaverse-based experiences to the wellness sector, working with Wund
Everyone's talking about: Menopause
From taboo to hot topic – how can spas offer treatments and a safe space for women to explore this often challenging phase of life?
Research: Bounceback
PwC says the US spa market was worth US$1bn in 2021 and growing well, according to data from ISPA's latest industry-wide study
First person: An icon reborn
Fairmont unveils the stunning renovation of its iconic Century Plaza hotel in LA, and Rianna Riego checks out the new spa
Q&A: Magdaleena Nikolov
The GM of spa, wellness and retail at Fairmont
Century Plaza talks to Jane Kitchen
Q&A: Mia Kyricos
The wellness leader talks about the creation of her new trademarked framework for the development and delivery of wellness interventions
Sponsored: Art of Cryo: raising the bar
Art of Cryo is complementing its high
performance cryotherapy range with advanced
new technology to enhance treatment benefits
Mystery Shopper: The Londoner
Our reviewer travels undercover to check out the spa offering at The Londoner – one of the most high profile openings in the capital in recent times
We’re being handed a powerful new tool that will become a channel for creativity and innovation – pioneering wellness operators are already getting to grips with its exciting potential
Wellness operator Wund is extending its operations into the metaverse / photo: Happy Finish
When the starchitects get involved, you know things are getting real.
News that Bjarke Ingels is designing an ‘office’ for Vice Media in the Decentraland metaverse and that Grimshaw has been commissioned to create four new blockchain-based lands for metaverse pax.world, mean 2022 is likely to go down in history as the year the metaverse hit the mainstream.
The Metaverse isn’t new, having been first conceptualised in the 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash and brought to fruition by Second Life in 2003, but technology has now caught up with the concept and put it within reach of the average business.
McKinsey says explosive growth will see the metaverse being worth US$5tr by 2030 and with such reputable thought leaders taking this kind of bullish stance, the big money is pouring in, making it more likely this prediction will come to pass.
In spite of all this heavy-duty activity, however, some are still dismissing the metaverse as a fad – as they did with the internet in the early 90s – but this is missing the point. The metaverse is simply another tool and when humans are given new tools and creativity kicks in, the opportunities are limitless.
You’ll be able to own, build and – very importantly – monetise virtual experiences to be enjoyed by consumers in VR-based parallel internet worlds that enable the creation of avatars and real-time interactions and payments.
On page 52, we get inspiration from tech expert, Rainer Usselmann, who’s working on metaverse-based immersive experiences for German wellness operator, Wund.
These services could include digital therapeutics, curated content to alter mood and improve wellbeing and things such as interactive wellness installations and experiential relaxation programmes.
The metaverse presents many opportunities and threats – the opportunity to develop revenue streams, undertake brand extension and explore new digital frontiers, for example, but also the threat that non-facility-based businesses will develop rival brands or leverage existing properties to build competitive businesses.
Now’s the time to be making your brain ache thinking through what the metaverse will mean for you.
Liz Terry, Spa Business editorial director [email protected]
@elizterry
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2022 issue 2
Editor's letter: The wellness metaverse
We’re being handed a powerful new tool that will become a channel for creativity and innovation – pioneering wellness operators are already getting to grips with its exciting potential
Spa People: Michael Stusser
The wellness pioneer explains how he created an authentic Japanese bathing experience in the heart of the California hills
Spa People: Scot Toon
The Asia MD of The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts unveils the company's latest island development plans
Project preview: Off-grid
Svart Six Senses is set to open in Norway in 2024, and redefine the meaning of sustainable wellness tourism and regenerative travel
Sponsored: Myrtha Wellness: watertight expertise
Myrtha has transformed the world of aquatics over the last 60 years. Now it’s bringing its ingenuity-driven expertise to the international wellness industry
Interview: Rainer Usselmann
Tech business Happy Finish is bringing metaverse-based experiences to the wellness sector, working with Wund
Everyone's talking about: Menopause
From taboo to hot topic – how can spas offer treatments and a safe space for women to explore this often challenging phase of life?
Research: Bounceback
PwC says the US spa market was worth US$1bn in 2021 and growing well, according to data from ISPA's latest industry-wide study
First person: An icon reborn
Fairmont unveils the stunning renovation of its iconic Century Plaza hotel in LA, and Rianna Riego checks out the new spa
Q&A: Magdaleena Nikolov
The GM of spa, wellness and retail at Fairmont
Century Plaza talks to Jane Kitchen
Q&A: Mia Kyricos
The wellness leader talks about the creation of her new trademarked framework for the development and delivery of wellness interventions
Sponsored: Art of Cryo: raising the bar
Art of Cryo is complementing its high
performance cryotherapy range with advanced
new technology to enhance treatment benefits
Mystery Shopper: The Londoner
Our reviewer travels undercover to check out the spa offering at The Londoner – one of the most high profile openings in the capital in recent times
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
