PHUKET, THAILAND—Everyone knows the sense of accomplishment you feel when your fitness tracker lets you know that you’ve acheived that day’s goal. And everyone knows that what hotel guests most want is to get out and experience the locale, really immersing themselves in the natural world. But what if you can bring both together?
That’s exactly what the team at Trisara, an all-pool-villa resort located here, thought. To accomplish this goal, the resort partnered with Fitbit to create a 100,000-step fitness experience that takes guests from Trisara’s secluded beach to the lush, tropical jungles and out to the Andaman Sea, equipped with a Fitbit Ionic to track their progress.
“The goal for this program is for guests to simply become active and stay in shape while exploring our luxurious property. We want our guests to reach the 100,000-step goal while they are here. We also want them to enjoy themselves while keeping active and staying healthy,” explained Anthony Lark, managing director. “It is also a great way to take advantage of Trisara. Our resort has a secluded white beach sand and a 40-acre manicured jungle. At Trisara guests are able to take in a new setting while maintaining their goals.”
Before embarking on the seven-night, eight-day journey, guests are offered a private fitness consultation with Wannachai Somkid, Trisara’s recreation manager. During the session, Somkid will analyze the guest’s fitness levels and goals, resulting in a personalized fitness schedule for the days to come. Activities such as kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, circuit training, ocean swimming and rainforest walks are core aspects of the program.
“We wanted our guests to explore all that Trisara has to offer, so we engineered the program to ensure guests will be able to participate in as many activities as possible while taking in the beauty of Phuket,” Lark said. “We wanted to include a combination of the earth and water, so the experiences include powerwalking along the beach, walking through our rainforest and kayaking to the local island.
“The walking pace is set by each guest, as long as they reach the 100,000 steps,” Lark continued. “We do recommend a couple of power walking sessions to get the heart rate up and body moving, but the rest of the time it is up to guests. We understand everybody is different, so we do take that into consideration when making recommendations.”
Guests can use the Fitbit Ionic to instantly connect with Trisara’s senior resort hosts via Facebook Messenger, allowing them to ask questions or receive motivational texts. “Each motivational text is different and personalized towards each specific guest. They are motivational phrases to help the guest stay focused and on track,” Lark explained. “It is very easy to give up and quit, and we want to make sure our guests stay on track. We want to encourage and help our guests in any way possible.”
Lark noted that the partnership with Fitbit was natural for the resort. “Fitbit is accessible to over 200-plus phones, which means you can connect, share and compete with one another making every day fitness activities even more exciting,” he said.
“We hope that guests take away memories, as well as taking on a healthier lifestyle once they return home,” he said, adding that guests can keep their Fitbit Ionic to help them become more motivated and stay on track. “Whether someone is walking around their neighborhood, or walking around a track, the great thing about it is that they are still working toward their 100,000 step goal. Walking is an easy way to receive the exercise your body needs to stay healthy, which is why we let our guests take home the Fitbit Ionic—the watch itself serves as a little motivational tool.”
