The Wellness in Hospitality Podcast

Hosted by Sonal Uberoi

Health Fitness Leisure

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Episodes

173

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Get insights firsthand! Join top global wellness expert and author, Sonal Uberoi, as she shares insights from hoteliers all over the world, managing all types of hotels, each with their unique set of challenges (location, owners, regulations, teams, etc.), and learn their wellness in hospitality best practices.

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August 16, 202630 min

174. One Road Forward

There are many ways to make money as a wellness consultant. You can become an internal consultant. You can work project by project. Or you can carve out a specialist niche of your own. All of these paths can work. But you cannot build momentum while trying to walk down all of them at once. When I started consulting more than 18 years ago, I tried to do everything. I became an internal consultant for a hotel company. I took on project-based work helping a boutique hotel open their spa. And at the same time, I began creating what would eventually become my own education platform and specialist methodology. On paper, it looked like I was creating multiple opportunities. In reality, I was running in several different directions. I took whatever came my way and measured success by how much work I could collect. But when the financial crisis hit Spain in 2012, I had to return to full-time employment and move to another part of the world. Looking back, one of the biggest reasons was that I had never chosen one clear path. I wanted to be on all of them. And when you keep jumping from one road to another, you never stay on one long enough to learn what works, develop the right skills or create sustainable momentum. That experience taught me a lesson I have never forgotten: All roads may lead to Rome. But you still have to choose one. In this episode, we uncover: 1. The 3 paths available to wellness consultants You can become an internal consultant, working closely with one company and advising them from inside.You can become a project-based consultant, coming in for a defined period of time to deliver a specific result for a fixed fee.Or you can become a specialist consultant, carving out your own niche, methodology and way of working.None of these paths is inherently better than the others. The right path is the one you choose and commit to. 2. Why constantly changing direction keeps you stuck When clients do not come quickly, it is tempting to assume that you have chosen the wrong path. You change your offer, your positioning and your audience. You can even start again.But every path comes with its own challenges. What looks easier from the outside will still require you to learn how to communicate your value, solve the right problem and deliver a result your client cares about. Changing direction every time something feels difficult does not create progress. It delays it. 3. Why commitment matters more than choosing perfectly You do not need to find the perfect path. You need to choose a path and stay with it long enough to learn what it can teach you. Like choosing a route on Google Maps, there may be several ways to reach the same destination. Some may be faster. Some may be longer. Some may include unexpected traffic or road closures. That does not mean you chose incorrectly. It simply means that the route has challenges you could not have predicted. Progress begins when you choose one road and start moving. By the end of this episode, you will understand the three main paths available to you as a wellness consultant. You will be able to see which path best fits where you are today, the type of work you want to do and the business you want to build. You will also understand why choosing one road does not mean committing to it forever. It means committing to it long enough to develop the skills, experience and confidence you need to make it work. Most importantly, you will see that clarity does not come before action. Clarity comes from choosing a path, walking it and learning as you go.

August 9, 20261 hr 19 min

173. How To Make Money As A Wellness Consultant

One of the biggest myths in wellness consulting is that expertise is enough. That if you're good enough at what you do, clients will simply understand your value and pay for it. I don't believe that's true. After 18 years of building my consulting business, I've learned otherwise. You can have decades of experience, be exceptional at your craft, and still struggle to make money from it. Not because your expertise isn't valuable. But because expertise alone doesn't create a business. A business only works when the people you want to serve understand what you do, value the problem you solve, and are willing to pay you to solve it. I learned this the hard way. One of my first consulting proposals was 27 pages long. I put everything in it. My finance background from Goldman Sachs. Wellness concepts. Treatment menus. Operational models. Pre-opening support. Training. Business turnarounds. Fitness programmes. I wanted the client to see everything I was capable of. I thought the more I included, the more valuable I'd appear. They hired someone else. At the time, I couldn't understand why. Eventually I realised I'd used my expertise to prove my worth, instead of focusing on the one thing that actually mattered: what did this client need help solving? They didn't need to understand the full extent of my capabilities. They needed to understand how I could help them. That distinction changed how I built my business. And it's exactly what today's episode is about. In this episode you'll understand: 1.- Why expertise alone doesn't create a business You're not being hired for your expertise in isolation. You're being hired to solve a problem your client understands, cares about, and is willing to invest in. I'll show you why "clients don't understand wellness" is the wrong question, and what the right one is. 2.- The two things every successful wellness business needs Design and stewardship. A strong idea without the right commercial design will struggle. Excellent delivery without ongoing refinement will struggle too. You need both, and I'll explain how they work together. 3.- The five-step process we'll be unpacking in this new series One Road Forward. One Thing, Done Brilliantly. Make Them Feel Seen. Fix, Don't Start Again. Chute First, Then Jump. This episode gives you the complete roadmap before we go deeper into each step over the next five episodes. By the end of this episode, you'll understand why years of expertise don't automatically translate into a successful business. You'll see the difference between being excellent at your craft and building something clients can clearly understand, value, and buy. Because making money as a wellness consultant was never about knowing more, offering more, or proving more. It's about making clear decisions, solving a meaningful problem, understanding your client, refining your delivery, and giving your business the financial space to grow.

August 2, 202622 min

172. The Biggest Myth About Starting Your Own Wellness Business

One of the biggest myths in entrepreneurship is that successful business owners are fearless. That they wake up one morning, hand in their notice., burn the bridges behind them... and somehow everything works out. I don't believe that's true. After nearly twenty years of building my consulting business, I've learned otherwise. The people who build sustainable businesses aren't the ones who take the biggest risks. They're the ones who learn how to manage them. And that's exactly what today's episode is about. Over the years, I've spoken to countless senior wellness leaders. People earning excellent salaries. Leading global teams. Travelling the world. Holding positions that many people aspire to. Yet behind closed doors, they all ask me the same question. "I'd love to build something of my own but how do I walk away from everything I've worked so hard to build?" Because leaving a successful career isn't simply about replacing your salary. It's about protecting your quality of life while giving your business the space it needs to grow. That lesson took me years to learn. And it has changed how I think about entrepreneurship. In this episode you'll learn 1. Why replacing your salary isn't the real goal I'll explain why matching your current income still isn't enough to maintain the lifestyle you've built, and what number you should actually be aiming for. 2. Why every successful wellness business needs a runway You'll learn why building a financial safety net isn't a sign of fear. It's one of the smartest strategic decisions you'll ever make. 3. How to build your business without putting impossible pressure on it Because your business shouldn't be responsible for supporting your life before it's strong enough to stand on its own. By the end of this episode, you'll stop seeing your safety net as a backup plan. You'll see it for what it really is. The foundation that allows you to build your business with confidence instead of constantly making decisions from fear. Because sustainable businesses aren't built through courage alone. They're built through good decisions.

July 26, 202632 min

171. The One Business Strategy Every Wellness Professional Needs

Most people think starting a wellness business requires one big leap of faith. You hand in your notice because you’re done being employed. You take the plunge. And hope everything works out. I don't believe that's true. After nearly two decades of building my consulting business, I've learned that successful businesses aren't built by taking bigger risks. They're built by reducing unnecessary ones. If you've been waiting for the "perfect moment" to leave your current role… Or wondering how other people seem to make the transition successfully… This episode is for you. One of the biggest myths I see in our industry is this idea that successful entrepreneurs are simply braver than everyone else. They're not. They're more prepared. When I built my consulting business, there wasn't one giant leap. There were hundreds of small, deliberate decisions. Every one of them reduced uncertainty. Every one of them strengthened the bridge between employment and entrepreneurship. And that's exactly what we're talking about today. This episode is the second part of a two-part series. Last week we explored why so many wellness professionals struggle when they start their own business. Today we're looking at what successful people do differently. Because building your wellness business isn't about escaping your current role. It's about intentionally building the business you want. In this episode, you'll learn: 1. Why choosing one clear path accelerates your success Should you become an internal consultant, a project-based consultant or build your own specialist consultancy or advisory? You'll learn why clarity creates momentum. 2. Why your expertise needs to become an offer Knowing a lot isn't enough. People need to understand exactly what problem you solve, who you solve it for, and why you're the obvious choice. 3. Why the most successful wellness entrepreneurs build safety before they build scale I'll explain why creating a financial and emotional safety net isn't playing small. It's one of the smartest business decisions you'll ever make. By the end of this episode, you'll understand why successful wellness businesses aren't built on courage alone. They're built on structure. You'll know how to stop trying to jump into entrepreneurship and start building a business that's designed to grow sustainably for years to come.

July 19, 202626 min

170. Why Expertise Isn't Enough to Build a Successful Wellness Business

You can spend twenty years becoming exceptional at what you do and still struggle to build a successful wellness business. Not because you lack expertise. But because expertise isn't what clients buy. This is one of the biggest misconceptions I see across our industry. We believe that if we're knowledgeable enough, experienced enough, or qualified enough, clients will naturally come. Unfortunately, that's rarely how it works. Whether you're a wellness leader thinking about consulting, a visiting practitioner building your own business, or a wellness professional ready for something more, there comes a moment when expertise stops being enough. And that's the moment this episode is about. Over the years I've worked with hundreds of wellness professionals: spa directors, visiting practitioners, consultants and coaches. They all had something in common. They were exceptional at what they did. Yet they were struggling to build a business. Some blamed marketing and the economy. Others blamed the hoteliers who simply, in their minds, “don’t get wellness”. Several believed there were simply too many consultants. But underneath all of those reasons was a much bigger false belief. They were trying to build a business using the same mindset that had made them successful as employees or freelancers. That's why I wanted to bring this conversation back. Although I originally recorded this several months ago, I believe the message is even more relevant today than when I first shared it. In this episode you'll learn: 1. Why expertise alone rarely creates a successful wellness business And why becoming better at wellness isn't always the answer to growing your business. 2. The identity shift every wellness entrepreneur has to make The difference between thinking like an operator and thinking like someone who owns a business. 3. Why so many talented wellness professionals stay stuck Not because they lack ability, but because they're unknowingly trying to solve the wrong problem. By the end of this episode, you'll stop asking: "How can I become better at wellness?", and start asking: "How do I build a business around the value I already create?" Because building a successful wellness business isn't about collecting more expertise. It's about learning how to turn that expertise into transformation people are willing to invest in.

July 13, 202627 min

169. The Unfinished Masterpiece

Are you building a masterpiece or a museum piece? You're a decade into running the family business. The bumpy years are behind you, you've got a proper grip on it now, and you're clear on where you're taking it and the story you want to tell. And somewhere inside that confidence, a new fear takes the place of the old one. You've stopped worrying about failing the generation before you. Now you worry about burdening the one after you. So you set out to hand your children something ironclad, finished, perfect, something that won't weigh on them the way it weighed on you. Most second-generation owners do exactly this. They hold on tighter, perfect every detail, and try to pre-empt every problem, calling it protection when really it's fear of dropping the ball. In today's episode, I talk about the unfinished masterpiece, and why the most loving thing you can leave the next generation isn't a finished business, but an open one. Because when you hold too tightly and try to perfect everything, you don't protect the next generation. You hand them a monument to guard, the very thing you never wanted to be yourself. There's a Japanese form of collaborative poetry called renga that understood this centuries ago. A single poem with many authors across time, where the opening verse must be strong enough to stand on its own, and open enough for the next person to build on. Because your contribution was never meant to be the finished masterpiece. It was always meant to be one verse in a much longer story. In today’s episode, you'll learn: 1.- Why the tightest grip and the most perfect concept become the heaviest inheritance you can leave the next generation. 2.- Why your contribution was never meant to be finished, and how the Japanese art of renga reveals what enduring legacies actually do. 3.- The three things second-generation owners do that trap the next generation: perfecting the concept, sealing the box, and perfecting the what instead of the why. By the end of the episode, you'll know why the most enduring thing you can build is one you deliberately leave open, strong enough to stand on its own, and open enough to be continued by the people who come after you.

July 5, 202636 min

168. The Story Is Getting Written Either Way

Who is writing your story? Whether you choose to write it or not, the story of your hotel is already being written. Every decision you make, from every hire, every price you approve, every conflict you avoid, to every partnership you sign, is a sentence on the page of your next chapter. The only question is whether you're holding the pen, or letting the story happen to you. Most boutique hotel owners let their story get written for them. They delegate the writing of their story either by the brand agency, by their past, or by whatever's easiest to explain. In today’s episode, I talk about narrating, about writing your story on purpose, while you build, before there's any proof it'll work. Because as I said, the story is being written either way. The only question is whether you're holding the pen. Meryanne Loum-Martin understood that. Building Jnane Tamsna in Marrakech, she wrote her story as it unfolded, declaring in her own words that she wanted her place, her boutique hotel, to become the visible home of Black excellence in North Africa. She wrote it down before it was that visible home of Black excellence in North Africa. Then she built exactly that. In this episode, you'll learn: 1.- Why your story is being written whether you pick up the pen or not, and what it costs to let someone else write it for you. 2.- Why writing your story intentionally is what keeps you anchored to your vision when the day-to-day stops looking like the dream 3.- The three things that stop boutique hotel owners from writing their own story: handing the pen to a branding agency, borrowing the story from the past, and waiting for proof before writing a word By the end of the episode, you'll know why the story only you can tell is already being written around you, and how to pick up the pen and write it on purpose, before the world writes it for you.

June 28, 202641 min

167. Find The People Who Can Build And Hold Your Dream

Who do you want by your side as you build the world that doesn't exist yet? There is an inn on a remote island off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Four times the size of Manhattan. Only 2,500 people live there. The nearest city is hours away. By every rule of conventional hospitality logic, it should not be one of the most sought-after destinations in the world. And yet, Fogo Island Inn holds three Michelin Keys. Guests travel from across the globe to reach it. Almost nothing inside it was made by anyone with a hospitality background. And the woman who built it had never run a hotel in her life. She didn't hire hospitality professionals. She hired quilters, furniture makers, and an architect who knew how to build with the land not just on top of it. Zita Cobb knew exactly how to identify the artists she’d need to build the world she wanted to, a world that hadn’t existed until she had the audacity to build it. In today’s episode I cover the 3 things that most boutique hotel owners get expensively wrong: 1.- Why hiring the most qualified person in the room is often the most dangerous move for your vision 2.- Why the people who built what you inherited cannot always take you where you need to go, and why that is not betrayal 3.- Why most boutique hotel owners never find their artists because they never defined the seats those artists would sit in By the end of this episode, you'll understand why you keep choosing the wrong people and who exactly you’ll need to build the world you want to.

June 21, 202627 min

166. Build The World First

What if the reason your hotel isn't standing out isn't because you need a better product, better marketing, or better guest experience? What if it's because you're still building for the people who already know you instead of the people who need you? In this episode, I explore why the most remarkable destinations aren't created by following categories, trends, or industry expectations. They're created by people who build their world first and wait for the market to catch up. There is a remarkable property in Spain sitting on the edge of one of the country's most prestigious wine regions. Several years ago, they were faced with a choice. Join the region’s denomination of wine, the very region that had once rejected them, or go solo.They could have done what everyone expected and built their business to fit neatly into the existing system and earn the industry's stamp of approval. Instead, they chose a different path. They built their own world. They planted what they wanted to plant. They created the experience they believed in. They followed their own conviction rather than seeking validation. Years later, the industry created an entirely new designation to recognise what they had already become. They didn't earn their place in the world. They made the world come to them. In this episode, we’ll explore the following 3 things: 1. Why designing for today's loyal guests can stop you attracting tomorrow's guests Many hotel owners keep filtering every decision through the expectations of people who already love them. But your future guests don't have expectations yet. They don't even know you exist. 2. Why looking at competitors can make you invisible When your strategy is built through benchmarking and comparison, you end up becoming a variation of what already exists. The most memorable destinations don't follow a playbook. They create one. 3. Why permission always arrives after the fact Markets do not give permission for new ideas. They recognise them later. The conviction must come first. Recognition follows. By the end of this episode, you'll understand why true destination brands are built from the inside out. You'll see why waiting for proof often prevents the very thing you're trying to create. And you'll learn why the strongest brands stop asking for permission and start building the world they believe should exist.

June 14, 202634 min

165. The Ripple That Starts With An Impossible Idea

What if the thing holding your hotel back isn't a lack of strategy, funding, or capability? What if it's a vision that isn't bold enough? In this episode, I share a story from my childhood about a hotel owner in Kenya who insisted on building what everyone said was impossible: a hanging swimming pool suspended over the hotel entrance with no visible support beams. Every single person of the design team deemed that hanging swimming pool as imposible. One person said yes. And the ripple from that decision is still being felt nearly four decades later. That one person who said yes was my father. My father was a structural engineer who specialised in hotel projects back home in Kenya. One of his clients wanted something what back then was considered “crazy”: a swimming pool that appeared to hang in mid-air over the hotel's driveway. The international hotel chain rejected the idea immediately because that wasn’t how things were done according to their brand standards. But my father accepted the challenge. What followed was months of obsession, experimentation, late nights, failed attempts, and relentless problem-solving. Eventually, the team found a way. The pool was built and it still stands today. What fascinates me isn't the swimming pool itself. It's the ripple effect that impossible idea created. It activated an entire team. It inspired people to think differently. It became the landmark project of their careers. And it raises an important question: What happens when we stop having impossible ideas? In this episode, we'll explore the following: 1. Why preservation is often fear wearing the mask of respect Many second-generation entrepreneurs believe their role is to protect what was built before them. But the thing they inherited wasn't the hotel. It was the audacity that created it. 2. Why waiting for everyone to agree is slowing you down The need for consensus often causes bold ideas to become smaller and safer. We'll explore why leadership sometimes requires moving before everyone is comfortable. 3. Why your future cannot be built around your past The guests, team members, and business model that got you here may not be the ones that take you where you want to go next. At some point, every leader must decide whether they are preserving a legacy or contributing to it. By the end of this episode you'll understand why every landmark business begins with an idea that initially feels impossible. You'll see why the success of your hotel can never outperform the vision you have for it. And you'll identify the hidden beliefs that may be causing you to make your biggest ideas smaller than they need to be.

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