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In this interview with Anne Biging, she talks about the importance of establishing criteria about what the 'Healing Hotels of the World' concept should embody. Her focus has always been about helping to purify the soul and the interplay between travel and the hotel experience can really strengthen that as people seek to escape their busy lives and find time for themselves. With Covid-19, the need for this has only strengthened further as people's need for this only strengthens.

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Anne explains that there were no quality standards in the past. Before the pandemic, we used to focus on expenses and encouraging people to spend more. Yet now, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the focus is on how to be safe. To work on this, it's important to train and help hotels to receive their guests in a way which makes them feel safe and comfortable.

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During the pandemic, Anne and her team started to develop the concept of 'healing retreats' at home. They have so many incredible practitioners in their worldwide group, from scientists to healers to physiologists and without too much pre-thinking they just went ahead and did it.

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They started with two days of eight-hour retreats. With a wide range of specialists, they learnt mindfulness, how to live a better life, how to cook and practise yoga all through Zoom. This has transitioned now into two to three-hour retreats and diversification of the business model to a new hybrid model.

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Many of the urban hotels are understandably in dire straights right now, with many closing down or having to sell. This is requiring a change and adaptation of the offer to support people differently, in a way that could respond to their needs right now and in consideration of their own realities.

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Anne explains that out of this crisis, we have to create a completely new set of desires. The world has changed and we need to accept this: healing and health is now a priority for everybody. We need to think about the psychological effects of travel when we think about a product, a simple product such as an airline seat should be such a different experience. She speaks about the need to create a new value system not only within our economy but within our world at large.

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The challenges and difficulties we face right now are facts and we have to accept these and work with them and we need to be ready to embrace change.