By Sarah Rappaport
(Bloomberg) — After decades of using Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to boost the value of romance, hotels have turned to a new idea: capitalizing on the recently separated or decidedly single. For example, the Logan Hotel in downtown Philadelphia prints your ex’s photo on a punching bag so you can throw jags, hooks and uppercuts in a private fitness class. That’s just one part of the hotel’s new $500 Romance Detox package, which includes meditation and spa sessions. (It can also be booked without an overnight stay.)
Jessica Bauer, Logan’s general manager, says the boxing element makes sense given Philadelphia’s connection to the sport through the Rocky movies. And unlike the usual rose petals on the bedspread, chocolates on the pillow and a bottle of chilled champagne, it’s both fun and inclusive.
“We didn’t want Valentine’s Day to be a holiday that you can’t celebrate if you’re not in a relationship,” says Bauer.
Whether this turns out to be mere Instagram bait or a viable new revenue stream, Logan is far from the only vendor siding with the anti-Valentine’s Day movement.
Richard Branson’s year-old Virgin Hotel in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood recently installed a pop-up heartbreak bar in its lobby. The free interactive exhibit consists mostly of a paper shredder and colorful notepads with instructions on how guests can destroy love letters or memorabilia from former flames. The bar is decorated with photos of troubled celebrity couples like Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston or Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner. Nearby, under a neon sign that reads “Cry it out,” a purple velvet chaise lounge sits with a large box of tissues. The themed offerings were created to make guests laugh or post viral images on social media — or simply add to the hotel’s irreverent vibe.
The Moxy NYC Downtown, a party-vibe hotel in the Financial District, will also be taking on the theme of heartbreak. If you head to the third-floor Recreation Bar on Feb. 14, you’ll find $16 cocktails with names like Cupid’s Curse, made with mezcal and coffee liqueur. There will be heart-shaped sticky notes on which you can write anti-romantic messages to your ex, and an in-house DJ will be spinning breakup songs. (Expect lots of Taylor Swift.)
While some of the offers seem like gimmicks, others point to the possibility of larger deals.
The Dominick Hotel in SoHo is using an anti-Valentine’s Day sentiment to promote its new $1,500 boudoir-style photo shoots, which target solo travelers who can pose in large bathtubs with sweeping city views. In marketing materials, the hotel describes the shoots as a “romantic gift to yourself” – one designed to boost confidence.
There is already evidence that such shoots can bring in big money. In holiday destinations such as the Greek island of Santorini and Jamaica, luxury photo shoots for women – often in a “flying dress” – have become a reason to plan a trip, despite costing more than $600 an hour.
All this is happening as hotels are seeing an increasing number of guests checking in alone. According to the Association of British Travel Agents, the number of people going on holiday alone has risen from 6% in 2011 to 16% in 2023. In the US, Google searches for “solo travellers” reached an all-time high in January, as did searches for “women travelling alone”, according to data from Google Trends. The hashtag #SoloTravel on TikTok has more than 702,000 posts and a staggering 7.8 billion views.
Why be heartbroken at home when you can be heartbroken in a luxury hotel?
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
