Westin Introducing BrainBody Fitness

Westin, Partnering with Top Wellness Experts Becomes First Chain to Pair Mental and Physical Exerci

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. October 14, 2008

MARCH 31, 2008. Forget where you put your car keys? Blank on your brother-in-law's name? Train your brain with Westin(R) Hotels & Resorts' newest wellness initiative: BrainBody Fitness, a program connecting mental and physical fitness for optimum health and just another way Westin is helping guests feel better upon checkout than when they arrived. BrainBody Fitness-an extension of the successful WestinWORKOUT program, which already includes runWESTIN and WestinWORKOUT guestrooms-is a series of original exercises that will be distributed at each Westin throughout North America and provide guests with simple and effective ways to sharpen their thinking and calm their minds and bodies for better health. Westin will place expert-recommended mind and body stretches in a variety of strategic hotel touch points, including the front desk, guestroom showers, public spaces and WestinWORKOUT fitness centers. Guests will have the chance to cross-train their brains in the shower with brain-teaser shower clings or get a mental workout poolside with signature puzzle pads and brain stretches.

Trainer to the stars and bestselling author David Kirsch developed physical exercises meant to be performed in conjunction with brain teasers provided by Dr. Gary Small, Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA and one of the world's leading physician/scientists in the fields of memory and longevity. Dr. Small also developed for Westin a five-day brain challenge that will give employees and guests an introduction to this timely concept while guiding them to top mental fitness.

As part of his partnership with Westin, Dr. Small created a custom five-day challenge that guides participants through a concentrated regimen of healthy eating and thinking for fast and effective results. To kick off the BrainBody initiative, the general manager of each Westin hotel went through the challenge, several employees-including team leader Sue Brush-will report on their experience on the BrainBody website, www.westin.com/brainbody. Visitors to the site can download the Westin five-day challenge, take before-and-after brain-age assessments, read employee blogs, browse additional BrainBody challenges and read travel and wellness tips from Dr. Small and David Kirsch.

'Our work with various lifestyle experts has taught us that nothing is more important to physical health than mental well-being,' said Sue Brush, Senior Vice President, Westin Hotels & Resorts. 'By providing guests with a few simple exercises and expert know-how, we're giving them the tools to continue this focused and positive outlook in their everyday lives-and helping them exercise in a more holistic way.'

'Our research has found that exercising our minds and our bodies together not only improves memory ability and brain power, but it also has a major impact on how well and how long we live,' said Dr. Small. 'In just a few days, people notice benefits, and they're motivated to make brain and body fitness a daily lifestyle routine.'

Beginning this month, all Westin hotels in North America will introduce new key-card packets that explain the benefits of BrainBody Fitness and are stocked with a variety of brain workouts and body stretches to awaken, refresh or relax, depending on the time of day. The morning BrainBody card, for example, urges guests to stretch their bodies and minds with custom exercises that can easily be done in a hotel room, the afternoon workout might recommend a recharging meditation and simple stretch, at the end of the day, the experts suggest calming exercises.

Throughout this year, select Westin properties will also introduce a variety of creative, unexpected ways for guests to sharpen their brains, including brain teasers in guestroom showers and WestinWORKOUT centers and on coasters at the signature in-room Westin WakeCup(TM) coffee station. Select properties will debut Sudoku and other brain games that will be delivered on custom clipboards poolside or accompanying meals from Westin's signature SuperFoods menu.

BrainBody Fitness joins a host of initiatives aimed at personal renewal recently introduced by the brand. In the fall of 2007, Westin partnered with SuperFoods Partners LLC to become the first hotel brand to create a SuperFoods-focused menu. A new in-room spa program includes a custom-designed portable spa table, the Heavenly Spa Nova. Additionally, Westin properties across the globe host Unwind evening rituals-mini lessons, tastings and art installments that help guests connect with each other and the culture of their surroundings.

WestinWORKOUT was developed in partnership with worldwide fitness as the travel industry's most extensive fitness and wellness program. Customized WestinWORKOUT guestrooms feature in-room state-of-the-art, full-body equipment for all levels of performance where guests can elevate their travel and work well-being with a challenging and exhilarating workout. Also available at select hotels is runWESTIN, a complimentary program offering guided, scenic three-mile morning runs three days a week. Led by Westin's trained Running Concierge, the run can be customized into a fun individual or group excursion.

Westin Hotels & Resorts, with more than 150 hotels and resorts in more than 31 countries and territories, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT). Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.