Hotels Are Becoming Local Wellness Hubs as ‘Daycation’ Demand Surges

A growing number of wellness travelers aren’t looking to check in. New data from ResortPass reveals how hotel operators are pivoting to serve this new class of customers

Summer travel is weeks away, but some of the most valuable guests won’t be dragging luggage through the airports or hotel lobbies.

An increasing number of wellness travelers aren’t boarding planes. Instead, they’re often driving just 15 minutes in search of hyper-local wellness at a nearby hotel, the kind that’s accessible, flexible and fits neatly into everyday life.

“We’re seeing a redefinition of what it means to ‘use’ a hotel,” says Nicole Maddern, vice president of marketing at ResortPass, a booking platform that lets consumers purchase day passes to access hotel amenities, such as cabana rentals, spa treatments and pool access, without booking an overnight stay.

“Guests aren’t always looking for a vacation — they’re looking for access to thoughtful, curated spaces,” adds Maddern, who partakes in this form of wellness travel herself as a mother of two. “That could look like access to a sauna and steam shower after a long travel day, a quiet place to work or recharge, a place to play. The hotel is becoming infrastructure for everyday wellness.”

ResortPass now connects six million guests to local escapes and spa days across 250 cities and more than 30 countries with partner properties spanning Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Waldorf Astoria, Auberge and 1 Hotels. Users can browse by location, amenities, ratings and reviews, then book directly through the platform’s app or website. 

ResortPass reports continued demand for pool offerings and an acceleration in wellness treatments, with spa treatment bookings growing 84% year over year.

The platform’s fastest-growing product is bundled bookings, where daycationers combine pool and spa access into a single outing — accounting for more than 10% of all bookings in January 2026.

Hotels have responded by designing wellness menus rather than single-amenity offerings, where guests can pair a massage with a cold plunge or a pool day plus an infrared sauna.

“It’s not about one amenity anymore,” Maddern says. “It’s about designing your own reset.”

The top five bundles by all-time bookings span pool and beach access, spa-pool combos, spa and thermal hydrotherapy pairings, food and beverage integrations and “wellness pass for two” offerings.

Hotels are also investing in recovery infrastructure, ResortPass points out. The platform now counts 126 partner properties with cold plunge experiences — 44 of which were added in 2025 alone, more than the previous three years combined. Meanwhile, more than half of all ResortPass wellness experiences sold include sauna access.

Though ResortPass sees a surge in warmer destinations during winter (20% of its January bookings were in the Caribbean), much of its wellness and spa demand is increasingly local, with strong weekday demand to match. Winter is also emerging as a core wellness season, not an off-peak one, ResortPass notes.

Top markets driven by local usage include Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin and Dallas, the platform reports.

Wellness is also becoming more social.

Couples bookings grew 135% in 2025 and reached an all-time high this past January, while group bookings increased 78% year over year, with offerings like “Wellness Pass for Two,” “Double Dip Pass,” and “Pickleball Court Rental” gaining traction. Perhaps most striking is that family bookings surged 260% year over year.

So while spring break wraps up and summer travel ramps up, somewhere there’s a couple checking into a hotel they won’t sleep in. They’ll use the sauna, order lunch, sit by the pool for a few hours and drive home before dinner. No checkout time necessary.