$1,780 to spend the night in a 'cocoon'? Hotels now betting on sleep tourism

Al-assisted beds, on-call hypnotherapists are taking sleep tourism to the next level

- CARLA SOSENKO

To sleep, perchance to dream. Or if not dream, at least to feel vaguely rested the next day, especially on vacation. Is that too much to ask?

In the hospitality world, that's a business opportunity. Hilton's 2024 trends report revealed that the main reason people currently travel is to rest and recharge.

"Hotels locked in a death match with Airbnb have begun to explore ways in which to compete by offering services and amenities around the primary purpose of a hotel stay: a restful night's sleep," said Chekitan Dev, a professor at Cornell University Nolan School of Hotel Administration.

Now, he said, a good night's rest isn't just a selling point for hotels; it's a "fast-growing industry."

From Al-assisted beds to on-call hypnotherapists, today's sleep tourism is, essentially, an old dog with new tricks. "This is around the seventh or eighth time this has come up as kind of a topic" since the mid-1980s, said Bjorn Hanson, a professor at the New York University Jonathan M Tisch Center of Hospitality.

These days hotels are going well beyond those basics to capture the business of sleep seekers. Here's what some are doing.

Smart beds and Smart Goggles