Sleep-Focused Tourism Is The Biggest Travel Trend Of The Year

I’m standing in the middle of a suite at Hotel Figueroa in Los Angeles. It’s August of 2022, and I’m still recovering from pandemic burnout — an experience that has left me chronically tired and overcome with guilt about not being as productive as I once was. Was I not getting much-needed REM? Was I tossing and turning at night? Would a better wind-down routine help me sleep better? Could a dedicated overnight stay focused on rest actually help? That’s what I came to find out. I wanted to prioritize my health, more specifically, I wanted to prioritize my rest for a concentrated amount of time, something I hadn’t been able to do for years.

On one side of the suite, in the bedroom, is an Eight Sleep bed that promised to monitor my sleep patterns and adjust temperature based on my preferences. On the other, in the living space, a recovery area with a Hyperice percussion massage device, infrared items, and more. I spent the next 15 hours hanging out here, eight of them sleeping. In the morning, I felt more rested than I had in weeks — not just in my body, but my mind as well. It’s as if my brain finally got some much-needed time off.

As it happens, my personal issues with sleep and overall rest are not unique, but part of a growing statistic of individuals who are, simply put, really tired. Which is why Hotel Figueroa, along with a wave of other luxe hotels and resorts, is updating amenities and programming to cater to sleep-focused travel.

“[We launched the Rest and Recovery suite to] address the fatigue our guests were feeling from having little mental or physical separation from work and home life,” says Hotel Figueroa Managing Director Connie Wang. “Angelenos were dealing with confused sleep and wake patterns, higher levels of anxiety, and a whole slew of challenges that were making a good night’s rest difficult. The experience became so popular that we continued to add and refine the offerings over the last two years.”

The experience ties into the uptick we’re seeing all over — not just Los Angeles. In fact, about 3.3 million U.S. adults have chronic fatigue syndrome, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sleep tourism, or travelers seeking experiences focused on getting a good night’s sleep, was introduced as a concept around the time of 2022, according to the Global Wellness Institute, but really started to pick up steam in 2023. Now, that focus is continuing into 2024 and is becoming the gold standard — an expectation of sorts from travelers both domestic and abroad, young and old, solo or partnered.

“People are more focused on wellness after the pandemic. They realize sleep is an important part of this and want to either have a holiday that makes them feel rested, or make a lasting change in their sleeping habits, or both,” says Fora adviser Arlette Diederiks, who notes she’s seen more people participating or showing interest in sleep tourism in the past year, and anticipates its popularity only to grow.

According to Hilton’s 2024 Trends Report, regardless of generation, the No. 1 reason people want to travel in 2024 is to rest and recharge. “We expect travelers to invest in their sleep and sleep-focused experiences [in 2024] more than ever before,” says Amanda Al-Masri, vice president of wellness for Hilton. “Travelers are looking for both rest-oriented touch points throughout their stay as well as unique offerings that promote restful sleep.” According to Pinterest Predictions, this leaning into taking it slow and sleeping in while traveling is on the rise, with a focus on “rest stops,” aka places to have more mornings in bed, and fewer action-packed nights out.

Ahead, see some of the various sleep-centered experiences and amenities you can partake in for 2024, from immersive multi-day retreats to in-room add-ons at your favorite hotels.

Sleep Retreats

Canyon Ranch, which was founded in 1979 as a first-of-its-kind wellness resort, has long had sleep-related services in its offerings, starting more than 20 years ago when it began offering overnight sleep testing for guests to better understand their snooze patterns and develop a plan of action for better rest. But now, it’s delving even deeper into the category than ever before. “As a constantly evolving field of practice, we continue to incorporate the latest research into our programs and services,” says Jim Eastburn, corporate director of transformational experiences at Canyon Ranch. “Our newest iteration, the Mastering Sleep Immersion program, brings together Canyon Ranch health care providers (physicians, nutritionists, performance scientists, mental health professionals, and spiritual wellness providers) and leading experts from the University of Arizona to deliver a weeklong learning experience like no other.”

This sleep retreat experience will include one-on-one consultations with Canyon Ranch’s integrative wellness experts who provide sleep testing, coaching, and a selection of additional services for a personalized plan. This immersion also includes three core services (like acupuncture, private fitness training, an 80-minute massage, or spiritual guidance), and other optional additions. This Mastering Sleep Immersion retreat is offered at the Tucson location, but Canyon Ranch offers sleep programming (including the overnight sleep testing) at all four of its properties.

Other properties offering retreats, diagnostics, and sleep packages include Sensei, which offers a five-day Rest & Recovery program at its Lanai (Hawaii) and Porcupine Creek (California) properties that focuses on sleep and stress management, utilizing a Whoop wearable and a Sensei Guide to interpret biomarkers, sleep quality, and more. Castle Hot Springs, located 50 miles outside of Phoenix, is a wellness-focused resort that is offering two retreats in 2024 (Feb. 15-18 and June 6-9) focused exclusively on sleep improvement. Led by acclaimed sleep researcher and author Rebecca Robbins, Ph.D., each three-night program seamlessly integrates the surrounding nature and wellness aspects of the property into a fully immersive experience centered on reforming the participants’ sleep habits.

Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, the largest spa and wellness facility on the East Coast, offers plenty of sleep-inducing therapies, but also offers a dedicated Sleep Well Retreat, which is a five-day, four-night experience. (It’s created in conjunction with the Bryte Bed, a smart bed that helps you better understand your own sleeping patterns.) Similarly, adults-only resort Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets is also offering a new comprehensive Sleep Therapy program that officially launched in December 2023, teaching guests “the art of slumber.”

Sleep Amenities

While some are offering sleep-specific programming and packages, other hotels and resorts are leaning into the tourism trend in smaller but still targeted ways via amenities, on-site or remote sleep staff or sleep experts, and even sleep menus that will help travelers find better rest no matter their travel plans. Fora co-founder Henley Vazquez notes that Miraval Arizona has a sleep and dream specialist as part of its staff and that the Peninsula Hotels has a treatment in conjunction with ESPA called the Sleep Ceremony, which “is 120 minutes of restorative treatment aimed at travelers dealing with jet lag and poor sleep.” Conrad Bali introduced a SWAY sleep therapy experience, which combines various techniques while suspended in a cocoon hammock to induce deep relaxation and a sense of being nurtured — it’s a 60-minute session.

Rest-inducing superfood menu and lavender balms are also a thing, as evidenced by Westin hotels and resorts, which offer them exclusively to guests. Pillow menus are also available at a ton of hotels, making sure you get your perfect one, including The Benjamin Royal Sonesta Hotel in NYC, any Four Seasons, any St. Regis in the United States, at Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Italy, Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah and Conrad Dubai in the UAE, Waldorf Astoria Xiamen in China, Conrad Osaka in Japan, and Conrad Centennial Singapore, to name a few.

Cheers To A Year Of Sleep

Most properties TZR talked to note that solo travelers are the No. 1 demographic going for this type of stay, which makes sense when it comes to rest, since many will be seeing individualized coaching as well as quality sleep time sans partner, friend, or family. But couples, friends, and families are also partaking — particularly when it comes to staycations. “We have also found that booking a self-retreat for a friend or a loved one is becoming a more popular gift for people who value experiences over material goods,” says Wang.

No matter what, we’ll be seeing more sleep-focus across hotels, destinations, and resorts in 2024, and it’ll be up to us as individuals to see which ones match best our needs. “Each of us have our own combination of physical, mental, and emotional factors that contribute to the quantity and quality of our sleep,” says Eastburn. And now, thankfully, our stays are being tailored to suit them.