Hurkle-Durkling: Don't Snooze on The $70B Opportunity in Sleep Tourism

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We recently wrote about "MeMooners" - a new way to describe solo travelers, coined by Hilton's 2025 travel trend predictions - and the opportunities associated with that.

It was not the only curious term in that report. We've also got "hurkle-durkling," a folksy-sounding Scottish phrase that means to lounge in bed long past the get-up time.

That's an easy activity to get behind: One in five travelers around the world say they enjoy a chill day with no itinerary on their vacation (30% for Gen Z and Millennials).

What's The Signal Here?

The popularity of "hurkle-durkling" shows that travelers are taking the spirit of self care and wellness on the road - and a cozy bed is essential to the experience.

Wellness tourism is a wild market. The industry is already worth $814B+in the US alone, and projected to grow by 21%annually through 2025. Sleep tourism, a crucial segment in it, is worth $70B alone.

And it's clear that jetsetters are willing to pay up for premium sleep on vacation:

• 40%of travelers choose hotels where they can get a better night's sleep (separate beds with partners, sleep-centric amenities, etc.)
• 25%+ will book a wellness treatment to further improve their sleep on vacation
• 78%of hotel guests who experienced better-than-expected sleep quality said they "definitely will" return to that establishment.

Average monthly US Google search volume. Source: Ahrefs

Hotels have already spied an opportunity here - provide the weary masses with sleep sanctuaries. A growing numberof American establishments now offer top-quality snooze tech, from 24/7 sleep concierges to guided sleep hypnosis sessions.

And consumers are tucking (themselves) in.

Business Opportunities In Sleep Tourism

Here are a few ways for entrepreneurs to count sheep, and profits:

1. Brand Partnerships

A weekend of top-quality snoozing could become a popular mini vacation option. Partnering with hotels is an easy way for sleep brands to get their products in front of the masses. It's also a great way for smaller hotels (or Airbnbs) to attract clientele.

If you're a small biz in the sleep or hospitality space, get in bed with well-matched partners, or act as a middleman and connect brands.

2. Off-Peak Specials

Existing establishments could attract sleep-hungry clients with specials during off-peak times.

DayUse.comoffers hotel rooms for 75% off to guests who use them only during the day - and the site gets ~537k visitors/mo., per Similarweb. Launch a sleep-centric version that allows busy professionals (or parents ) to book sleep hotels for the best day nap of their lives.

Source: Tenor

Or, use sleep to attract clients during other off-peak times, such as weeknight snooze specials or winter sleep getaways.

3. High-end Sleep Journeys

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts offers Alchemy of Sleep, a collection of retreats where guests can opt for one-night "Dreamscapes," or five-night journeys of "Sleep Transformation" (at $5k+ per night ).

This is likely the first of many luxury sleep retreats that will cater to the high-end market. As sleep tourism rises, this demographic may look to professionals to curate their dream snooze-cations, and sleep travel agents may become a thing (sign us up).

4. Affordable Sleep Experiences

We can't all afford $5k+/night dreamscapes (sigh). Bring sleep luxury to the masses via:

Sleep boxes. Launch an at-home version of the Rosewood Hotel's "Curated Sleep Boxes," featuring essential oil blends, tea blends, aromatherapy linen mists, silk eye masks, and decent earplugs.

Include QR codes to curated sleep playlists, meditations, and questionnaires so you can direct consumers to personalized products.

Sleep pods. Don't have a quiet, private place to snooze? Enter the sleep pod. There's rising interestin these simple options, and if the trend continues, the power nap may soon replace the afternoon espresso.

Nap York already offers pod rentals starting at $27/hour, targeting tired travelers and employees alike. Focus on coworking spaces, office blocks, and airports to kit out, or service, their mini sleep offerings.

Topics:Entrepreneurship

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