Westin Hotels & Resorts and Fitbit to enhance traveler wellness

This post was originally published on the Fitbit press site. It has been adapted from its original format.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Inc. today announced that industry-innovator Westin Hotels & Resorts has partnered with FitStar by Fitbit to debut a series of fitness programs that are now available at many of the brand’s 200 hotels around the world. In response to the growing global demand for wellness while traveling, this collaboration offers guests the opportunity to stay fit on the go, as well as take their workout beyond their hotel stay with complimentary trial access to the popular FitStar Personal Trainer app.

“Since Westin established its well-being position five years ago, we have seen the focus on wellness accelerating with new technology and the growing popularity of wearables, like those from Fitbit,” said Brian Povinelli, Global Brand Leader, Westin Hotels & Resorts. “This partnership with FitStar by Fitbit offers our guests another meaningful way to maintain their exercise routines when and where it works for them.”

Acquired by Fitbit last year, FitStar is one of the largest platforms for delivering adaptive, video-based exercise experiences on mobile devices and the web. The FitStar Personal Trainer app offers personalized exercise programs with workouts from fitness authorities, including football legend Tony Gonzalez. Each app takes users’ capabilities and goals into account, creating customized workouts that adapt to a person’s fitness level. By adjusting the intensity and difficulty of each move, the workouts evolve as the user progresses. In addition to personalized workouts, the FitStar apps feature dozens of handcrafted Freestyle sessions, with new ones added monthly.

Personalized Fitness Sessions that Pack a Punch for Travelers

As part of this partnership, FitStar by Fitbit, together with Westin's National Running Concierge, Chris Heuisler, designed tailored Freestyle sessions with travel and small spaces in mind. The “Stay Fit with Westin” session, available now in the top-rated FitStar Personal Trainer app, features exercises like elbow planks, floor bridges, and alternating knee raises to help relieve common travelers’ ailments – such as tight hips and lower backs – while building core strength and stretching tired limbs. The FitStar app includes bodyweight exercises and don’t require equipment, making them perfect for people to do on the go. This partnership gives guests a complimentary 30-day trial to FitStar Premium, which includes unlimited personalized routines and access to all Freestyle sessions, including the brand new “Stay Fit with Westin” workout.

“FitStar apps are ideal travel companions, offering fast, effective workouts that can be done anytime, anywhere,” said Mike Maser, Co-Founder of FitStar by Fitbit. “FitStar is approachable because no matter what fitness level a user is – beginner or expert – it adapts to their ability and builds personalized sessions that progress with them, so it’s achievable. It’s easy to get off track while on the road, so we believe our partnership with Westin will help travelers around the world stick to their health and fitness goals.”

Holistic Health & Fitness

For a holistic health and fitness experience, users who also have a Fitbit activity tracker can track their activity 24/7 with leading Fitbit devices, while getting a personal coach on the go with FitStar fitness workouts. The popular FitStar apps work seamlessly with the Fitbit platform, allowing FitStar users to automatically view their FitStar workouts within the Fitbit app to see how their personal training or yoga practice impacts their overall health. Fitbit activity tracker users are also able to easily set up a FitStar account by using their Fitbit login, making getting fit more accessible than ever before.

Westin Walks the Walk

In addition to all hotel General Managers now wearing a Fitbit activity tracker, the brand boasts nearly 200 runWESTIN Concierges, who host group runs for guests and encourage runners of all levels to grab a running map with scenic routes through cities, along beachfronts and amid rural landscapes. For fitness traditionalists, WestinWORKOUT fitness studios feature the finest exercise equipment from world-class brands in open, airy and well-designed spaces.

This partnership builds on Westin’s global Well-Being Movement, an initiative dedicated to inspiring guests and associates to discover new approaches to wellness through innovative partnerships and programs across the brand’s six pillars of well-being, including Move Well. For five years, Westin’s Gear Lending program in partnership with New Balance remains an industry game-changer, allowing guests to pack light and stay fit with New Balance shoes and clothing for guests to use during their stay.

A Premium trial of FitStar Personal Trainer is available today through June 30, 2016 for all hotel guests. Guests will receive redemption details during their stay and the free 30-day trial can be activated at any point during the 6-month eligibility period.