Rental residents was once content material with a pleasant pool, free foyer espresso, and even valet trash service. However the rich residing in immediately’s ultra-luxe flats—largely in main cities— need extra. Now, some luxurious house buildings within the U.S. have began providing med-spa providers like IV hydration and Botox.
“Property managers are venturing into amenities like health care and aesthetics to meet the evolving demands of luxury renters and stay competitive in an amenities arms race,” John Walkup, co-founder of actual property analytics agency UrbanDigs, tells Fortune. “Luxury implies exclusivity, and developers constantly seek to outdo each other by offering the latest and most unique amenities. Yesterday’s pool is today’s pet spa—and tomorrow’s pool is the Botox [and] rehydration lounge.”
The facilities arms race has been brewing for some time as renters have come to count on extra from the rising price ticket of house residing. Take Washington, D.C. flats, for instance, which have additionally began providing luxurious facilities together with Tesla leases, artwork galleries, greenhouses, and artistic studios, in accordance with a 2023 Axios report. “Our pandemic shift to spending more time at home has furthered the amenities arms race,” Axios reporter Paige Hopkins writes. The share of house buildings in New York Metropolis providing well being and wellness facilities has additionally elevated nearly 3.5% previously 5 years, in accordance with UrbanDigs information supplied to Fortune.
Take The Park Santa Monica in California, for instance, which early this yr began providing concierge IV drip providers for residents by means of a partnership with Drip Hydration. Residents obtain a reduction by means of the partnership for IV therapies for dehydration, hangover reduction, vitality, immunity, and sweetness that price as much as $399 per session.
Providing these providers, that are administered by registered nurses, on the house constructing as an alternative of a med spa location, “makes a big difference for tenants who have a busy day or week ahead, and makes it possible to prioritize wellness without having to compromise,” a spokesperson for The Park Santa Monica tells Fortune. Residents pay for his or her service both in-person on the foyer or by means of The Park’s resident app, and now have entry to on-site salt saunas, steam rooms, and on-demand massages.
IV drips turned popularized by celebrities like Adele, Jane Fonda, and Chrissy Teigen a couple of years in the past—particularly for bettering vitality ranges and recovering from dehydration resulting from excessive temps in sunny California. These kind of providers have change into so fashionable, the truth is, the variety of med spas and hydration clinics has ballooned right into a $15 billion wellness trade providing IV remedy, skincare, beauty procedures, in accordance with The American Med Spa Affiliation. Whereas Adele reportedly obtained therapies that price about $200, some IV drips can price as much as $1,000 relying on the supplier and site.
Apartment buildings like 53 West 53 in Manhattan additionally associate with med spas to supply at-home luxurious providers. Superstar-beloved facialist Aida Bicaj provides spa providers at this luxurious constructing both within the property’s therapy room or their very own apartment.
“Access is the ultimate amenity,” Samantha Sax, chief advertising officer USA for Pontiac Land Group, tells Fortune. “Being able to offer residents a level of exclusivity with the brands and services that are likely already part of their daily lives” is a method to improve apartment residing past typical facilities.
Residents can e-book appointments for greater than a dozen providers within the 15,000-square-foot wellness middle at 53 West 53, which is a Pontiac Land Group property, or can request in-home therapies.
“As partnerships of this kind have been well-received by our residents at 53 West 53, I would not be surprised if other properties follow suit,” Sax says.
Are rich residents actually ‘too busy’ to go get in-person med-spa therapies?
Think about waking up in your lush house in Los Angeles, Miami, or New York Metropolis. You spent the night time out along with your different ultra-wealthy pals—and possibly even rubbed elbows or shared tequila pictures with celebrities. However now you could have a yoga class to hit this afternoon and are wildly hungover. That’s the place cellular IV drip providers can come in useful.
Different luxurious house buildings additionally provide Botox, fillers, and different extra invasive providers, making an in-home expertise much more interesting.
Sufferers “can return home immediately after treatment without facing the crowds with red, bruised, or blotchy skin,” Elizabeth Donat, a licensed esthetician with 20 years of expertise in spas and med spas, tells Fortune. “Having the option to retreat to the comfort of their own home without encountering a number of onlookers is especially appealing to those undergoing more invasive treatments.”
At-home providers additionally profit sufferers as a result of they’re much less prone to have interaction in actions that might hurt the outcomes of their therapy—like train or consuming alcohol, Donat says.
“Patients who visit a traditional offsite med spa during their daily errands are more likely to engage in activities that jeopardize their treatment, such as attending a yoga class, getting a facial, or going to happy hour,” Donat says.
Is it protected to get med-spa therapies at dwelling?
Like many issues within the medical world, there’s debate in regards to the security of receiving IV drips, Botox, fillers, and different med spa therapies at dwelling. Some medical doctors and nurses sing their praises, whereas others are extra cautionary.
Whereas there’s been studies of infections and different accidents related to IV drips and different beauty or vitamin injections throughout the previous few years, many sufferers find yourself simply wonderful and report optimistic outcomes reminiscent of improved vitality ranges and a treatment for a hangover.
Heather Hinshelwood, a health care provider, medical director and proprietor at The Fraum Middle on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, cautions in opposition to at-home therapies from a affected person security standpoint. Whereas she’s “encouraged” by the curiosity and lure of wellness choices supplied at house buildings throughout the U.S., she says they need to be physician-led.
“I am concerned that these companies may opt for the lowest bid rather than prioritizing patient safety,” Hinshelwood tells Fortune. Florida and South Carolina have began cracking down on most of these providers and not using a doctor on website in response to “boutique clinics offering patient care options without ever seeing a provider and the overuse of remote clinic directors that are not meaningfully involved.”
What do property managers get out of those partnerships?
Whereas med spa providers are nonetheless a distinct segment providing, Walkup says, they’re nonetheless part of the “arms race mentality” for providing premier facilities.
“If they successfully attract tenants to pay higher rents, expect more buildings to offer them in the future,” Walkup says. “These amenities help attract and retain affluent tenants willing to pay a premium for convenience and exclusivity because they see the offered services as added value. This makes the property more competitive in the luxury market and often allows for higher asking rents.”
In different phrases, house buildings can make more cash in the long term by providing most of these facilities with out having to spend money on renovations or installations of extra frequent facilities like a pool or membership room.
Luxurious house buildings are additionally extra prone to provide med spa providers to draw new tenants as a result of there are simply merely fewer housing choices for wealthier revenue brackets in search of an ultra-plush expertise.
“Because the pool of people looking for luxury apartments is significantly smaller than non-luxury apartments, competition is often quite a bit stronger,” Seamus Nally, CEO of TurboTenant, tells Fortune. “So, including new, interesting, and inventive amenities like these are ways that property managers will try to persuade luxury apartment buyers that their building is the very best.”
