LIFESTYLE | AUGUST 2026 | 5 MIN READ
SOCIAL WELLNESS —
WHY THE SAUNA IS THE NEW SOHO HOUSE
Perhaps the most interesting development in the wellness market is happening not on the treatment table, but next to it. In the sauna, on a group run through the city, during a Sunday morning ice bath, or after a Pilates class, when suddenly nobody seems ready to go home. Wellness is becoming social. And perhaps that is exactly the answer to a generation that has spent long enough trying to optimize its life alone. Tracking sleep, counting steps, taking supplements, monitoring cortisol levels, developing the perfect morning routine — we have almost turned health into a full-time job. In 2026, the counter-movement seems to be beginning. The Global Wellness Summit describes a clear shift away from over-optimization and toward a renewed desire for human connection, sensuality, joy, and shared experiences. Wellness is supposed to feel less like a system of control and more like real life again. And with that, the place where we meet people is changing, too. It used to be the bar. Then it was the gym. For a while, perhaps, the coworking space. Now it could be the sauna. Not the traditional sauna in a hotel basement, but the modern bathhouse: architecturally designed, with steam rooms, cold plunge pools, relaxation areas, treatments, music, and an atmosphere somewhere between boutique hotel, members' club, and wellness ritual. In cities like New York, entirely new bathhouse concepts are emerging that no longer sell wellness as a quiet individual activity, but as a social experience. Saunas are becoming meeting places, sometimes hosting events, community formats, and even dating or cultural gatherings. The crucial part isn't even the sauna itself. It's the ritual. Sweating together. Going into cold water together. Running together. Having breakfast together. These are activities where you don't have to constantly perform, yet automatically become part of a group. And that is precisely what makes them so interesting.
Because while traditional social spaces often require a certain amount of performance — What am I wearing? What am I ordering? Who am I here with? — a sauna surprisingly requires very little of it. At some point, everyone is simply sitting there. And perhaps that is quite luxurious right now. The Global Wellness Summit refers to this in its 2026 trend report as the “Festivalization of Wellness”: wellness is becoming more communal, emotional, and experience-driven. Sober raves, movement, music, saunas, and creative formats are becoming social spaces where the focus is not on performance, but on shared experience. The social dimension of sauna culture is also becoming increasingly interesting from a scientific perspective. A 2026 study on British sauna culture found connections between sauna use, feelings of belonging, and wellbeing; particularly important were rituals and emotional synchrony within sauna communities. At first, this sounds almost banal. People feel better when they spend time with other people. Welcome back to a rather old invention. Except that the wellness industry is now turning it into a new luxury product. And the movement doesn't stop at the sauna. Run clubs have long since become more than groups of people running five kilometers together. They function as social infrastructure. You come for the sport and stay for the people.
In Munich, London, New York, or Berlin, people meet in the morning or after work for a run and then often head for coffee together. The sport is the occasion; the community is the actual product. Studies on running clubs are now even showing that these informal groups can create social cohesion — particularly in cities where people frequently move in from elsewhere and first have to build their social networks. And this is precisely where social wellness becomes interesting for the luxury industry.
The traditional idea of wellness was radically individual for a long time: my treatment, my room, my detox plan, my diagnostics, my recovery. The next generation thinks differently. They still want quality and privacy, but they don't necessarily want to be alone. You can already see this in some of the industry's biggest names. Six Senses explicitly describes wellness both as an individual experience and as an opportunity to meet like-minded people on retreats and build lasting connections. Lanserhof, meanwhile, has long been expanding its concept with shared movement experiences: guests can take part in group formats such as yoga, Pilates, Nordic walking, or activities in nature. At the same time, the brand is responding to another social shift: time is becoming a luxury. Since 2026, Lanserhof has offered four-day retreats for the first time, responding to people who want to integrate health and recovery into an increasingly compressed everyday life. That, too, is part of the new wellness logic. Not everyone can — or wants to — disappear for two weeks.
But two hours in a sauna, a run, an ice bath, or dinner with friends can be integrated into everyday life. Perhaps that is why wellness is now moving from the holiday back into the city. Suddenly, bathhouses, studios, and fitness clubs are becoming something that bars and members' clubs once were: places where you are seen, meet people, and become part of a particular community. The dress code today is simply less cocktail dress and more running set. And instead of an espresso martini, there might be a matcha waiting after the cold plunge. The aesthetic has changed. The social principle is surprisingly similar. This becomes particularly interesting for the hospitality industry. Luxury resorts are no longer selling only rooms and spa treatments, but entire wellness worlds. Six Senses integrates wellness through nutrition, movement, sleep, mindfulness, and shared retreat experiences throughout the entire stay. Rosewood Asaya follows a similarly holistic approach, in which wellness is not treated as an individual spa product, but as part of a broader lifestyle and community experience. And this is exactly where the definition of luxury is shifting. Luxury used to mean having access to something others couldn't have. Today, luxury can just as easily mean having access to the right people.
To a place where you recognize yourself. To a ritual you regularly share with others. To a community that isn't built solely around shared income or a particular taste, but around shared values. This also explains why wellness and private members' clubs are increasingly merging. In London, established clubs are increasingly incorporating longevity, fitness, diagnostics, and recovery, while new concepts are designing wellness as a social experience from the very beginning. The traditional boundary between “Are we going out?” and “Are we doing something for our health?” is slowly disappearing. Maybe today, we simply do both. We meet friends, move our bodies, sweat, drink something non-alcoholic, and go home feeling good. It's less spectacular than the old nightlife economy. But perhaps more sustainable. And that is exactly why social wellness could be more than just the next beautiful trend for Instagram. In an increasingly digital, individualized, algorithm-driven world, genuine belonging is becoming a luxury in itself. You can book a meditation through an app. Consult a sleep coach. Ask AI for the perfect training plan. But no technology can replace the moment when ten people sit together in a sauna for an hour and forget to look at their phones. Perhaps that is the real irony of the 2026 wellness boom: The more we try to technically optimize our bodies and our lives, the more strongly we crave something profoundly unoptimized — other people. The sauna isn't the new Soho House because suddenly everyone loves wellness. It is because we need a place where we can simply show up. Without a networking appointment. Without a perfect reason. Without asking whether we have achieved enough today. You sit there. You sweat. Maybe you talk. Or maybe you don't. And perhaps that is where the greatest luxury of all lies: For a moment, not having to improve anything.