Bath Entrepreneur Launches New Approach to Guest Wellbeing as Hotels Rethink What Rest Really Means

Bath-based wellbeing brand Soothr is encouraging hotels to look beyond physical comfort and consider how quickly guests can mentally settle into unfamiliar surroundings.

A Bath entrepreneur is introducing a new approach to hotel guest wellbeing after years of personal experience led him to question whether even the most luxurious hotel room can help guests truly switch off.

Soothr founder Kevin Chambers has developed a curated sensory wellbeing concept designed to support the transition between arriving at a hotel and actually feeling settled.

The idea was inspired partly by his own experiences as a hotel guest.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to stay in some incredible luxury hotels around the world, and I’ve always appreciated the amount of thought that goes into creating a beautiful room,” Kevin says.

“But for me, there was always one problem. No matter how luxurious the surroundings were, it would often take me close to 24 hours before I genuinely felt settled.

“I could arrive, unpack and sit in an amazing room, but mentally I was still carrying the journey and everything that had come before it. My body had arrived, but my mind hadn’t quite caught up.”

For Kevin, this was frustrating as a paying guest, particularly during shorter stays. It also prompted him to consider the issue from the hotel’s perspective.

“A hotel can spend years developing its guest experience and invest heavily in the mattress, linen, lighting, bathroom, interior design and all the small details that create physical comfort.

“If the guest spends the first evening still trying to settle, it feels like a missed opportunity for both the guest and the hotel.”

A Business Rooted in Lived Experience

The thinking behind Soothr also comes from a much more personal place.

After more than three decades of addiction, Kevin entered recovery and began rebuilding his life around a greater understanding of wellbeing, routine and emotional regulation. A later diagnosis of ADHD also helped him understand why his mind could be intensely curious and creative while sometimes finding it difficult to slow down.

Mindfulness became particularly important during this period.

“Looking back, undoubtedly, mindfulness became a fundamental part of my recovery,” Kevin explains. “I genuinely don’t know where I would be without it, and there were times when I’m not sure I would still be here.”

Alongside mindfulness, Kevin began using breathing techniques, familiar scents, calming audio and simple routines that helped him create space between thoughts and change the pace of the day.

Those experiences eventually connected with the frustration he had felt when trying to settle into unfamiliar hotel rooms.

“I realised that calm doesn’t necessarily happen just because you are somewhere peaceful,” he says.

“Sometimes the mind needs a little help making that transition. That made me wonder whether some of the simple tools that had helped transform my own life could be brought together thoughtfully to help somebody arriving in an unfamiliar hotel room.”

That question became one of the foundations of Soothr.

Creating a Ritual Rather Than Another Hotel Amenity

The Soothr Sensory Kit combines a pillow spray, organic magnesium body butter, an organic aromatherapy roller and affirmation cards, alongside digital relaxation content available through the Soothr app.

The app includes guided relaxation audio and calming soundscapes, bringing together scent, touch and sound in a simple experience that guests can use in their own way.

The company is careful not to claim that the kit can remove stress or guarantee sleep. Instead, its aim is to create an opportunity for guests to pause.

“We’re not trying to tell people how to relax,” Kevin says. “Wellness can easily become another thing people feel they have to get right.

“Soothr is much simpler than that. It is an invitation to slow things down for a few minutes and create a small ritual that tells the mind the travelling part of the day is over.”

The company believes this approach could become increasingly relevant as hotels look beyond conventional physical comfort and place greater emphasis on how the overall stay makes guests feel.

Research into the First Night Effect has shown that sleeping somewhere unfamiliar can affect how the brain responds during the first night in a new environment. For Soothr, however, the opportunity begins even earlier.

“The interesting part for me is what happens between checking in and going to sleep,” Kevin says.

“The hotel gets the guest into the room. What we want Soothr to do is help the guest arrive.”

Building the Idea in Bath

Bath provides a natural setting for the business. With its longstanding association with wellbeing, thermal waters and restoration, alongside a strong collection of boutique, luxury and spa hotels, Soothr is beginning to build relationships with hospitality businesses across the city and surrounding area.

Kevin is also exploring a series of small, invitation-only gatherings in Bath, bringing together boutique hotel owners, general managers and guest-experience professionals to discuss changing expectations around sleep, relaxation and emotional comfort.

The intention is not to create another conventional sales event.

“I want to have conversations with people who care deeply about hospitality and mental wellbeing,” he says.

“There is so much thought already going into how hotel rooms look and feel physically. I think there is an interesting conversation to be had about how we help the person inside the room mentally arrive as well.”

Soothr’s ambition is ultimately broader than simply placing more products into hotel rooms. Kevin wants the business to encourage hotels to consider whether the period between arrival and relaxation deserves the same attention as the room itself.

“People may not remember every detail of the mattress or every item in the room months later,” he says.

“But they will remember how a hotel made them feel.

“If Soothr can help a guest settle a little sooner and start enjoying the experience the hotel has worked so hard to create, then I think we’re adding something genuinely worthwhile.”