Kimpton and Talkspace bring mental health benefits to hospitality workers and hotel guests

Making mental health care accessible is an uphill battle that employers continue to face, as employees in need are often met with long wait times and high demand when attempting to connect with resources and providers.

For Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, the past few years highlighted the growing need for mental health support among their frontline staff, and the hotel chain is now partnering with Talkspace to offer its 4,000 employees a year of free therapy services through the platform.

“Hospitality workers across the country are feeling the strain from working on the front lines throughout the pandemic — and that certainly applies to our people,” says Will McKnight, VP of people and culture at Kimpton. “From staffing shortages to the burden of upholding robust safety protocols, there are enormous levels of stress affecting all those who have continued to work on site throughout the pandemic.”

Within the hospitality industry, rates of stress and burnout are high: even pre-pandemic, 80% of hospitality workers felt burned out, according to a survey by Paychex. During the pandemic, workers in these fields faced job uncertainty, high turnover and low pay, leading nearly 1.2 million workers to leave the field since 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Read more: Inside first responders’ struggle with mental health

“The number of job openings not only across our company but also across our competitors’ portfolios showed us that people were burned out, and that many were looking for more from a future employer,” McKnight says. “We set out to make our benefits even more appealing to our culture of care and holistic well-being.”

Talkspace provides online access to licensed therapists and mental health coaches. Employees can engage with professionals via video, voice memo or text messaging, making therapy easy and immediate.

Not only will employees be able to reach out for support, the partnership extends to the hotel’s guests, too: Kimpton and Talkspace are offering 1,000 complimentary video sessions for guests staying at Kimpton properties, as well as a $100 discount to Talkspace plans through 2022.

“Mental health has always been a priority at Kimpton, and we know that travelers are facing more stress and anxiety than ever on the road,” McKnight says. “Whether it’s the stress before your first in-person business meeting since the pandemic began or the anxieties that arise on family vacations, the pandemic has taken its toll.”

Read more: Business Group on Health CEO discusses the pros and cons of the telehealth explosion

Employees have already started taking advantage of the benefit, and guests have been eager to utilize this resource, McKnight says. Making mental health so accessible to so many can move the needle when it comes to eliminating the stigma around asking for support.

“We saw a need and an opportunity for us to help close the gap on accessible mental health services,” McKnight says. “As a company committed to human connection and heartfelt care, providing services that help our guests prioritize their mental health felt like the right thing to do.”