We can all accept hotels are about sharing.  In the best hotels it’s veiled, giving each guest the feeling that they are the first to sleep in an untouched room. But now select hotels are giving guests another item to feel like it’s the first time someone has used it: workout gear.

Westin hotels recently started a program for guests to loan out free New-Balance branded workout gear. It makes sense: the frequent business traveler, when trying to pack a carry-on, may not always consider health and fitness gear, and hotels are looking to help. Any and all garments that have seen the treadmill will receive the same vigorous cleaning treatment that hotels linens and towels go through.

And that number of guests using the treadmill is quite high as well according to this Wall Street Journal article. Many chains, including the Westin, are recognizing travelers desire to bring their workouts on the road and have upped their gym’s profile with the addition of TV’s and free classes.

As you might guess, this is proving to be an effective business decision for hotels – as well as a health benefit for guests. By offering a unique program such as this, Westin is looking for a competitive edge in the upscale hospitality industry since many of its competitors don’t have the same type of program. And by offering their product to the chain, New Balance is gaining exposure and possible new customers trying their stuff for the first time.

Hotels are all about offering the best services, comfort and convenience to every guest.  And this is yet another useful service that hotels can offer – and one that many business travelers reading this may imagine they would use.  And we can’t find any excuse to say this won’t be something that will be a fixture across many hotels in the future.