XWELL is a firm believer that wellness is for everyone. Harnessing broad and specialist expertise, the company covers the full spectrum of health, from spa treatments to pathogen surveillance, relaxation to retail offerings. Since September 2024, XWELL has been led by CEO Ezra Ernst – a passionate advocate for the brand and its extensive, inclusive approach to wellness.
“There just isn’t another brand out there, doing what we do, at such scale,” Ezra declares. “We are uniquely positioned to take the XWELL brand and expose it to millions of people.”
Primarily, XWELL brings a full range of wellness services together in a single place, providing customers with spaces where they can recharge, refresh and feel their best. The company’s services include massage, waxing, facials, LED light therapy, meditation, manicures, pedicures, and compression therapy. These treatments are augmented by a curated collection of retail products, from nutrition to skin care.
“Our wellness retail offering includes items that help people get through the day, including vitamins, transdermal patches for energy, and sleep products,” Ezra reveals. “We have seen retail revenue rise from around 3% to almost 20% over the last few years, which indicates that we’re selling the right things – people are interested.”
In the Right Places
As well as selling the right things and providing the right services, XWELL has found a niche in its ability to be in the right places. Alongside flagship locations in Florida and New York, XWELL has a presence in major airports across the world in the shape of XpresSpa. Offering tailored services and treatments to nearly one million busy travellers each year, XpresSpa is the largest airport spa company in the world.
“Our position in world airports exposes us to millions of people, bringing attention to wellness and, more specifically, to our brand,” Ezra explains. “Whether you’re in Dubai, Istanbul, or a whole host of states in the US, our airport spas offer real wellness services and beauty components on-the-go.”
XWELL’s relationship with airports runs deeper than its XpresSpa locations. Before becoming CEO of XWELL, Ezra ran XpresCheck, an XWELL brand that tested over 200,000 people in airports during the Covid-19 pandemic. XpresCheck remains in operation today, but has since transitioned into a US CDC Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) Program performing bio-surveillance in airports across the country. The service tests more than 6,000 passengers a week, safeguarding for a variety of pathogens.
“Part of what gives me hope for our world is that so many people volunteer for our XpresCheck service, which really helps to support public health,” Ezra says. “Even after all the political baggage created by Covid-19, travellers are embracing wellness. It’s such an important programme and I am very proud to see the community coming together to keep people safe.”
Whether it was support during Covid-19 or its growing network of services for travellers, XWELL’s proposition could not be more timely. In a world where stress and mental health are viewed with increasing seriousness, the organisation offers a respite from the overwhelming nature of modern life.
“We want to make it easier for people to take care of themselves without pressure and without stigma, at a time when this kind of service is really needed,” Ezra comments. “We try to meet people where they are and integrate wellness into their lives in a way that’s not burdensome. It’s a warm, welcoming approach, liberating wellness from its long-established, expensive, and very complicated product cycle.”
Convenience and Cost
Convenience and cost are certainly two key priorities for XWELL. One of the organisation’s biggest feats has been its ability to reimagine and reposition self-care, democratising wellness in the process.
“The industry is stacked with exclusive, high-end treatments for the Musks and Zuckerbergs of the world,” Ezra states. “We, on the other hand, are using technology to provide those treatments for the rest of us. Wellness – and the opportunity to reach your potential – should not just be for the wealthy.
“Whether we are helping to prevent another pandemic, giving a busy family a place to rest after a delay, or helping a business traveller iron out the kinks of a long flight before they head to their meeting, our services do not require tremendous amounts of time or money. Wellness is for everyone; we are putting that concept into practice.”
In order to achieve its goals on such a major scale, XWELL benefits from over 300 mission-driven employees. The majority of this group consists of frontline team members tasked with requesting health check volunteers or providing beauty services.
“These are people who use and believe in our products, but they are also highly qualified as massage therapists and aestheticians. Airports, especially, are a very difficult environment to work in, but our workforce strives to provide an oasis of calm and care for our customers.”
Furthering the Mission
XWELL and its team are now an embedded part of the wellness scene, especially in airports, where XpresSpa was recently named as one of Yelp’s Most Loved Airport Brands in the USA. Thanks to a recent partnership with Priority Pass, a leading airport lounge and experience provider, XpresSpa now even offers its sites as an overflow location where Priority Pass customers can receive a free massage.
Building on its strong airport relationships, XWELL recently gained a presence in professional sport when it became the official wellness spa of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. The partnership is helping XWELL to grow its brand across Florida, where it recently launched a new wellness centre.
“Our new location in Clearwater, FL, is geared around affordable, accessible wellness and beauty, including aesthetic medicine, massage, facials, and waxing,” Ezra reports. “Future additions could be anything from cryogenics to compression therapy, infrared sauna to cold plunge.”
As Ezra suggests, XWELL is determined to grow its offering during the years ahead, as well as continue building upon the strong foundations it has laid since its launch. Through strategic partnerships, targeted expansion, and potential acquisitions, the organisation is set to transform the face of modern wellness.
“We’re currently forging relationships with more airport partners and I am very optimistic about our work with national governments,” Ezra remarks. “Away from airports, we are about to open a new location in New York City’s Penn Station – one of the busiest travel hubs in the world – which will really help us understand how far we can take wellness on-the-go; can we get people to participate in wellness during their busy commute?
“After Penn Station, we are opening four more locations in Florida. It will be a nice way to wrap-up my first year at the helm. It was a year in which we improved operational efficiency in preparation for the expansion activity we expect in 2026 and 2027. We are cracking the code on a new area of wellness and there are many partners lining up to assist us in furthering that mission.”
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