Owl Ridge Cabin Near Wausau an Example of "Sleep Tourism"

Friday, August 25th, 2023 -- 8:09 AM

(Keith Uhlig, Wausau Daily Herald) -"Sleep tourism is a thing," and an elegant cabin east of Wausau is the perfect place for it, the email proclaimed.

According to Keith Uhlig with the Wausau Daily Herald, it was a public-relations pitch for Owl Ridge Cabin, a vacation rental property located amid acres of woods. The email focused on peace and quiet, touting the property as not only a great place to get a good night's sleep, but to read a book, disconnect from devices and hike in the woods.

Owners Randy and Sara Bangs don't use the phrase "sleep tourism" on Owl Ridge's website, but they use a slew of related words: relax, refresh, restore, rejuvenate. Sleep tourism wasn't a concept Randy Bangs said he had in mind when he developed Owl Ridge.

He saw an opening in the vast hospitality market for a place that offers guests peace and solitude while blending the natural world with a private, luxurious, and spa-like vacation home experience. Sleep just happens to be a part of it all.

Coincidentally, as Bangs designed the destination, the idea of sleep tourism became trendy. Do an internet search of "is sleep tourism a thing?" and find stories from 2023 by media outlets across the world, including Forbes, CNN and Conde Nast Traveler.

Even Sleep Advisor, a group devoted to promoting healthy and deep rest, is on the trend. For some, paying hundreds of dollars for something we do every night, unconsciously, may border on absurd.

But consider the state of the world, wrote Arwa Mahdawi, columnist for United Kingdom-based newspaper The Guardian. "We live in incredibly anxious times. We have climate change to the right of us, a potential world war to the left of us, and general mayhem all around us," Mahdawi wrote. "Who wants to spend their hard-earned cash going on adrenaline-filled adventure holidays in this climate? Far better to spend your money switching off."

Sleep tourism also makes sense in a post-pandemic world. COVID-19 spurred many to take greater care of their health, both mental and physical. At the same time, the end of the lockdown era released pent-up demand for travel experiences, according to a Washington Post story analyzing trends propelled by the pandemic.

The concept of sleep tourism bridges people's efforts to bolster their health while getting out and exploring the world. Sleep is vital to well-being, according to a 2013 story in a National Institutes of Health newsletter.

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