Hospitality Folks podcast · Episode S1E15
The Wellness Trend Hotels Are Ignoring: Forest Therapy | Katarina Alič Čretnik
What if the most powerful wellness offering your property could provide is already outside your door — and you have never once thought to package it?
Katarina Alič Čretnik spent more than 15 years in digital marketing and online journalism before answering a call most people ignore: the forest. She is an ANFT-certified forest therapy guide, NLP trainer, and licensed local tour guide in Slovenia. Through her nature retreat, Melisa Holiday, she designs slow, nature-based experiences that reconnect guests with themselves — and she is quietly building one of Europe’s most distinctive wellness hospitality offerings.
In this episode:
Why forest therapy is not a trend — it is a proven response to burnout and disconnection
What happens when guests who live next to a forest have never actually felt it
How hotels and retreat properties can integrate forest therapy as a real amenity
Solastalgia — the grief for nature your guests are carrying without knowing it
What it took to leave a 15-year digital career and build something rooted entirely in nature
The bear story — and what it reveals about fear, guides, and the outdoors
This one is for hotel owners, retreat operators, and hospitality leaders who know wellness is the next competitive frontier and want to understand what real, nature-based programming looks like.
🔗 Connect with Katarina Alič Čretnik: / katarina-alic-cretnik
🌿 Melisa Holiday: https://melisa.si/
🔗 Connect with Alicia Dick Wahlberg: / aliciadickwahlberg
📸 Instagram: @alicia_dickwahlberg
#ForestTherapy #WellnessTourism #HospitalityLeadership #NatureWellness #HotelWellness #ShinrinYoku #WellnessHospitality #HospitalityPodcast #NatureBasedHealing #SlowTravel #WellnessRetreat #HospitalityFolks
