The most realistic way a business adds sauna to its wellness programme is in two stages: book a private session for the team as a one-off first, then, if the appetite is there, look at a permanent installation using the same build-and-run model already proven with gyms, hotels and glamping sites. You don't need to commit to a permanent build to try it, and most companies shouldn't start there.
Key takeaways
- Two real routes: a one-off private hire for a team away day (bookable now, no commitment), or a permanent sauna on your own site, built and run the same way we already do for gyms, hotels and glamping venues.
- The underlying case for stress relief and recovery is the same evidence covered in our piece on the science behind sauna health benefits: real, but strongest for cardiovascular health and more modestly supported for mood, stress and sleep.
- We don't have a flagship office-based case study to point to yet. What we do have is a proven, done-for-you model already running at hotels, padel clubs, gyms and glamping sites, and it applies just as well to a company site or campus.
- Permanent installations need outdoor space and, in most cases, some form of planning check, the same requirements as any other site we build for.
- Finance is available through Johnson Reed if you go permanent, and maintenance is included for the first year.
Why sauna is showing up in workplace wellbeing conversations
The standard corporate wellness perk for years has been a discounted gym membership nobody quite uses. What's changed is the appetite for something the whole team actually does together, in one place, at one time, rather than a benefit sitting unused on an intranet page. A shared sauna session (whether that's a one-off private hire or a proper installation) is a genuinely different kind of perk: it's an experience people show up for as a group, not an individual line on a benefits spreadsheet.
We hear this from the venues we already build for. One of our glamping partners put it plainly: "Our sauna and cold plunge quickly became our most recommended, sold-out experience: weddings, retreats, corporate hires and local community events." Corporate bookings, alongside weddings and retreats, are already a real part of how our partner venues use their saunas, even where the primary customer isn't a business at all.
The evidence for stress relief and recovery
Heat exposure raises your heart rate and prompts the body to release endorphins, the same mechanism behind the lift in mood people report after exercise. That's a genuinely useful thing to build into a working week that's mostly sitting and screens. The honest caveat, the same one we apply to our own health content: the strongest research sits with cardiovascular health over the long term, while the evidence for stress, mood and sleep benefits is real, widely reported and biologically plausible, but a thinner research base than the heart data. We'd rather undersell it and let a session speak for itself than promise a cure for workplace stress. Read the full picture in the science behind sauna health benefits.
Away day vs permanent installation
These are genuinely two different decisions, and it's worth being clear about which one you're actually considering.
A one-off private hire
The lowest-commitment route: hire a sauna session privately at one of our partner sites for a team offsite, an away day or a end-of-quarter get-together. No building work, no long-term commitment, and it's a good way to find out whether your team actually wants this before you consider anything permanent. Book a session to try it.
A permanent installation
If a one-off lands well and there's a genuine case for a sauna on your own site (an office campus, a warehouse with outdoor space, a company retreat), the build is the same one we already run for gyms, hotels and glamping venues: we build it, install it, train your team to run it, and maintain it (included in year one). It needs outdoor space, and in most cases some form of planning check before you commit, the same requirements as any commercial site. Finance is available through Johnson Reed so it doesn't have to be a single upfront cost. See how the model works in full on adding a sauna to your business, or read how other operators approached it in adding a sauna to your business.
Being honest about where this sits
Our proven ground is venues people already choose to visit: gyms, padel clubs, hotels and glamping sites, where a sauna adds retention and revenue to a business that already has paying customers walking through the door. A pure staff-wellbeing installation on a company's own site, with no paying customer at the other end, is a newer and less proven category for us. We'd rather say that plainly than oversell a case study we don't yet have. What we can say with confidence: the build, install and maintenance model is exactly the same one already running successfully elsewhere, and a private hire is a genuinely low-risk way to find out if it's right for your team before you go further.
Curious about the science behind why people keep coming back? Read the science behind sauna health benefits. Thinking about a permanent installation? See the full model at adding a sauna to your business, or browse our builds. Want to try it first? Book a private session for your team.