Listings are an editorial decision. We assess and select properties ourselves, and a property cannot buy, apply for or influence a listing.
A property is welcome to introduce itself to us, and many do. An introduction simply brings a place to our attention. It is not an application, and it carries no claim to inclusion. Whether a property is listed, and at which Healing Depth, is determined by our editorial team alone, through our Healing Depth methodology, based on publicly available information, direct knowledge and, in many cases, personal visits or stays.
No. As of March 25, 2026, listing on HealingGuide is editorial and entirely free of charge. We do not accept payment for listings, sponsored placement or membership fees from properties. This is a structural choice, not a policy: a guide that can be bought is not a guide.
Healing Depth is HealingGuide’s proprietary recognition system. It locates a property within the spectrum of what healing hospitality can offer. It is not a ranking. The three kinds are different in nature, not in worth.
RESTORE for places that create reliable conditions for deep rest.
INTEGRATE for places where healing is intentional and structurally competent.
TRANSFORM for the rare places that actively guide a guest from one state of being into another.
The assessment reads for resonance, the coherence between what a place promises and what it actually creates in the people who arrive, and for genuine meaning carried in what the place does. It is not a rating of facilities. It is a reading of inner state.
No. Our editorial texts reflect our independent assessment and are not amended on request. If a property believes there is a factual error, such as a wrong address or a discontinued programme, we are happy to review and correct it. Tonal or content change requests are declined. This independence is what makes the assessment worth having.
HealingGuide is built and operated by a global team of strategists, editors and wellness industry specialists. The methodology and editorial vision draw on the work of Thomas Zerlauth, Austrian brand strategist and author. His work centres on The Meaning Gap, a model of meaning built on the conviction that brands are not built through communication but through the depth of what they actually create in people.
He operates independently as a global brand and meaning strategist and is engaged by healing properties and wellness brands worldwide. HealingGuide is the place where that work meets the world of healing hospitality.
HealingGuide reads places and confers the Healing Depth recognition. This is editorial, independent and always free.
The consultancy is separate. Under The Meaningful Hotel, Thomas Zerlauth and his team work with a small number of hospitality clients on the development of their brand and meaning architecture. Both the guide and the consultancy draw on the same model, The Meaning Gap, because both come from the same source. We make no secret of this.
What never happens is that the consultancy influences a property’s Healing Depth recognition, which is determined by HealingGuide’s editorial team alone. The guide reads. The consultancy builds. They are never the same hand in the same moment.
A Healing Depth assessment is editorial and complimentary. It tells the world where we locate a property on the Restore, Integrate, Transform spectrum. It cannot be bought, applied for or influenced.
The consultancy, under The Meaningful Hotel, is commissioned work for properties that want to develop the meaning their place carries. It begins with a reading of the house and, where a property wishes to go further, continues into the work of building one coherent story across every point of contact. This work never touches the Healing Depth recognition. Details are on the The Meaningful Hotel page.
Yes, and we comply immediately and without discussion. If a listed property requests removal, the listing is taken down and the property receives a brief confirmation. No explanation or renegotiation is required on either side.
Healingguide Inclusion
HealingGuide is a curated guide, not a directory. We do not list every place that applies. We select the places that belong.
Inclusion is free. What we look for is meaning.
