Hotels have been using Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to up their romantic value for decades, and now they’re turning to a new idea: taking advantage of people who have just gone through a breakup or are decidedly single. Take the Logan Hotel in downtown Philadelphia, which prints your ex’s photo onto a punching bag for you to jab, hook, and uppercut during a private fitness session. That’s just part of the hotel’s $500 romantic detox package, which includes meditation and spa sessions. (No overnight stay required to book.)

Logan general manager Jessica Ball said the boxing element made sense given Philadelphia’s connection to boxing through the “Rocky” movies. Instead of the typical rose petals on the bedspread, chocolates on the pillows and a bottle of champagne on ice, it’s fun and inclusive.

“We don’t want Valentine’s Day to be a holiday that you can’t celebrate if you’re not in a relationship,” Ball said.

Whether this ends up being just Instagram bait or a viable new revenue stream, Logan isn’t the only one embracing the anti-Valentine’s Day crowd.

Richard Branson’s year-old Virgin Hotel in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood recently installed a pop-up “Heartbreak Bar” in the lobby; the free interactive display features a paper shredder and colorful notepads with instructions for guests to shred love letters or mementos of former flames. It’s decorated with photos of broken celebrity couples like Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner. Nearby, under a neon sign that read “Shout It Out Loud,” there was a purple velvet lounge chair with a large box of tissues on top. These themed products are designed to make guests laugh or post viral images on social media, or simply to create an irreverent atmosphere in the hotel.

Moxy NYC Downtown, a party-vibe hotel in the Financial District, will also feature a heart-breaking hotel theme. If you head to the third-floor Recreation Bar on February 14, you’ll find $16 cocktails with names like Cupid’s Curse made with mezcal and coffee liqueur. There will be heart-shaped sticky notes for writing anti-romantic messages to your ex, and an in-house DJ playing breakup songs. (Expect a lot of Taylor Swift.)

If some of these products feel like gimmicks, others hint at the possibility of a larger business.

The Dominick Hotel in Soho is tapping into anti-Valentine’s Day sentiment to help sell its new $1,500 boudoir-style photo shoot, aimed at solo travelers who can pose in large bathtubs with sweeping city views. In marketing materials, the hotel calls the photos a “romantic gift to yourself” – designed to boost confidence.

There is already proof of concept that such a shoot could make a lot of money. Luxurious photoshoots of women (often involving “flying gowns”) in resorts like Santorini, Greece, and Jamaica have become reasons to plan a trip, even though they can cost upwards of $600 an hour.

All this comes as hotels are seeing more and more guests checking in alone. The Association of British Travel Agents said the number of people taking unaccompanied holidays has risen from 6% in 2011 to 16% in 2023. In the U.S., Google searches for “traveling alone” hit an all-time high in January, according to Google Trends data, with searches for “traveling solo for women.” The #SoloTravel hashtag on TikTok has over 702,000 posts and a staggering 7.8 billion views.

Why grieve at home when you can grieve in a luxury hotel?

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)