Spa Business issue 2 2012 - Leisure Opportunities

new and attractive but we have certain obligations
– we are creating someone’s business
so although my ideas are inspired, they have
to fit within the financial parameters.
“As an architect, sometimes you see a client
taking the wrong approach to how they want
their spa to look, so you also have to be a
diplomat! I’m lucky because I have leverage
– I’m 56 years old and because I’ve done so
many projects most clients trust my opinion.
They know I’m not a creative pushover.”
Despite this, Gathy admits he’s not always
got it right in the past. “I’ve made millions
of mistakes! I’ve made operational, financial,
design and logistical mistakes – after
all, we’re all human aren’t we?”
Often wrong steps are taken when the
client’s expectations are unrealistic, he says.
They frequently want too much for too little
money and don’t realise the consequences
of insisting on including certain options.
“Other times, projects don’t get built simply
because they’re too much of a physical challenge,”
he says. “I was once asked to design a
spa at the top of a mountain in Bali, but the
mechanical and electrical obstacles of the
site made it physically very trying.”
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
With his hectic travel schedule and, spas
have become a lifestyle for Gathy as well
as a job. He and his wife (who frequently
travels with him), have become discerning
Top hotels, like Viceroy Snowmass, US,
are now being compared by their spas as
well as their bedrooms and restaurants
spa-goers and they “always stay in a hotel
with a spa, whenever they travel.”
Meanwhile, his inner circle of friends
include consultants, operators and suppliers
from the spa industry. It is they, he says, who
keep him up to date with the latest trends
and inspire him with their thought leadership.
“These are the people who so generously
JEAN-MICHEL GATHY
Location is key to
Gathy’s work, as
shown by the Malikha
Lodge, Myanmar
share their knowledge and information and
help shape the future of spa design.”
Gathy is upbeat and excited about the
future of the luxury spa industry. “Consumers
are much more choosy now – they expect
a hotel to have a spa and I mean a proper
spa. This means that hotel brands are being
compared by their spa as well as their rooms
and their restaurants, which is forcing hotel
operators to come up with new and different
ideas. I think that the spa branding market
is now progressively creeping in line with
the hotel branding strategy.” ●
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