Forward-thinking operators are reimagining meetings – turning them
into energising, health-conscious experiences that boost engagement
and business impact, says Jeremy McCarthy
Make meetings enjoyable. People who feel positive can process information better / photo: Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Nothing replaces face-to-face meetings. We know this because during COVID-19, we had three years to experiment with different ways of conducting business. We had Skype and Zoom calls, Teams meetings and digital webinars and teleconferences and virtual trade shows. For a while, we were all quite impressed with the technology and the efficiency of remote work. But as soon as the world opened up again, despite the health risks of group gatherings, people went back to face-to-face meetings.
That’s because business, at the end of the day, is all about relationships. And nothing builds stronger relationships than spending quality time together, being mindfully present and getting to know and trust one another in a way that is just not easy to do over a digital screen.
The issue is that travelling around the world for business is inherently unhealthy. Jetlag disrupts our sleep, we spend too much time being sedentary, sitting in planes, taxis and board rooms, and we’re often surrounded by unhealthy food and drink. This all impacts the effectiveness of in-person meetings, creating long moments of low focus and energy, offset only by short spikes of energy fuelled by sugar and caffeine.
Hilton in the Asia Pacific and Hyatt have recently announced wellness-focused MICE offerings (see www.spabusiness.com/hyattwcab). Meanwhile, Mandarin Oriental has just refreshed its Mindful Meetings programme, which it first introduced in 2018.
We think any business aiming to run more dynamic, healthier meetings should focus on five elements:
1 Nourishment Food served should be low in sugar and high in protein and nutrients. Increasingly, business travellers are seeking these options already, because they know it helps them perform better
2 MOVEMENT Offer wellness experts to lead stretch and movement breaks. Getting the body moving and the heart pumping makes a big difference to participants’ engagement levels (and overall health)
3 STILLNESS Too often, people are subjected to ‘death by PowerPoint’ with a glut of information they don’t have time to process. Presenters should give people time to reflect on information and take meaningful notes
4 CONNECTIONS The best meetings aren’t the ones with a completely packed agenda. They’re the ones where people have time for side conversations to get to know others on a personal level
5 WELLBEING Meetings should be enjoyable. Psychologists suggest that when people are in a positive emotional state, they process information better, are more future-oriented and open to new ideas. So bring in entertaining speakers, musical interludes, or stress-relieving spa therapies
I’ve seen first hand how a more mindful approach to corporate gatherings improves engagement, effectiveness and enjoyment. I’ve also seen how it’s become a differentiator for Mandarin Oriental. It’s not just a commodity based on the size of our ballroom and the number of breakout spaces, it’s a philosophy of hosting exceptional meetings that allow participants to depart feeling better than when they arrived. Make your next meeting more mindful and see if you notice the difference.
photo: Mandarin Oriental
Jeremy McCarthy has worked in the wellness sector for over 30 years. He’s been the group director of leisure, spa and wellness for Mandarin Oriental since 2014. Contact him with your views on Twitter @jeremymcc
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2025 issue 2
Editor’s letter: The Gen Z effect
With young adults reshaping our industry, affordable, community-based models are thriving, while traditional spas risk being left behind
Spa people: Novak Djokovic
Game, set, spa. The tennis star is poised to launch a biohacking pod while also entering a multi-year ambassador partnership with Aman
Spa people: Peter Attia
One of the most respected names in longevity medicine has co-founded preventative health clinic, Biograph
Spa people: Alexis Dean
The founder of Soak is on a mission to deliver social wellness without the hefty price tag across Australia
News report: Young influencers
Millennials and Gen Zers are redefining the wellness landscape according to new research by McKinsey
News report: Double vision
Fresh data from RLA Global reveals that hotels delivering wellness earn twice as much as those that don’t
Project preview: Laugarás Lagoon
Contrast bathing and fine dining are two USPs of a new geothermal destination in Iceland’s Golden Circle
Interview: Suzanne Holbrook
Marriott’s new global leader of spa, fitness and wellness talks candidly to Katie Barnes about her plans for the world’s largest hotel spa portfolio
Ask an expert: Vagus nerve
Insider insights into why this critical nerve is a key to wellbeing and how supportive treatments are set to shake up spa menus. Kath Hudson reports
Research: Marginally speaking
CBRE’s latest numbers show that spa revenues in US hotels have edged upward, profits have slipped slightly and costs are down
Investigation: Dealing with death
With a new openness emerging around the subject of end-of-life care, Julie Cramer investigates whether spas could offer death doula services
Trend: Head first
Judy Chapman tries out brain mapping at Gwinganna to see why it’s become so popular
First person: Relaxation rebooted
Does AI massage have a place in luxury spas? Cassandra Cavanah heads to The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara to find out
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
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Forward-thinking operators are reimagining meetings – turning them
into energising, health-conscious experiences that boost engagement
and business impact, says Jeremy McCarthy
Make meetings enjoyable. People who feel positive can process information better / photo: Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Nothing replaces face-to-face meetings. We know this because during COVID-19, we had three years to experiment with different ways of conducting business. We had Skype and Zoom calls, Teams meetings and digital webinars and teleconferences and virtual trade shows. For a while, we were all quite impressed with the technology and the efficiency of remote work. But as soon as the world opened up again, despite the health risks of group gatherings, people went back to face-to-face meetings.
That’s because business, at the end of the day, is all about relationships. And nothing builds stronger relationships than spending quality time together, being mindfully present and getting to know and trust one another in a way that is just not easy to do over a digital screen.
The issue is that travelling around the world for business is inherently unhealthy. Jetlag disrupts our sleep, we spend too much time being sedentary, sitting in planes, taxis and board rooms, and we’re often surrounded by unhealthy food and drink. This all impacts the effectiveness of in-person meetings, creating long moments of low focus and energy, offset only by short spikes of energy fuelled by sugar and caffeine.
Hilton in the Asia Pacific and Hyatt have recently announced wellness-focused MICE offerings (see www.spabusiness.com/hyattwcab). Meanwhile, Mandarin Oriental has just refreshed its Mindful Meetings programme, which it first introduced in 2018.
We think any business aiming to run more dynamic, healthier meetings should focus on five elements:
1 Nourishment Food served should be low in sugar and high in protein and nutrients. Increasingly, business travellers are seeking these options already, because they know it helps them perform better
2 MOVEMENT Offer wellness experts to lead stretch and movement breaks. Getting the body moving and the heart pumping makes a big difference to participants’ engagement levels (and overall health)
3 STILLNESS Too often, people are subjected to ‘death by PowerPoint’ with a glut of information they don’t have time to process. Presenters should give people time to reflect on information and take meaningful notes
4 CONNECTIONS The best meetings aren’t the ones with a completely packed agenda. They’re the ones where people have time for side conversations to get to know others on a personal level
5 WELLBEING Meetings should be enjoyable. Psychologists suggest that when people are in a positive emotional state, they process information better, are more future-oriented and open to new ideas. So bring in entertaining speakers, musical interludes, or stress-relieving spa therapies
I’ve seen first hand how a more mindful approach to corporate gatherings improves engagement, effectiveness and enjoyment. I’ve also seen how it’s become a differentiator for Mandarin Oriental. It’s not just a commodity based on the size of our ballroom and the number of breakout spaces, it’s a philosophy of hosting exceptional meetings that allow participants to depart feeling better than when they arrived. Make your next meeting more mindful and see if you notice the difference.
photo: Mandarin Oriental
Jeremy McCarthy has worked in the wellness sector for over 30 years. He’s been the group director of leisure, spa and wellness for Mandarin Oriental since 2014. Contact him with your views on Twitter @jeremymcc
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2025 issue 2
Editor’s letter: The Gen Z effect
With young adults reshaping our industry, affordable, community-based models are thriving, while traditional spas risk being left behind
Spa people: Novak Djokovic
Game, set, spa. The tennis star is poised to launch a biohacking pod while also entering a multi-year ambassador partnership with Aman
Spa people: Peter Attia
One of the most respected names in longevity medicine has co-founded preventative health clinic, Biograph
Spa people: Alexis Dean
The founder of Soak is on a mission to deliver social wellness without the hefty price tag across Australia
News report: Young influencers
Millennials and Gen Zers are redefining the wellness landscape according to new research by McKinsey
News report: Double vision
Fresh data from RLA Global reveals that hotels delivering wellness earn twice as much as those that don’t
Project preview: Laugarás Lagoon
Contrast bathing and fine dining are two USPs of a new geothermal destination in Iceland’s Golden Circle
Interview: Suzanne Holbrook
Marriott’s new global leader of spa, fitness and wellness talks candidly to Katie Barnes about her plans for the world’s largest hotel spa portfolio
Ask an expert: Vagus nerve
Insider insights into why this critical nerve is a key to wellbeing and how supportive treatments are set to shake up spa menus. Kath Hudson reports
Research: Marginally speaking
CBRE’s latest numbers show that spa revenues in US hotels have edged upward, profits have slipped slightly and costs are down
Investigation: Dealing with death
With a new openness emerging around the subject of end-of-life care, Julie Cramer investigates whether spas could offer death doula services
Trend: Head first
Judy Chapman tries out brain mapping at Gwinganna to see why it’s become so popular
First person: Relaxation rebooted
Does AI massage have a place in luxury spas? Cassandra Cavanah heads to The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara to find out
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
FIBO FIBO is the international platform for fitness, wellness and health. During four days, FIBO connects [more...]
