The leaders of tomorrow will be the ones who can quickly pick out relevant details from mountains of data / photo: shutterstock/Ground Picture
Early in my career, three things I learned had an unexpected and inordinate impact on my overall career trajectory.
The first thing was typing. I just so happened to take typing as an elective course in high school. I’m ancient, so this was on a typewriter. Little did I know that email would become the world’s preferred method of communication so fast typing meant I could communicate quicker than anyone else around me. In my entire academic career, no other course or class has had a greater impact on my career.
The second thing I learned was how to use Excel spreadsheets. Frustrated with manually managing payroll reports, I begged a hotel’s financial controller to teach me how to automate them. Ultimately this helped me to better organise and understand all financial data flowing in and out of my department, unlocking so many other business skills including budgeting, forecasting and revenue management.
The third thing was PowerPoint. Large corporations communicate in PowerPoint. I know because I worked for one. To be effective, I had to master that program and get my point across efficiently – usually in seven slides or less.
Building career resilience The thing is, three decades ago I never would have predicted that these skills would have been so important. I learned them along the way and not on purpose. So the question now is, what skills can people in the spa industry learn intentionally that might massively impact their career for the next three decades? Here’s some that I’m betting on:
1 Social media Learning typing helped me to communicate quickly. But learning social media teaches you how to communicate in a way that’s engaging. The ability to creatively construct, edit and share information using mixed media to capture and hold people’s attention or influence their behaviour has already been the most important skill of this decade and will be for years to come
2 Artificial intelligence People will underestimate the importance of learning how to use AI. It seems pretty basic, right? You just ask the AI questions and it gives you answers. But actually, using it well is a skill. You have to know when to use it, which platforms are best suited for different purposes and understand the nuanced craft of asking the right questions.
You also have to critically review what AI gives you, ensuring it’s not leading you in the wrong direction and then personalise it with your own thinking. There’s a lot to learn and those mastering this skill today are priming themselves for success in the years ahead
3 Data analysis In previous decades, collecting and organising data was an important skill. But today, there’s no shortage of data. We use systems to provide a plethora of intel that can be sliced and diced any way you wish. The leaders of tomorrow will be the ones who can scan through mountains of data to identify the most relevant details. You and all your competitors will have tons of company, customer and market information. Those who can analyse, interpret and take effective actions based on their data will excel the most
What would you add to this list? The world is changing so fast, that it can be hard to predict the skills needed to future-proof your career. Anything you learn along the way might become the thing that rockets you to the top of the industry. The most important thing is to ensure that your pace of learning keeps up with the pace of change around you.
photo: Mandarin Oriental
Jeremy McCarthy has worked in the wellness industry for over 30 years. As group director of leisure, spa and wellness for Mandarin Oriental, he oversees facilities at 40 luxury hotels globally. Contact him with your views on Twitter @jeremymcc
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2025 issue 1
Editor's letter: Auto spas
Fully automated, self-service spas are set to enter the market, presenting a disruptive opportunity for investors and operators
Spa People: Christian Louboutin
The fashion designer teams up with his personal trainer to create a Brain Edit retreat at his hotel in Portugal
Spa People: Julien Alfred
Exercise, endurance and resilience are the focus of a programme being led by Olympic 100m winner Julien Alfred at BodyHoliday in St Lucia
News report: Emerging economies
Two fresh GWI reports highlight the potential of the wellness markets in the Maldives and Saudi Arabia
Interview: Paul Hawco
Katie Barnes talks to the man heading up wellbeing at Banyan Group as it prepares to open its 100th resort and reports a 16 per cent rise in revenue
Wellness design: Design of the times
Sixteen experts share their insights on how wellness design can be used to create more impactful and profitable spas in a new white paper by Accor
Opinion: High leverage learning
What three skills do people need to master to future-proof their spa careers? Jeremy McCarthy reports
Spa tourism: Hot on the trail
A famous pilgrimage route and natural hot springs are being combined in an innovative tourism package in Spain
Opinion: Beacons of light
As cities in the US start to hire chief wellness officers, Mia Kyricos reveals what this means for our sector
Sponsored: 111SKIN - Winning formulation
111SKIN’s spa/clinic concept is making waves globally – backed by a combination of medical expertise, intuitive partner support and potent products
Product focus: AI and robot massage
Spas around the world are starting to offer AI massage. We highlight the different types of equipment coming to market
Menu engineering: At your service
A dedicated brain health facility at Kamalaya and a menopause package by actor Naomi Watts feature in our programming pages this issue
Finishing touch: Big business
Companies investing in workers’ happiness outperform other portfolios in major global stock markets, according to new research
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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The leaders of tomorrow will be the ones who can quickly pick out relevant details from mountains of data / photo: shutterstock/Ground Picture
Early in my career, three things I learned had an unexpected and inordinate impact on my overall career trajectory.
The first thing was typing. I just so happened to take typing as an elective course in high school. I’m ancient, so this was on a typewriter. Little did I know that email would become the world’s preferred method of communication so fast typing meant I could communicate quicker than anyone else around me. In my entire academic career, no other course or class has had a greater impact on my career.
The second thing I learned was how to use Excel spreadsheets. Frustrated with manually managing payroll reports, I begged a hotel’s financial controller to teach me how to automate them. Ultimately this helped me to better organise and understand all financial data flowing in and out of my department, unlocking so many other business skills including budgeting, forecasting and revenue management.
The third thing was PowerPoint. Large corporations communicate in PowerPoint. I know because I worked for one. To be effective, I had to master that program and get my point across efficiently – usually in seven slides or less.
Building career resilience The thing is, three decades ago I never would have predicted that these skills would have been so important. I learned them along the way and not on purpose. So the question now is, what skills can people in the spa industry learn intentionally that might massively impact their career for the next three decades? Here’s some that I’m betting on:
1 Social media Learning typing helped me to communicate quickly. But learning social media teaches you how to communicate in a way that’s engaging. The ability to creatively construct, edit and share information using mixed media to capture and hold people’s attention or influence their behaviour has already been the most important skill of this decade and will be for years to come
2 Artificial intelligence People will underestimate the importance of learning how to use AI. It seems pretty basic, right? You just ask the AI questions and it gives you answers. But actually, using it well is a skill. You have to know when to use it, which platforms are best suited for different purposes and understand the nuanced craft of asking the right questions.
You also have to critically review what AI gives you, ensuring it’s not leading you in the wrong direction and then personalise it with your own thinking. There’s a lot to learn and those mastering this skill today are priming themselves for success in the years ahead
3 Data analysis In previous decades, collecting and organising data was an important skill. But today, there’s no shortage of data. We use systems to provide a plethora of intel that can be sliced and diced any way you wish. The leaders of tomorrow will be the ones who can scan through mountains of data to identify the most relevant details. You and all your competitors will have tons of company, customer and market information. Those who can analyse, interpret and take effective actions based on their data will excel the most
What would you add to this list? The world is changing so fast, that it can be hard to predict the skills needed to future-proof your career. Anything you learn along the way might become the thing that rockets you to the top of the industry. The most important thing is to ensure that your pace of learning keeps up with the pace of change around you.
photo: Mandarin Oriental
Jeremy McCarthy has worked in the wellness industry for over 30 years. As group director of leisure, spa and wellness for Mandarin Oriental, he oversees facilities at 40 luxury hotels globally. Contact him with your views on Twitter @jeremymcc
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2025 issue 1
Editor's letter: Auto spas
Fully automated, self-service spas are set to enter the market, presenting a disruptive opportunity for investors and operators
Spa People: Christian Louboutin
The fashion designer teams up with his personal trainer to create a Brain Edit retreat at his hotel in Portugal
Spa People: Julien Alfred
Exercise, endurance and resilience are the focus of a programme being led by Olympic 100m winner Julien Alfred at BodyHoliday in St Lucia
News report: Emerging economies
Two fresh GWI reports highlight the potential of the wellness markets in the Maldives and Saudi Arabia
Interview: Paul Hawco
Katie Barnes talks to the man heading up wellbeing at Banyan Group as it prepares to open its 100th resort and reports a 16 per cent rise in revenue
Wellness design: Design of the times
Sixteen experts share their insights on how wellness design can be used to create more impactful and profitable spas in a new white paper by Accor
Opinion: High leverage learning
What three skills do people need to master to future-proof their spa careers? Jeremy McCarthy reports
Spa tourism: Hot on the trail
A famous pilgrimage route and natural hot springs are being combined in an innovative tourism package in Spain
Opinion: Beacons of light
As cities in the US start to hire chief wellness officers, Mia Kyricos reveals what this means for our sector
Sponsored: 111SKIN - Winning formulation
111SKIN’s spa/clinic concept is making waves globally – backed by a combination of medical expertise, intuitive partner support and potent products
Product focus: AI and robot massage
Spas around the world are starting to offer AI massage. We highlight the different types of equipment coming to market
Menu engineering: At your service
A dedicated brain health facility at Kamalaya and a menopause package by actor Naomi Watts feature in our programming pages this issue
Finishing touch: Big business
Companies investing in workers’ happiness outperform other portfolios in major global stock markets, according to new research
A recent survey by the UK Spa Association (UKSA) into the industry’s approach to cancer care
has revealed that almost half of participating respondents (46 per cent) are unaware that
cancer is a disability and guests with a cancer diagnosis must be given
Mexican operator, Solmar Hotels and Resorts, is hosting a series of events in celebration of
Global Wellness Day, including a Temazcal ceremony at its Playa Grande Resort and Spa in Los
Cabos.
Mandarin Oriental has announced a standalone residence brand, Mansions, which will debut at
Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions, Abu Dhabi, in 2029.
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.
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
BC Softwear Ltd Established in 2002 by Barbara Cooke, BC SoftWear provides unmatched expertise in the crafting of th [more...]
