JEAN-MICHEL GATHY
Location is key to Gathy’s work, as shown by the Malikha Lodge, Myanmar
new and attractive but we have certain obli- gations – 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. Tey 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, finan- cial, design and logistical mistakes – aſter all, we’re all human aren’t we?” Oſten wrong steps are taken when the
client’s expectations are unrealistic, he says. Tey 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 chal- lenge,” 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
SPA BUSINESS 2 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012
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 leader- ship. “Tese are the people who so generously
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. “Consum- ers are much more choosy now – they expect a hotel to have a spa and I mean a proper spa. Tis 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.” l
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