12. Make Bets on the Future

for human health and flourishing. So while it may be some time before we go back to shaking hands in a meeting room, people may return to spas if we can provide a sacred space where people can experience touch in a safe environment administered by a trained professional who is held to the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene.

Our spas have always had the most stringent safety and cleanliness standards in the industry, and we are committed to ensuring that our spas provide a haven where our guests can experience nurturing touch that is delivered safely and professionally. 8. Think Local

It is very likely that domestic travel is going to come back much more quickly than international travel as it may take some time for international borders to have enough trust to relax restrictions on foreign visitors. Spas and hotels need to focus on offering promotions and packages geared towards our local guests, guests arriving by car, and other national visitors. There will be pent up demand for travel, but much of the initial travel may occur close to home until consumer confidence returns and borders become more open again. 9. Mental Wellness is Essential

We need to anticipate that our guests and our colleagues have had to confront some traumatic experiences driven by fear, health issues, or economic impacts. Now is the time to consider how our businesses can help people to build and maintain their psychological strengths and resilience. The Spas at Mandarin Oriental will be offering new programs around “Inner Strength - Outer Strength” designed to help our colleagues and guests come back to our hotels feeling physically and emotionally strong. 10. Find People You Can Help

Not everyone has been impacted equally by this virus. Some groups have had to bear a greater share of the burden and may need additional support. We can extract greater meaning out of a difficult situation if we find ways to give back to those who have been severely impacted. Mandarin Oriental has pledged to donate 10% of all gift card purchases to the United Nations Foundation's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. 11. Collaborate

We are cooperating with the International Spa Association to help create new industry standards and guidelines to help spas reopen safely. We have also been working closely with our partners such as Aromatherapy Associates, Wellness for Cancer, etc. to see how we can support each other and come out of this crisis as quickly and as strongly as possible. In all of our destinations there will be other businesses that are interested in joining forces to reinvigorate travel, to promote wellness and help us all get back to a normal way of living.

We are navigating uncertain territory, but we can be sure that this experience will change consumer behaviour in profound ways. The better we can do at predicting and anticipating how the world might change, the better we will be able to meet the future needs of our guests. We won't get it right 100% of the time, but now is a time to experiment on new ideas and services that might be more relevant to the post-Coronavirus world. We do not want to reopen our spas and go immediately back to what we did before. We will be launching new services and programs and taking advantage of this period of disruption to try new things.

I think the most important thing for our industry is that we take action proactively to create a better future for our colleagues, our guests, and our businesses.The work of creating the future starts now and our eyes need to be fixed on the horizon ahead.

Jeremy McCarthy is the Group Director of Spa & Wellness for Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group where he leads and manages the global activities of their internationally acclaimed luxury spa division. He is a respected spa professional with over twenty-five years of luxury and diversified hotel, spa and leisure services experience. He holds a BA in Psychologyand a Master of Applied Positive Psychology and is the author of a book on The Psychology of Spas & Wellbeing. Mr. McCarthy has served several years on the board of the International Spa Association