UNMASKING WELLNESS: A FIRESIDE CHAT ON TRUTHS AND MYTHS IN THE RETREAT INDUSTRY
HOSTED BY ANDREW GIBSON
WITH PANELLISTS JAMIE WARING AND BRYAN HOARE
5TH AUGUST | 13:00 CET | 19:00 HKT
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
In this thought-provoking fireside chat, Andrew Gibson will be joined by retreat industry experts Jamie Waring and Bryan Hoare to explore the realities behind today's rapidly growing wellness retreat sector.
The discussion will examine the increasingly complex landscape facing both retreat providers and consumers, highlighting the importance of understanding the different types of wellness experiences available and how to assess the credentials, expertise and integrity of facilitators and practitioners.
The panel will explore the challenge of distinguishing genuinely transformative experiences from marketing-driven promises and the need for greater transparency across the industry.
A central theme will be the role of ethics, accountability and self-regulation. Speakers will discuss the absence of universal industry standards and the importance of honest marketing, participant feedback, clear communication and industry-led benchmarks to help build trust and credibility.
The conversation will also touch on the operational realities of running retreats, including balancing financial sustainability with quality, safety and ethical practice.
The session will conclude by recommending that understanding your customer is what truly matters in the delivery of any wellness programme.
KEY OUT-TAKES
By attending this session, participants will:
Understand the different types of wellness retreats and how to identify the most appropriate experience for specific needs and outcomes.
Learn how to evaluate the credentials, expertise and credibility of retreat facilitators, therapists and practitioners.
Develop the ability to distinguish authentic retreat experiences from marketing-driven claims and industry hype.
Explore the importance of ethics, transparency, accountability and industry standards in building trust within the wellness retreat sector.
Gain insight into balancing financial sustainability with quality, safety and participant wellbeing.
Discover the key components of an effective retreat experience, including holistic wellbeing, post-retreat integration, community support, innovation and sustainability.
SESSION DETAILS
Hosted by Andrew Gibson, Advisor and Consultant for the hospitality, wellness and real estate industry, Andrew Gibson Advisory
Panellists:
Jamie Waring, Founder, Waring Wellbeing Hospitality
Bryan Hoare, Founder, The Wellness Majlis
Session will be held online via Zoom
Wednesday 5th August
13:00 CET / 19:00 HKT
Price: Complimentary
YOUR HOST: ANDREW GIBSON
Andrew has been part of the senior management teams that have created iconic spa and wellness brands such as Six Senses, Mandarin Oriental, Raffles, Fairmont, Pullman, Sofitel, MGallery and Sensei (A wellness retreat located in Lanai, Hawaii and owned by Oracle founder, Larry Ellison). Over the last 30+ years he has created global brands, operated in over 70 countries and managed multiple brands for large corporations while retaining the ability to guide startup companies, or provide advice equally to world leaders or university students.
As a truly global citizen he has lived in the USA, Middle East, Asia, and Europe and has been a prominent figure through voluntary work in industry associations on every continent and in advisory positions at universities.
He was one of the founding members and board directors of Global Wellness Summit/Institute, the Chairman of the Wellness Tourism Association and remains a long-time serving judge of the World Spa and Wellness Awards and Chair of the Wellness Hall of Fame.
He maintains a global network and a comprehensive knowledge of how to provide wellness services in communities, resorts, real estate and lifestyle choices.
Andrew is a globally recognized expert for the area of wellness and has been actively involved in the innovation and opening of world class destination spa and wellness operations. Often sought after as an authoritative speaker on the topic of sustainable wellness trends.
PANNELIST: JAMIE WARING
Jamie's career has been built around a single question: how do people get the most from their lives? Most miss the most obvious place to look, themselves first. The work begins with that inversion: look inward first, because without it nothing else really works. The functional layer sits on top performance, longevity, recovery, attention, energy, and the deeper register underneath, where the best work eventually engages with meaning, not just metrics.
He founded WWHco in 2021 after operating and developing wellness and luxury hospitality businesses across six continents. His most formative role was Managing Director and COO of Six Senses Resorts & Spas, based at the brand's Bangkok headquarters, holding global responsibility for the operations and corporate functions of 44 luxury resorts and spas across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.
As CEO of Holmes Place Eastern Europe, he conceptualised and launched Icon Fitness across Poland, Greece, and Israel. As Managing Director of OCTAVE Institute in China he led the operational expansion of one of Asia's most ambitious integrative wellness platforms, across Sangha Retreat in Suzhou and the Octave studios in Shanghai.
The first decade of his career was spent in London's financial markets as a currency broker. He moved into hospitality because he wanted to build things that operated, not just things that traded, a bias toward operations, accountability, and what works on the ground that has shaped every business since. He trains daily: Gym, Pilates, breathwork, Hyrox, and time horse-riding. Today he runs WWHco from Thailand.
PANNELIST: BRYAN HOARE
Why do some people, teams and organisations evolve while others struggle to sustain change? For more than three decades, Bryan Hoare has explored that question across hospitality, wellness, behavioural health, performance sport and clinical care.
His work has ranged from the formative years of destination wellness at Chiva-Som to leadership and advisory roles with Six Senses, Soneva, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and national behavioural-health programmes developed with Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health.
Today, through The Wellness Majlis and the Journeyman initiative, Bryan brings clinical, hospitality and behavioural perspectives together to help individuals, teams and organisations develop greater capability, resilience and agency. His perspective combines postgraduate study in Exercise & Nutrition Science and Leadership & Organisational Behaviour with more than four decades immersed in competitive endurance sport, including World Championship-level triathlon, ultra-running and long-distance cycling.
The Source - Transformation Series offers a monthly programme of workshops delivered by leading voices in wellness travel. All sessions are complimentary upon registration. If you’re interested in becoming a speaker, please email info@theretreatshow.com
Save the date: next session 2nd September