Special Hospitality Series: Season 2 Grand Finale Episode

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Welcome to our grand finale episode of Season 2 of our Special Hospitality Series in collaboration with Forbes Travel Guide, the global authority on luxury hospitality.

In our finale episode, we're thrilled to feature three extraordinary "Leaders Behind the Stars." First, award-winning travel journalist Jeannette Ceja shares her journey of pursuing a master's degree in France while maintaining her global media career. Her perspective on representation and finding one's voice offers valuable insights for industry professionals.

We then dive deep with Marc Friedland, founder of Couture Communications, who reveals how he transformed traditional printed communications into emotional touch-points that create lasting connections between luxury brands and their guests. His remarkable story of designing the Oscar envelopes demonstrates how tactile elements can elevate momentous occasions - a principle he now applies to hospitality settings where thoughtful design creates what he calls "emotional imprinting."

The episode culminates with Freddie Moross, founder of Mindstream, who's revolutionizing how hotels approach sound design. Moving beyond background music, his company creates strategic sonic environments backed by neuroscience.

The thread connecting these conversations is clear: in a digital age, thoughtfully designed sensory experiences - whether through personalized notes, branded tactile elements, or carefully composed soundscapes - create the meaningful connections and memory anchors that distinguish truly exceptional hospitality. 

Thank you for joining us for our special 10-part Forbes Travel Guide Hospitality Series.  We sincerely hope you enjoy this insightful finale and look forward to our continued collaboration with the Forbes Travel Guide team. 

The #1 B2B Travel Podcast Globally. Over 100 Episodes. Listeners in 125 countries. New Episodes Every Weds. Season 5 In Progress.

https://www.traveltrendspodcast.com/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
The idea is how do you immerse into them and,
specifically, how can youimmerse into them in a way
that's relevant to your brand?
How can you do it?
In a way, particularly if youhave a portfolio of properties,
can you use techniques likebuilding sonic motifs that you
can then recreate regionally inorder to then be relevant to a
particular area or location orculture.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
even and that's where you can start being quite
intentional about how you designaudio for a particular space
and the value it can drive.
Hello everyone and welcome backto our special hospitality
series in partnership with ourfriends at Forbes Travel Guide.
This is your host, danChristian, and all of these
interviews were recorded live atthe Summit in Monaco earlier

(00:45):
this year and we actuallystarted introducing these
episodes the week after theevent and every Thursday over
the last 10 weeks we have beenintroducing you to one of these
extraordinary individuals thatcame together for this amazing
event that really represent theworld of luxury and hospitality,
and today I have the privilegeto feature three extraordinary

(01:08):
individuals on our final episode, episode 10.
But just before I do that, Idid want to say a special thank
you to the Forbes Travel Guideteam, especially Amanda,
jennifer, stuart and Herman, whocreated this fantastic
opportunity for Travel Trends tobe there in partnership.
They brought us in last year toLas Vegas and that podcast

(01:29):
series got a lot of attentionand recognition and we had so
much wonderful feedback from theamazing guests that we featured
last year.
We were invited back this yearto Monaco, which is going to be
the site of next year's summitin 2026, so we certainly hope to
have the opportunity to be backwith you again.
It is an extraordinarycommunity of luxury and

(01:51):
hospitality and service.
I've certainly learned so muchabout the Forbes Travel Guide
brand that I'm sure our traveltrends listeners have as well,
and it's been wonderful to reacha new audience of hospitality
executives globally.
If you want more informationabout Forbes Travel Guide, be
sure to check them out atForbesTravelGuidecom.
They've kindly been postingclips and highlights from all

(02:11):
these conversations on theirsocial channels as well on
Instagram and LinkedIn, so besure to check those out at
Forbes Travel Guide.
And, of course, we've beenposting them on our Travel
Trends channels, which is atTravel Trends Podcast.
We've been posting it on ourTravel Trends channels, which is
at Travel Trends Podcast.
We've been posting it onYouTube and LinkedIn, as well as
Instagram.
Now today we get to speak toJeanette Ceja, who is an

(02:34):
incredible travel journalist andan award-winning Latina TV host
.
She was actually on our serieslast year and was one of our
most popular guests, so I wasvery keen to catch up with
Jeanette again.
She's got a great perspectiveon everything that's happening
in the travel industry.
She's American with Mexicanheritage, but she's based in

(02:54):
France.
She's been finishing hermaster's there, so we get to
catch up with Jeanette first,and then we're gonna speak to
Mark Friedland, who is actuallybased in LA, but we were
together for the event.
I met him last year in LasVegas and was really keen to
interview him because he's beensuch a key partner of the Forbes
Travel Guide community for manyyears and he runs a luxury

(03:15):
communications business based inLos Angeles and has worked with
celebrities from Brad Pitt toOprah Winfrey and many different
prestigious organizations,including Forbes Travel Guide,
but also Cirque du Soleil andmany others, and his
organization are renowned forcreating these extraordinary
invitations.
You know, when you arrive in ahotel and you get that beautiful
handwritten welcome letter fromthe general manager.

(03:37):
Well, that's just one smallexample of the type of work that
they do, but they actuallyworked with the Academy Awards
for many years and we'llhighlight that in our
conversation with Mark.
And then we're going to finishoff with Freddie Morose.
Freddie runs a company calledMindstream that's Mindstream
with a Y, and it was one of themost fascinating presentations
that I had a chance to see atthe summit in Monaco this year,

(04:01):
and we talk a bit about that.
But we also talk about thisextraordinary company that he's
built, which is basically theworld's first music streaming
service dedicated to enhancingthe spa experience.
We have a really interestingconversation about the world of
wellness, and he was one of thekey partners that was featured
not only on stage but in theirexhibit, with all of their

(04:22):
partners as well.
So I got a chance to meet himand the team, and this is just a
sampling of the types of peoplethat come together for this
extraordinary event.
So I'm looking forward tobringing you all three
conversations today and I lookforward to seeing you back in
Monaco in 2026.
Now let's get things started andbring in Jeanette.
Jeanette, it's fantastic to seeyou again.

(04:43):
Thanks again for joining us onthis special hospitality series.
Season two the leaders behindthe stars.
You're certainly one of those.
Welcome back to Travel Trends.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
Thank you, dan.
I'm so happy to see you, I'm sohappy to be back on your show.
Congratulations again.
Your setup is incredible andyou know I'm so excited to hear
all your other interviews.
And you know I'm so excited tohear all your other interviews
and it's good to be back at theForbes Travel Guide Summit.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
Thank you so much.
Yeah, no, this is one of thehighlights for me is getting a
chance to see you hanging outwith you and then sitting down
and having this conversation.
So let's talk about all theamazing things that have
happened in your life over thepast year, and one of them, of
course, is the fact that you'vemoved to France and you're
studying in Paris, so tell us.
You're taking your master's.
So tell us what brought thisabout and what you're doing.

Speaker 3 (05:28):
So I now live in France and this was actually a
dream of mine for over fiveyears, but it wasn't until three
years ago that I started tolook into ways to come to France
.
And then I started to look atmaster and I found one in
international relations that Ireally liked, and then I just
applied and they accepted me andI said, okay, this is a great

(05:51):
opportunity for me to studyabout the world from a different
perspective and a whole notherregion of the world like France.
And, uh, so I just I made themove, yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Did they know you were famous?
When did you put that in theapplication?
Was that part of theconsideration?

Speaker 3 (06:06):
I was like I said, I am famous.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
Don't you already know?
I'm just like.
I asked wait a second, do Ihave to apply?

Speaker 1 (06:13):
Do I really?

Speaker 3 (06:13):
have to apply.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
And I just have my assistant call in.
Now you follow the traditionalprocess, and credit to you.
I mean, this is where, likeyou're a smart, educated, strong
process and credit to you.
I mean, this is where, likeyou're a smart, educated, strong
female leader in the travelindustry and this is where you
know it's an honor to know youand to be able to call you a
friend and also just be able tohave these types of
conversations.
So I think it's great that youare.

(06:35):
You know you clearly aresomeone that always challenges
yourself and you want to beintellectually stimulated.
And here you are doing yourmaster's.
It's not something you had todo, but you've chosen to do it.
So what do you see yourselfdoing?
Because you're still workingfull time while you're doing
your master's.
So how do you see this playinginto your life going forward?
I mean, obviously, being inEurope is an amazing opportunity

(06:56):
.
You're planning to stay herelonger?
Yeah, tell us where you'reheaded after this.

Speaker 3 (06:59):
Yeah, great questions and thank you so much for the
compliments I received that andI appreciate that.
I'm always seeking to challengemyself and I think grad school

(07:20):
is definitely challenging me inmany ways and I love it, and so
I am still learning vocabulary.
So, um, yeah, but uh, back toyour question.
It's, it's been great trying tobalance working.
I'm still writing, I'm stilldoing television, I'm still a
journalist and also going toschool, and it's a full, it's
going to grad school as afull-time job.
By the way, it's like all theassignments, all the classes, um

(07:43):
, probably give you likehundreds of pages of reading per
week and it's, it's like allthe assignments, all the classes
, um, probably give you likehundreds of pages of reading per
week and it's, it's intense.
And I'll tell you a story.
I was in a lecture a couple ofweeks ago and I was listening to
the lecture but my phone keptbuzzing and my, my computer kept
getting buzzed, uh, from alerts, and I was getting contacted by
a producer in New York whowanted to see if I could do the

(08:08):
evening news for Univision inSpanish, to do a travel segment,
to talk about travel.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
How cool is that and.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
I was in a lecture and I said oh, my goodness, okay
, yes, what time?
And she said in two hours.
I said got it?
What time?
And she said in two hours.
I said got it.
And then I had to leave mylecture, run to my house, have a
little light ring ring lightset up, put as much you know

(08:40):
decent makeup as I could and youknow, review quickly any you
know talking points.
And boom, I did the news likethat from you know my living
room.
It was just like that's awesome.
Literally like juggling.
Good living room.
It's just like I'm literallylike juggling.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Good for you.
That's where, like, the studentbecomes the master.
You're like, you know you'vegot this and this is where I
think it's interesting.
You've decided to embark onthis journey and I find it
genuinely inspiring myself,because I think this is where
you know we can always belearning and we can always find
a way to improve.
You know we can always belearning and we can always find
a way to improve.
And also, it's going to expandthe number of opportunities that
are available to you.

(09:08):
It's going to expand yournetwork.
It's going to, most importantly, obviously, um, it expands your
mind, right, and it's like then, all of a sudden, you recognize
new opportunities.
So the fact that you are, youknow you've already had the
success you have, and add thatinto the mix.
So I'm I'm really excited tosee what you'll do next, but I
think there'll always be a nextand an ex with you, jeanette.
So, but yeah, tell us about theconnection to the one of the

(09:29):
things we talked about I thinkwould be interesting for our
listeners just to learn moreabout yourself is your
background, given the fact thatwe talked a lot about Hispanic
culture and just the importanceof actually your young girls.
Even when you were growing.
You didn't see people thatlooked like you or sounded like
you on television.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
Right, right, and which is something that I, you
know, still advocate to this dayfor more women, representation,
more diversity, especially likeFebruary, where Black History
Month in the States and thenMarch is Women's History Month
back in the States.
Those are always great monthsto uplift the voices of
diversity and history.

(10:08):
But I really love to advocatealso year-round and I really
feel passionate about womenbecause, just like you were
saying, when I was younger Ididn't see—Samantha Brown was
doing travel shows at the timeand that's all I knew.
And she's a legend in herselfand she's incredible and she's
still doing in herself and she'sincredible and she's still
doing travel shows on PBS now,um, so she was incredibly

(10:29):
inspiring to me as a woman, um,but I also didn't see a lot of
Latinas that like me.
But I do remember, dan, aspecific moment.
I was subscribed to Cosmo girlmagazine.
It wasn't old enough to getcosmopolitan, but I was
subscribed to a Cosmo Girl and Iremember one month I got an
edition with Jennifer Lopez onthe cover and she was just

(10:51):
making the movie Selena at thetime, so she was still up and
coming.
But I remember being sopositively impacted that I said,
oh my gosh, you know, I looklike her and I hand wrote a
little letter because it had aletter to the editor.
He hand wrote a little letterto the editor and I said
something like thank you so muchfor putting JLo on the cover.
It means so much to me to seeanother Latina Like.

(11:13):
I really just hand wrote likemy gratitude, and I mailed it to
the post office and like let itgo, never expecting anything,
and I just forgot about it,right?
So months go by and one of mybest friends, isabel, who was
also subscribed to Cosmic Girl,she said Jeanette, did you write
to Cosmic Girl?
And I said yes, why?

(11:35):
She said because you're theonly Jeanette I know who's 16,
who lives in Franklin, tennessee, because we were living in
Tennessee at that time and I waslike, so I got that, I got that
edition and I looked and theyhad printed out what I wrote a
couple issues later in themagazine.
So that also was pivotal moment.
I was 16.
I realized the importance ofrepresentation, not just on me.

(11:57):
It was very positive to seeother women and Latinas but,
also like my voice is heard,like I had zero expectations
that anyone would even read it,let alone print it.
Sure, so that was also why Ifeel like everything is like
your voice representation,everything is important.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, well, that's why I thought it was so great
that you were there in Vegaslast year and we had the chance
to connect and um cause one ofour good common friends, danny
Guerrero, who's been on our show, who's a big advocate for the
gay community and the Hispaniccommunity, and he's got a very
unique voice because he runs thecultural group, which is very
much focused on actually helpingcompanies better embrace.

(12:34):
I've learned so much from himand so, yes, that was one of the
points of connectivity betweenus and why I was so keen to meet
you.
But also, here we are in Monaco2025, a year later.
So I'm thrilled to see youagain and also the fact that
you're here at Forbes TravelGuide and they brought you back.
You are obviously on the mediatrack, like myself, and so I
wanted to get a sense of whatbrought you back.

(12:55):
Obviously, you really enjoyForbes Travel Guide as well and
the association, but yeah,specifically, what brought you
back, aside from being in Europealready, what brought back to
forbes travel guide this year?

Speaker 3 (13:05):
yes, uh.
Well, first and foremost, somuch gratitude to everyone at
forbes travel guide the team,steward, amanda, um gina,
everyone.
They're incredible and I'm sohappy to you know, to know them
and to have met them.
Um, last year was an incredibleexperience that in Vegas and

(13:26):
meeting you as well, and justbeing at the Forbes travel guide
summit and seeing seeing how itgoes, and it was incredible.
So I just wanted to come back,especially when we were there,
when they announced that it wasgoing to be Monaco, I was like,
wow, that's incredible.
I love Monaco.
As you can see, there's manyreasons why it's stunning.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
You're in your element here.
I'm in my element.

Speaker 3 (13:48):
So yeah, long story short, I just kept in contact
and I, you know, I just said I'mhere already.
So if there's anything I can do, um, I'm just literally a train
right away and that's it was.
That's how you know.
And I'm still been working eversince.
As you have you seen me busythroughout the year since then.

(14:12):
I've still been doingconferences and TV and writings,
and you know there's stillthings in the pipeline that have
, like, I wrote a chapter in abook that's going to come out
next.
Uh well, in a couple of monthsit's about women's solo travel.
So I wrote a chapter in a bookfor lonelyely Planet that's
going to come out.
So there's a lot of things inthe pipeline that are yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
That's great.
One of the things that I alsowanted to ask you about, since I
value your viewpoints andperspective, is what you have
benefited from being here thisyear, since you were obviously
there last year, like myself.
There's a number of things Isee differently about Monaco
this year One.
Obviously, it's a number ofthings I see differently about
Monaco this year One.
Obviously it's a much moreinternational crowd.
There's a lot of new faces.
We were both saying last nightat the function but yeah, tell

(14:50):
us about some of the highlightsfrom Monaco 2025 and some of the
things you're paying attentionto or participating in here at
the conference.

Speaker 3 (14:56):
Yeah, so many highlights, Like you said, so
many new faces.
A lot of the panels have beenincredible I mean last year as
well, but having Prince Albertopen the show.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
That was cool.

Speaker 3 (15:11):
That's pretty one of a kind right and that just shows
the caliber of people that arehere and that Forbes Travel
Guide is working with andcollaborating with.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
I now have the privilege to speak to someone I
was so keen to interview lastyear, mark Friedland.
I got a chance to get to knowhim and his company and I was so
impressed and amazed.
We didn't get the chance to sitdown last year, but here we are
in Monaco and we finally havethe chance to sit down and get.
I'm really keen for you to getto know him.
But, mark, welcome to theTravel Trends Special
Hospitality Series.
Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 4 (15:45):
Thank you, Dan.
It's great to be here with you.

Speaker 2 (15:48):
Now I want everyone to know your company because
this is where I was so amazed atthe Forbes Travel Guide
community last year andobviously it's amazing being
back again this year in Monacotogether at the summit and
seeing you in your booth as Isaw you earlier today that
before we had a chance to comeup and record together.
You know your booth is alwaysbusy, but tell everyone
listening to this what it is youguys do, because you've got a
remarkable background and I wanteveryone to hear this story,

(16:10):
especially around the AcademyAwards.
I think that's one of thecoolest stories I got to know.

Speaker 4 (16:13):
Sure, sure, sure.
So my category is a little bitof a.
Sometimes it's a little trickyto explain only because we're
different things for differentpeople.
But we really specialize inheartfelt communications, luxury
communications, and what thatreally means is whether it's for
grand openings or productlaunches or guest experience,

(16:35):
design all the things that wedesign, we make.
So it's kind of combining someold world craft of you know, we
do all of our foil stamping,embossing, die cutting, all made
in our studio.
So they're all of thesehandcrafted pieces of
communication art as wesometimes refer to it.
But it's really all designed tofoster deeper engagement,
deeper connections betweenwhether it's the property, the

(16:59):
host or their audience, theirguests, their clients, all that
type of thing.
So the best way sometimespeople sometimes refer to us
there's no real Tom Ford ofluxury communications and that's
kind of the sector that I'vereally carved out and I've been
doing it for about 39 years.
If you want to get into it alittle bit later in the podcast

(17:22):
we could talk a little bit aboutthe origin story, but you know,
it is all really about just um,connecting more deeply with
individuals through pieces ofreally beautiful tactile,
digital or print medium.

Speaker 2 (17:38):
So but you mentioned something really important there
too, mark, that really stoodout to me tactile, and I know
you do digital as well, as youjust pointed out.
But when most people check intothese incredible five-star
properties, one of the thingsthat they may be familiar with
experiencing is a handwrittennote from the general manager,
and it's one of the things Icertainly look forward to.
There might be a little gift inthe room or something like a

(17:59):
personalized message, and one ofthe things I have back in my
office that Mark gave me lastyear is this great little box
called little notes of gratitude, and it's a series of small
cards that says many thanks, andI've written on them and given
them to a number of people, andI think this is where, in the
digital age, it actually is thatmuch more important to have
something that's tactile.
So that's one of the thingsthat stood out to me, just in
terms of what it is you guys dothat is so special.

(18:21):
I mean inv invitations,incredible print pieces and uh.
But I do want our listeners tohear the origin story and I'll
just make sure that, for thoseof you who are multitasking as
you listen to this conversation,it's markfriedlandcom, which is
, uh, mark, with a C Um, andobviously the company is Couture
Communications butmarkfriedlandcom.
You can go and learn a bit moreabout, uh, this amazing company

(18:47):
.
But I think it would be worthtelling everyone exactly how you
got started, because I don'tactually know that story and I'm
very keen to hear, and I'm alsokeen for our listeners to know
how you guys ended up doing theAcademy Awards for a number of
years.

Speaker 4 (18:57):
All right, sure, sure , sure, I'll try to get that all
in.
So really, the company goesback around 39 years.
What is kind of cool was mybackground.
I always, um, I had originallyplanned on going to medical
school.
I came out to los angeles iswhere we're based uh to go to
grad school in uh, believe it ornot behavioral sciences and

(19:17):
health education.
I got my master's in publichealth.
My last quarter I just for justtook a mixed media art class.
I never had really an artbackground, design background or
anything like that, and Ialways loved, as a kid, putting
things through the mail andseeing what I could mail to
myself.
And you know, sometimes you'veheard, you know, when people

(19:38):
went on trips years ago, theywould send themselves a coconut
or different kinds of things, soI always loved getting mail
sells a coconut or differentkinds of things, so I always
loved getting mail.
So the way that this kind oftook form was my original
entrance into this was throughhand-done greeting cards and
they were very witty and fun andI would make all these greeting
cards go store to store to sellthem, and there's a reason why

(20:00):
I'll come back to the importanceof that in this origin story in
a little bit.
But from the invitations and Iwas selling to stores probably
about 300, 400 stores nationwideand I was in my 20s and one of
the trade shows was doing apublication.
It was the gift show, actuallyin New York in the stationery
show, and back then they weredoing a feature on hand-painted

(20:24):
product.
All of our cards werehand-painted, hand-assembled,
and so they were going tofeature our product in there.
And I said, well, you can't doan issue about hand-painted
product without doing ahand-painted cover.
And they said what do you mean?
We do 24,000 copies of thistrade publication.
We can't possibly do that.
I said, well, let me figure itout.

(20:46):
So I was in my late 20s and whatwas really funny was we did
hand-painted covers for thistrade publication featuring
hand-painted product.
Well, lo and behold, that gotthem on the front page of the
Wall Street Journal in themarketing section, and I knew
from that moment on thatcreating these one-of-a-kind

(21:09):
handcrafted pieces, there wasreally something to that.
But as we jumped forward, youknow, people started buying
these cards and asking me if Icould do invitations for their
personal events, and so thingsjust kind of continually evolved
and evolved.
So, you know, when we did thecovers, it was really a lot of
fun because, you know, I pulledtogether a bunch of artists.

(21:31):
We hand painted the covers, wesent them off to the printer,
they bound them and now, 39years later, 35 years later,
they're pieces of collectibleart.
In that regard, nobody wouldhave ever thought to do that
stuff.
So I learned early on thatcapturing people's personality,
their individuality, we didn'tsubscribe to the rules that if

(21:55):
you did a wedding invitation ithad to be Ecrustop with black
ink.
You know we really took thelead and said you know, this
really needs to reflect yourpersonal kind of sensibility,
and so all of the pieces thatwe've ever created really
capture the client, theindividual, the company,

(22:16):
whatever it might be, in very,very distinguishable, distinct
ways.
So that's kind of how itevolved.
Then it, you know, merged frominvitations into something we
called event branding, and wecould talk a little bit about
that in terms of how it relatesto the summit.
And then from there it evolvedinto what we now put it under

(22:40):
the umbrella of as guestexperience design, client
experience design and what we'vejust learned over these last 39
years.
And there's a great quote byMaya Angelou, which is people
will forget what you said,they'll forget what you did, but
they'll never forget how youmade them feel.

(23:00):
So if you'd kind of take a lookat where we are today and you
know, being a pioneers in guestexperience design to our origin
if you really think about agreeting card, it was kind of
the most, you know,non-technical, you know, purest
expression between the giver andthe receiver.
You know, non-technical, youknow, purest expression between
the giver and the receiver, youknow, and just celebrating a
moment.
And you know we just took thatand kept on amplifying and

(23:22):
expanding that until where weare today.
And you know, as a related tothe Oscar envelope, which is a
great piece of my company'shistory, it was on our 20th
anniversary, I think, or 25thanniversary, and you know I
always kind of figured whatwould be, you know, and
traditionally this category whenit was for consumers, you know,

(23:45):
if you really think about backin the day, you know stationary
departments were on the fourthfloor and the department stores
next to the credit department.
You know, and I always thoughtthis was to be much more of a
lifestyle perspective.
People spend all this money onhow they build their homes, the
interior design, the art thatthey collect, the clothes that

(24:07):
they wear, but how they expressthemselves was always relegated
to something you find off theshelf.
Themselves, you know, wasalways relegated to like kind of
something you find off theshelf.
So that's where the emergenceof couture communications really
came from, and we reallysometimes consider some of our
things to be kind of like awriter's wardrobe and just as
much as you would wear a blacktie to one function or, you know

(24:28):
, casual wear to something else,we felt the same way in terms
of how you express yourself.
You know holds true to that aswell.
So when we got to the 25th, Iwas trying to think, you know,
what would be the most, you know, pinnacle in my category, being
that this category never reallyexisted.
And I always remembered SteveJobs when he launched the Mac

(24:51):
and he did something during aSuper Bowl.
It was that very infamous 1984commercial and I said, ok, what
would that be equivalent in myarea?
And so, you know, being here inLA and you know, thinking about
the Oscars, you know the mostfamous phrase, that the two most
famous phrases that come out ofthe Oscars are, you know, the

(25:14):
envelope, please, and the Oscargoes to.
And I said, oh my God, thatwould be kind of the dream come
true.
So, through fate or luck or justyou know, alignment of the
stars, it turned out that Idiscovered an old colleague, an
old friend of mine was theproduction designer on the
Academy Awards, and I said, youknow, I just had this idea.

(25:36):
He goes oh my God, I'd lovethat.
And you know, when we raised itup the flagpole to the folks at
the Academy, they said well,thanks, but no thanks, because
we already have a printer.
And I said, no, that's notreally what I'm talking about
here.
This is not just about just aprinted piece of paper.
This is creating just as much.

(25:56):
As you have the statue thatgoes along with the Oscar goes
to what is that keepsake pieceof, you know, communication art
that goes along with theenvelope, please?
And that's how the envelope wasreally born.
And I said you know, we'll makethis really easy.
We'll give you the first yearfor free, you know, just for the

(26:17):
bragging rights.
But I want to prove to you thatit's something I think they were
going to like staples orsomething like that.
Get one of those like foillined envelopes.
I think they were printing thewinner's cards probably on their
laser printer.
There was no there there to it.
It was merely a tool for a veryrudimentary tool, where we took

(26:40):
that and kind of elevated thatinto a keepsake.
But one of the most importantthings, dan, that I learned from
that experience was here again,with the least amount of
technology.
Yes, the winner's card andenvelope, it was all beautifully
done.
It is on my website if you wantto check that out at
markfriedlandcom.

(27:01):
But what I realized then waswith the least amount of
technology, I knew that theperson who received that
envelope, that winner's card, 25, 50 years from now, if they
kept that as a keepsake and welook at our pieces as keepsakes
it transports them back to thatprecise moment in time.

(27:22):
It conjures up that memory.
It kind of does everything likea great song or a great scent
would do.
And what I started to learn wasthat it really created this
emotional imprinting and thatemotional imprinting is part of
the secret sauce to what we do,because while there's a lot of
great designers, we operate on avery, very subconscious level.

(27:48):
So when you get something inyour hands and you hold it or
you share it with a friend oryou keep it, you know,
prominently displayed.
All of that is all very much byintention, and so we oftentimes
think about how we, you know,combine neurocognitive sciences
with great design, great style,and in these kind of everyday

(28:11):
moments.
So that's a long-winded answerto a very quick question.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
So, well, no, it's a great story, both the background
on the company itself, Mark,and then also the Academy Awards
connection.
So I appreciate you sharingthat, and I also just want to
clarify for all of our listenersthat was not in any way
connected to the 2017 envelopegate, where Okay, that's another
.

Speaker 4 (28:35):
Okay, that's another great point.
So when that happened so we hadbeen doing the Oscar envelopes
for probably about seven yearsand what was so great about it
was it was one of the first,freshest stories about the
Oscars and the meaning of theOscars themselves.
You know, prior to that, a lotof the stories being told about

(28:55):
it were about, you know, whatthe parties were, what people
were wearing.
But what this really kind ofdemonstrated was that moment of,
you know, you know excellence,you know, and what is the tool
that commemorates that moment ofbeing recognized by your peers
for your excellence, then itreally kind of took on a whole

(29:18):
different meaning.
So when you know an academy is,you know they're a finicky
bunch, you know they're kind ofa very insular group and they
decided to bring this in-house.
So we didn't.
It was an interesting marketingdilemma because we didn't want
people to think that we weren'tdoing it, you know.

(29:38):
So we weren't promoting that,we weren't doing it.
But yet when the fiasco happened, you know we didn't want people
to think that it was ours, butwe took such care and thought
into engineering it was reallyprecisely engineered when we did
the envelopes that we werepretty confident that it

(29:59):
wouldn't have happened with oursfor a variety of reasons, and
that's the difference betweenreally thoughtful design, really
precision design.
It's not just ink on paper butwhen we did these, we made sure
that no matter who was openingthe envelope, it wouldn't get
stuck on the opening.
We waxed the sides of the cardso it would be easy to take it

(30:21):
out.
We made sure that the type wasreally really legible front back
flap, you know, so that youknow, under the lights of, you
know, the award ceremony, thebillion people watching, the
nervousness of that moment.
We really tried to take everyfactor to troubleshoot to ensure

(30:44):
that it was basically afail-proof piece of engineered
art, if you will.
And the best part about it wasTom Hanks was the first one who
used the new envelopes and hewas the first presenter and did
an amazing call out, you know,and literally it was just
sitting there in the audience.

(31:05):
So I would go every year.
It was.
It was really one of the, Iwould say, top five highlights
of my 39-year career.
There's been many, but that wasdefinitely one of them.

Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, no, I can imagine.
I think and for those of youwho are going to a trivia night
in the near future and need toknow the answer to this question
, which was 2017, when it wassupposed to be announced that
Moonlight was the winner, it wasaccidentally.
La La Land was announced as thebest picture by Warren Beatty
and Faye Dunaway because theyhad been handed the wrong
envelope, which contained EmmaStone's name for best actress.

(31:40):
So when Beatty opened it andhanded it to Dunaway, she saw
that it was Emma Stone, but shesaw La La Land and just
announced La La Land.
So that's how that all wentdown.
So, yeah, it's crazy how lifeworks.
Right, One minute, you'recozying up to say this is what
we do, and next minute you'redissing yourself.
So that was not us.

Speaker 4 (31:57):
That's exactly right.
But where that's translatedinto hospitality and I've been
doing hospitality work for quitesome time you know it really is
, and that's why we've kind ofrepositioned ourselves as kind
of leading the path in guestexperience design, because again

(32:22):
, it gets back to.
You mentioned the handwrittennote that you get when you check
in.
But what is the way?
This is what I love hospitalityand the category.
People spend all this money inbuilding mega resorts, luxury
resorts, going through all theamazing training, creating, you
know, standards of service withthe Forbes team, and yet you

(32:45):
know, when it comes time forthose, whether it's your
itinerary when you check into aplace or the communications that
you get, those become thelasting memories and they are so
subtle and so subconscious.
But if it's done well and ifit's done right and it's

(33:08):
designed with thoughtfulness inmind, then they become the
mementos of that incredibleexperience, right so because of
how it made you feel.
So that's where and we alwaystell our clients you know, you
can't teach peoplethoughtfulness, you can't teach
people appreciation, gratitude,and when you put that amount of

(33:33):
energy into whether it's a grandopening invitation or a
turndown note or, you know, justa welcome piece or a thank you,
note.
We know by now experience ofthousands and thousands of
projects and millions of peoplehave received our you know
pieces, the impact that it makesin their lives.

Speaker 2 (33:55):
So, yeah, no, it's, and I think that's where I'm
keen to actually understand howyou made that transition, if you
will, into the accommodationand luxury hospitality space.
I certainly we're going toshare a few links with this
recording as well, just for ourlisteners.
Beyond the website, you can seequite a bit of the work that
Mark and the team have done,which I find quite inspiring.

(34:16):
I mean, there's some of thehospitality brands you work with
Four Seasons, the Wind,atlantis.

Speaker 4 (34:22):
Fountain Blue, atlantis, yeah.

Speaker 2 (34:24):
So how did you get into hospitality, specifically
Mark, and then the relationshipwith Forbes Travel Guide.
Ultimately, how did you guysget connected, because you're
clearly a core part of thiscommunity, both last year in
Vegas and here in Monaco.
So tell us a little bit how youdecided to focus on hospitality
.

Speaker 4 (34:42):
Yeah, well, it's there too.
It's a great story and that'sbeen the great joy of this
journey, because the red threadthat links everything together,
you know it's kind of, it'sgreat.
So my clientele is basicallycomprised.

(35:05):
And I learned this early, earlyon, so probably late 80s.
I had done my first the Museumof Contemporary Art here in Los
Angeles and I promise you I'llget to the answer to this, but
just giving you a little, youknow tidbits along the way.
So asked me to do a.
They were launching a youngperson support group for the

(35:27):
Museum of Contemporary Art andthis was for a first gala to get
a next generation of donorinvolved and whatnot.
And I had learned early on thenthat the people who sat on the
boards of the nonprofits usuallyone of them was CEOs of the

(35:49):
corporations and usually theirother spouse handled the social
entertaining for the couple orfor the family or whatever the
social entertaining for thecouple or for the family or
whatever.
So understanding therelationship between nonprofit
organizations and the boardmembers who serve on those
nonprofits, the luxury brands orcorporate brands and then high
net worth individuals, becausetypically the people who served

(36:10):
on the boards were wealthyphilanthropists or donors or
things like that.
That triangle really became thehub of my work and what I
really started learning was,especially with high net worth
individuals.
They all went to the sameresorts, they all kind of
celebrated in the same ways thelevel of social graces that were

(36:34):
employed in their celebrationsand their milestone moments.
And so I started, just bynature of how my brain works,
making those connections.
I actually called it socialmarketing, before computers,
before any of that, because Iknew who was on each other's
list and I knew, let's say, danis on Amanda's list and Herman

(36:57):
is on Dan's list.
I can make those connectionsright.
So when I would go pitch ourprojects it was like, oh, dan, I
don't know if you've gottenthis, I knew that you had.
But look at this piece that wedid for Amanda, let's say right.
And you say, oh, my God, I gotthat.
You do her stuff, so I need todo my stuff Right.
So that's how it all kind ofstarted formulating.

(37:17):
But where that led to Dan was asI was working with a lot of
high net worth individuals ontheir personal milestones, and
that could be everything from,you know, birth announcements to
bar mitzvahs, weddings,milestone birthdays, you know
any of those life moments.

(37:37):
What I started seeing was thata lot of our clientele had, you
know, second, third homes,estates and I really started
thinking about, you know, thisconcept of residential resort
living right.
And what I mean by that is alot of people who have these
second or third homes, you know,wanted that from all of their

(38:01):
travels to these five-starproperties.
They wanted to create thatexperience at their home.
So that's where I startedpiecing that piece together.
So the estate and yachtbranding kind of was born out of
that.
But the connection back toForbes goes back to an
incredible individual that I'msure you've interviewed and I'm

(38:23):
sure everybody listening knowsis Jerry and Zerillo.
So Jerry and I were introducedback in 19, probably 98.
And once you meet Jerry yourworld changes right, just by who
he is, just his positivity onlife, just his vision and

(38:43):
whatnot.
So Jerry was working for anorganization called Kirzner at
the time and opening thisproperty, atlantis in the
Bahamas and that's how we met.
And from that moment on I'mhonored and thrilled to have

(39:04):
been Jerry's go-to guy foreverything related to.
He got it, you know, hands down.
There was no pitching, therewas no convincing.
He understood the power of whatthese tools could mean in terms
of launching a brand, in termsof garnering celebrity

(39:25):
ambassadors and whatnot.
So that history has been anincredible history.
And of course, then when Jerrycame on to helm Forbes Travel
Guide, I was one of the firstcalls he reached out to to say,
hey, I could use your help here.
And that's how the work withwhat is now known as the summit

(39:46):
took place and the reason whywhen Jerry first, it was really
just the five-star awards andcelebrations.
So basically, prior to Jerrycoming on board, it was a dinner
honoring the five-star winnersof that year and it went from

(40:09):
that dinner celebration to whatit's become today.
But he had that vision from thevery onset of making this the
Oscars, if you will, or theGolden Globes, if you will, of
the travel industry and reallyto the testament of Herman's
vision and Amanda's vision andthe incredible team there.

(40:29):
To see what has transpired inthe seven short years that I've
been working with them into nowbeing in Monaco is kind of an
amazing thing to take a stepback and observe and see what's
happened.

Speaker 2 (40:45):
I now have the privilege and the real honor, I
would say, to speak to FreddieMaras, who is the founder of
Mindstream, and for those of youthat follow our Instagram at
Travel Trends Podcast, or evenmine at DC Trips, would have
seen what I consider to be themost inspiring session here at
the Forbes Travel GuideConference in Monaco, and it was
all about the brain and theimpact that music has and this

(41:10):
incredible person, derek, who Idon't want to tell the whole
background story, but it was soinspiring because he's blind and
he's autistic and he's thisincredible gift for sound and
for music and he was playing thepiano yesterday and Freddie was
playing music, playing a soundfor him, and instantly he could
turn that into a song.
It was really impressive to see.

(41:30):
But he has this reallyincredible company called
Mindstream that I went to speakto afterwards because I was so
inspired and Freddie has kindlymade time to speak to us now.
So, freddie, welcome to TravelTrends, thanks for being here,
thank you Dan.
Tell us a little bit more aboutMindstream.
Tell us about this company thatyou've created and the whole
backstory, because it is socompelling.

Speaker 1 (41:51):
Yeah, I'm happy to, and thank you again for having
me.
It's an honor to speak to toyou.
Um, so, mindstream, very simply, we have, uh, we're on a bit of
a mission.
Um, we believe strongly that inthe power of music, uh, and
that's kind of why we broughtderek specifically, who's, as
you mentioned, just anincredible talent, an amazing
person, and um, I got to knowhim by working with his his uh
friend, colleague and teacher,um, adam ockleford, who's been

(42:13):
training him for 40 years, andadam himself is a professor of
music and a neuroscientist andan all-around great person.
And I got to know Derek througha research relationship I'd
built with him.
And so really the the impetusfor, for wanting to understand
music better as a one, afunctional tool, but also to be
able to deliver it and integrateit into spaces and make it

(42:38):
useful wherever possible, thatwas the sort of driving force
behind it.
And when we started discoveringall the different places music
are used but possibly don't havethe same level of professional
programming strategy andintention that we're used to in
our kind of core business, whichis film and television, and
that's kind of the background ofmy family and where I've been
lucky to grow up sort ofwitnessing how music creates

(42:59):
these magical moments on screen.
And when you go into hospitality, I think the same level of
intention could absolutely beapplied.
And the biggest sort ofdistinction is in a film, music
is an asset, right.
It drives part of the film thatcertainly drives the brand.
It also drives revenue, itdrives return, and so the big
distinction that we saw when westarted moving into spa and

(43:21):
hospitality is that the way thatmusic was being applied was it
was there to set background andto sort of minimize silence as
opposed to maximize the, theutility of a space and the
function and obviously alsodrive roi.
So mindstream was kind of bornas a distribution and service
company for wellness musicpredominantly because that's
kind of our core space wherebywe look to essentially utilize

(43:45):
all of the infrastructure we'vebeen privileged enough to be
able to borrow from my father'scompany who's incubated us for
the last three or four years,and start essentially changing
and transforming how music isseen in the hospitality industry
.

Speaker 2 (44:00):
Well, I had the pleasure to speak to several of
your colleagues yesterday atyour booth and, from as I
understand it, you've got about15 team members now spread out
globally.
You have an office in LA, andthat's where I was speaking to
one of your colleagues that isfocused on the music industry in
LA, which obviously seems likea perfect fit not only for
entertainment but wellness, andso I actually had the headset on

(44:21):
.
So tell everyone what with yourbooth that's set up here, what
you're trying to achieve andcommunicate about Mindstream,
beyond, obviously, the onstagepresentation yesterday.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
Yeah, I think the main point is that music plays
well with others.
We're with a soundtrack tosomething, and so what we wanted
to showcase here is apartnership with.
We often work a lot inpartnerships, um, and we have a
partner called wellscape who dothese beautiful immersive
visuals and they're setting upthese micro led screens that can
go into a dark space.
So if you're in a spa with awith in a basement you don't

(44:52):
have natural light, for instance, and you want to create a
beautiful vista, they'll takeover the wall of your sauna and
they'll create a a gorgeous sortof backdrop of different places
or regions and, um, it's quitetransformative.
But it's very difficult to getthe micro led screen set up
properly in a conference setting.
So what we did is we we justbrought a headset and we kind of
showcase what we're looking totry and achieve, but the
soundtracks that we created forthese different scenarios.

(45:14):
The idea is how do you immerseinto them?
And, specifically, how can youimmerse into them in a way
that's relevant to your brand?
How can you do it in a way,particularly if you have a
portfolio of properties, can youuse sort of techniques like
building sonic motifs that youcan then recreate regionally in
order to then be relevant to aparticular area or location or
culture, even and that's whereyou can start being quite, uh,

(45:36):
quite intentional about how youdesign audio for a particular
space and the value it can drive.
So that was, that's what wewere trying to show you today,
while we're here.

Speaker 2 (45:45):
Yeah Well, it was clear to me because I had the
chance to actually sit down andexperience that with the headset
and the uh, the other thing Ijust wanted to reference too you
mentioned Adam, theneuroscientist and the professor
who was on stage yesterday and,as you highlighted, he's been
working with Derek for 40 yearsand one of the things that he
called out that really struck meat the beginning of the talk
was the fact that when we listento music, our brain releases

(46:05):
oxytocin, which is clear andunderstandable.
I mean, I think we all enjoymusic so much and what is
happening in our brain chemistry.
But one of the things hespecifically called out was the
multiplier effect when you go toa concert and you're surrounded
by other people who are alsoenjoying the same music, and I
think to so many of mycolleagues, including the
producer of our show, zach Vanas, who is a massive music

(46:27):
aficionado.
He obviously likes soundbecause he produces the podcast,
but he actually loves going tolive concerts and it's one of
the things when I see him at aconcert and I don't go to nearly
as many concerts, but seeinghim at concerts and then when I
go to concerts, I'm like I needto do this more often because it
does have a profound effect.
But the the part that I'm comingto, that is what he ultimately

(46:49):
ended off on, and I guess whereit connects to the hospitality
is that music, and ourconnection to music, is often
more memorable than any wordscan convey, and so our mind can
access memories, and I know thismyself.
When I first moved to Australia, one of the latest Coldplay
albums had come out, and anytimeI hear that I am driving on the
coast of Australia, itinstantly takes me back when

(47:11):
that music comes on, and so itis very transformative.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat connection to memories, and
especially when you tap intothe power of nostalgia, for
example, which, for all of us ashumans, that is actually one of
them, and that's a lot ofmarketing.
Success has been tied to that,as you well know.
But tell us a little bit of howyou're applying music with
Mindstream to make theseproperties memorable for their

(47:35):
guests.

Speaker 1 (47:36):
First of all, great choice.
Coldplay is always a winner and, yes, absolutely so.
No, music certainly has amazingproperties.
There are a couple of points Iwant to pick up on.
The way you discussed, youmentioned the ability to
communicate and feel that socialconnection.
Adam speaks beautifully aboutthis in some of the books he's
written and some of the papershe's published.
But music is very much anevolved format.

(47:59):
We used to use it as a baseform of communication before
language became so sophisticated, and that functional element of
communicating still existsintrinsically in content and
music.
It evolved into an art form,but it maintains its core
functional approach, and so youcan tap into that and you can
see it viscerally when you go toconcerts.
In that way, um, music haslayers to it and, and one of the

(48:21):
beautiful things is when youthink about the outcome you're
trying to achieve when listeningto music.
Let's say, you want to try andhelp yourself fall asleep.
Some people like to listen to,uh, to heavy metal when they do
that, but it's a very, it's avery small, small subsection.
The majority of people prefersomething a bit more melodic,
very slow tempo, something thatlulls them into a feeling of, um
, of rest, and that function.

(48:42):
Of course you can design for it.
So you can, you know, do, use acertain tempo, you can, uh, use
dynamics in a particular wayand you can actually build the
content for the purpose.
But that, if you call that thefoundational layer of music,
there's an another element of me, um, that sort of lies on top
of it, which is one theindividual's preferences, uh,
which is exceptionally important.
So if I play you, um, something, uh in strings and you just

(49:06):
hate the sound of violin, itwill not have my desired effect,
no matter how good I am atcreating the content for you.
You do need to account for, forpreference.
So what we often do,particularly when we're curating
for a space, particularly whenyou have multiple people, is you
try and account for optionality.
You want to keep the expertiseat the core.
So making objective choiceslike is this relevant for the

(49:29):
brand, is it relevant for theambience, is it trying to make
it work for the space?
And try and then be as broad aspossible with the demographics
you're servicing, and try andthen be as broad as possible
with the demographics you'reservicing.
It's super critical, but tothat final point of memory
anchors, that's the final kindof aspect to it.
So not only is preferenceimportant, but prior experience.
So let's say Happy by Pharrell,very simple track, very, very

(49:53):
popular, very major and veryhappy.
By name and by nature it isdesigned to make people feel
energetic and happy andcertainly most people will feel
that when they listen to it.
But if you happen to listen toit 10 years ago in a stressful
incident let's say it wasplaying when you had a traumatic
event like a car crash and Iplayed it for you today it would

(50:13):
no longer make you feel happy.
It very much will make you feelstressed, because content has
these memory anchors associatedto them so you can bring people
back and forth, so you can havefun playing with that.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
Now that's fascinating.
So tell us if there's a fewspecific hotels or hospitality
providers you're working withtoday, or is it part of the
intention to actually break intothis market now?
So yeah, tell it.
I just I'm keen to know ifthere's any existing use cases,
because I and I found it socompelling I was at your booth
yesterday.
I'm like man, this has to be amassive opportunity.
So, yeah, when are you guys atin your journey and the

(50:45):
partnerships?

Speaker 1 (50:46):
So we are.
We're established in certainareas and very nascent in others
, I'd say.
So we have a very significantdistribution network within our
consumer business, so we're apreferred partner to Spotify and
Amazon and Apple.
We have a six and a halfmillion subscriber base on our
YouTube channel, so we're ableto service consumers fairly well
.
And what actually happens iswe're able then to leverage that
distribution network when wecreate content with our

(51:08):
enterprise partners, and thatobviously allows you to then
drive passive income back tothose partners, which is super
exciting, because royalty incomeis not something that
hospitality has been exposed tobefore and it's a completely
brand new revenue line that wecan deliver passively and in
perpetuity, which is good fun.
So where we are right now in ourB2B journey, if you want to
call it that, or the enterpriseside of our business, is we have

(51:29):
just started working with quitea few of the major groups.
We're very lucky to have beenchosen as the first ever
official audio partner to theForbes travel guide, which was
kind of our jump-off point, andthis is very much our jump-off
event in that regard.
We've managed to scale outacross spa relatively well,
specifically as a if you want tocall it, our beachhead into
hospitality, but we still have alot to learn about how we can

(51:51):
help serve the hospitalitygroups in other aspects of of
spaces, as opposed to just beingfocused purely on spa and the
functional areas.
I think the driving learningfrom where we come from that
we're trying to then understandwhere the sort of intersection
is is that the wellness consumer, particularly when they're
traveling, is incrediblyvaluable.

(52:13):
They, on average, spend 40%more than an individual just
traveling for pleasure orbusiness, and so how can we help
and support in simple ways,using audio or rituals,
multi-sensorial experiences, howcan we support converting a
normal tourist into a wellnesstourist and help drive revenue
for a hospitality brand?

(52:34):
So a lot of our conversationsare about our expertise in
wellness, which is really theworld we come from, but really
we're here being curious, askingquestions about hospitality and
just trying to see where can wepotentially find more alignment
.

Speaker 2 (52:47):
Well, it seems like the perfect fit for you being
here, and I think that it wasn'tobviously just myself that was
so impacted from yesterday'ssession, and clearly your booth
was busy afterwards as well, andI was talking to colleagues
about it at the event last night, and so a number of people were
struck with it, and even thepeople that didn't go had been
told that they really missedsomething special.
So I actually felt bad for thepeople who were like, oh, I

(53:09):
wanted to go and wasn't able to.
But yeah, so tell us how theForbes Travel Guide Partnership
came about and I guess whatyou're hoping to achieve from
this association.

Speaker 1 (53:18):
Yeah, I guess a little bit of luck and timing is
probably usually the answer toany question when it comes to
partnership.
We were introduced to theForbes Travel Guide by a partner
of ours and the timing feltreally, really good for both
parties.
Audio you know, we're by nomeans the first people to say
music is important and certainlywe're by no means to say that
in hospitality.
But what we are is veryfortunate to have an

(53:40):
infrastructure to be able todeliver it at scale and unlock
the value, the commercial valuebehind the asset of music.
And what hasn't been done inany significant degree is the
creation of new content, newaudio, consistently and at scale
, consistently and at scale.
And that is where you can startdoing things like building
luxury, unique experiences,giving takeaways, developing
rituals and and then earningpassive income on all these new

(54:04):
assets that are created and sothat construct of.
Let's not just curate a spaceClearly, let's understand a
space and create strategy aroundthat space, but let's figure
out where the high impactmoments could be to create
something completely new.
And that's where I think we wekind of fell in love with amanda
and herman at forbes travelguide, because you know what

(54:26):
they do as, um, you know,obviously, their incredible work
as a rating agent and travelingaround the world is they're
trying to inspire best in class,consistently across unique and
luxury experiences.
And so we, and so we had ameeting of the minds where, in
my ideal world, we wouldredefine the way that audio
standards are considered, wherethe core value proposition of

(54:48):
just making sure audio is in aspace or not in a space the
reliability of consistentplayback.
That, to me, is a hygiene check.
You shouldn't be delivering aservice because you can deliver
the service.
It's really about what's thevalue add from that.
Are you doing something superintentional?
Are you crafting a unique guestexperience in a journey?
And then how do you define whatmakes it special?

(55:08):
And that's where we really wantto come in and play.

Speaker 2 (55:11):
Now tell us a bit more about your role, both as
the founder and, clearly, thevisionary for this business, and
you highlighted you know youcome from a family that has a
real passion for music and youknow has been working in film
and television.
So obviously you know this issomething that you've has been
your life's work.
In many ways I'm sure that'sconnected to your dad and what

(55:32):
he's been working on.
But now obviously you'recharting your own path, creating
this company and moving intohospitality.
So tell us a little bit aboutyour role and how your focus is
and priorities over the nextyear.

Speaker 1 (55:44):
My main role is casting director get great
people in the right seats andthen get out of that way most of
the time.
For me, there's a realdistinction between founder and
CEO, and I play both roles rightnow, and I try to play both
roles differently where I needto, but for me, the founder is
the person who paints the bigpicture, drives towards a vision
, make sure that.
Then you know that there'sroads to run into to some degree

(56:07):
.
The CEO is then making surethat the operations are working
and, effectively, all the roadbumps that come on that road are
effectively removed whereneeded to be, so that the
amazing people who you entrustwith that vision and build that
vision with because by no meansis this a single person
considering this strategy andsort of driving this forward.

(56:27):
I'm very, very fortunate towork in a company with, as you
mentioned, 15 people now whomentioned of 15 people now who,
um, every single one of them isjust an incredible, incredible
person with their own thoughts,ideas and energy that they bring
to the table.
So it's, it's really anamalgamation of all those
considerations and then theadded the gift of being able to

(56:52):
watch my father build what hebuilt in film music and
understand and learn all of thepitfalls of managing music
rights and understanding how toown effectively, distribute
effectively, collect which isalso very tough and do deals
where I can leverageinfrastructure efficiently, and
that's been the real barrier toentry.
I think A lot of people want tocreate content, but

(57:14):
unfortunately, creating music aseasy as it might be to play a
few chords on a guitar um,although I can't do that, so I
probably shouldn't say it's easybut, um, as easy it may be to
actually, you know, write it,write a tune um, it is very hard
to get that into a world andmore more, even more challenging
, to get it heard effectively ina way that then pays back.
And so what we're in a veryprivileged position to do is is

(57:36):
to be able to create contentthat people get to hear because
of our distribution and ourrelationships, and that's kind
of the secret source has allowedus to accelerate into an
industry who, um, I think, havebeen crying out for a solution
where the experience has putfirst for a very long time.
It's just, unfortunately,because of music rights
infrastructure, it's verychallenging to do it, and if we

(57:57):
didn't have it in the film music, we probably wouldn't be able
to do it here now.

Speaker 2 (58:00):
So we're we're relatively lucky well, it's
interesting one of the creativesthat was on stage just before
your session was talking aboutthe fact that a lot of times our
memories are will go back to abad experience than a positive
experience, and it's verydifficult.
He was a yacht designer and hewas talking about one of the
things that he focuses on before.

(58:21):
He was talking about family, buthe also was talking about the
difference, having somethingthat's really unique and special
, and I guess that's where, whenI'm at hotels and I hear music
in the elevator and I'm likeit's awful, when you go into a
club or you go into a restaurantthat has a great vibe and
they're focused on the entire,what you'd say in film would be

(58:44):
like the Maison Saint the wholeexperience, where the lighting
and certainly the music and thesound it really makes a
difference to the entireexperience, sound like it really
makes a difference to theentire experience, and so I can
think of so many opportunitieswhere high-end hotels and even
the hospitality industry ingeneral could really leverage

(59:05):
your technology and expertise.
So I guess the question I'mtrying to get to, freddie, is
for you a year from now, whenwe're speaking again at Forbes
Travel Guide 2026, wherever inthe world that may be.
What does success look like toyou and what do you expect the
growth and journey to look likeover the next year?

Speaker 1 (59:23):
It's a really good question and quite a challenging
one, I mean, for me.
There's a few areas that I'veput my benchmarks to, as it were
, that I really believe we havean opportunity to grow into, and
certainly hospitality is anarea that I want to become a
really good partner to as manygroups as I possibly can and
deliver this service at scalethat we've designed and refine

(59:46):
it to a way that it becomes avaluable proposition, and
certainly by the end of the yearI would hope that we're doing
that in our stride.
Certainly we're doing it inpockets now with some great
early partners who've backed usfor a couple of years and that's
been extremely helpful as we'velearned the industry.
But, realistically, thisconcept of partnership where
you're not just selling aservice but you're developing

(01:00:06):
something that becomesintrinsically part of an
experience and part of theirbrand, it's really about being a
partner in every sense of theword.
So we will always be curious asopposed to, uh, um, just expert
.
Clearly, we come with a certainset of skills and a certain set
of knowledge which we'll alwayslook to bring to the table.
But you know, events like thisand then every conversation
thereafter is always trying tobe about.

(01:00:28):
It's always trying to learnwhat we don't yet understand
fully, and certainly I have alot of questions in that regard.
And then separately to that.
You know, crafting experienceis not just limited to
hospitality.
I believe strongly in the powerof music I've had the privilege
of learning about it from greatexperts like Professor
Ockelford, and I believe thereis an opportunity to not just do

(01:00:50):
this for luxury experiences,but also in clinical care, and
so I'm spending quite a lot ofmy time developing pathways,
doing more testing, pilots andand learning environments in
dental clinics and care homesand oncology units and renal
units and a variety of othercare spaces where we're not just
looking to improve patientexperience but we're looking to

(01:01:13):
actually validate and createefficacy behind the content and
actually improve patientoutcomes, which is which is fun
and challenging, and a lot ofacademia, which is way, way over
my head in many, many ways, butthankfully I'm surrounded by
great people who keep me around.

Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
Well, you definitely are and that's clear.
And I think that's what reallystruck me was just that this is
backed in science, but it's alsoaccessible and I think you can
see the practical applicationsof what the research clearly
connects the dots between agreat guest experience and music
.
And I think this is what youtalked about hospitals there,

(01:01:50):
which actually my wife works in,and I was speaking to a
colleague that he's in hotelsand she's in hospitals and we
were talking about theconnection between the two
because ultimately both areabout hospitality.
And if you think abouthospitals, especially given the
importance and especially inlate life care, because the
founding concept for our showwas my dad was diagnosed with
terminal cancer and I steppedout to take care of my dad.
So the fact you mentioned thatresonates with me because, as

(01:02:12):
you can learn how best to takecare of people, especially in
those final stages, or even tohelp them my wife works in a
rehabilitation hospital so forpeople on their journey to go
home and how music can play arole in overall mental health
and wellbeing and wellness.
So, if you can take some ofthose things that apply in that
setting and apply it to having aholiday, which I think most of

(01:02:35):
us want to do as many of those,while we're healthy and happy,
as possible.
I think it will elevate thatguest experience, and so I've
thoroughly enjoyed ourconversation.
I'm sure many people are nowinspired to learn more about
Mindstream, to connect with you,freddie, and also to partner
with you, so I would love if youwouldn't mind leaving us with
all the ways to be able to do so.

(01:02:56):
And one other thing I have tosay to you, freddie, that I'm
desperate for is a TED Talk.
I really need to see you on aTED Talk.
You're perfectly suited for itand I would watch it in a moment
, and I hope this helps lead tothat opportunity at TEDx,
because the world needs to knowmore about you and Mindstream.

Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
I'll give you a big shout out on the TED stage when
it happens.
I'll give you a big shout outon the TED stage when it happens
.
I really appreciate theconversation and the time.
Thank you so much for having me.
Please feel free to get intouch.
Mindstream is M-Y-N-D stream.
Have a look at our website,mindstreamcom, and we have
social platforms, I believe, sofeel free to follow us and drop
us a note.

(01:03:33):
We're interested to hearanything you have to say awesome
.

Speaker 2 (01:03:35):
Well, I will be following you for sure, and
thanks again for making the timeand wishing you much continued
success in the years to come.
Thank you, dan.
Thanks so much for joining uson this special hospitality
series.
I hope you've enjoyed all 10episodes.
In today's discussion withJeanette and Freddie and Mark, I
so thoroughly enjoyed theopportunity to be back with
Forbes Travel Guide again thisyear, this time in Monaco the

(01:03:58):
summit.
I certainly look forward tohaving the opportunity to be
back again next year in 2026.
Special thank you again toAmanda, jennifer, stuart and
Herman for making this allpossible and to all of our
listeners that have now joinedus in the world of hospitality.
Be sure to stay tuned in toTravel Trend trends podcast as
we go into season six startingin september, and we're going to

(01:04:20):
do a special hospitality seriesas part of that as well.
Thanks again to all of ourguests for making the time to
speak to us.
It was wonderful to meet somany of you and make so many
wonderful new friends andconnections and many new fans of
our show, which was trulywonderful as well.
But thanks again to the forbestravel guide team.
I wish you all great success inthe year ahead and anyone that

(01:04:40):
is now newly familiar to ForbesTravel Guide, make sure you
check them out atForbesTravelGuidecom for more
information about how to getinvolved and partner with them.
Until next time, safe travels.