Last week I had a client and literally Sunday night, almost 1 am for me Dubai time, he was in Europe, he needed some clothing. So, you know, then we need to or I need to come in action straight away. I need to speak to a personal stylist who is working with me and make sure that she is connected to the right suppliers such as, you know, the right fashion stores. And then I speak to the owners of those fashion stores making it possible after, you know, closing hours to to still curate the outfits and making sure it will be delivered at 9am in the morning at right at its doorstep.

Thank you so much for having me.

Yeah, wow, incredible right? So I first actually started my career in fashion. I used to study fashion and management. I studied in Florence. I actually was quite well traveled before, doing fashion merchandise in China, living in Shanghai. But after my my fashion journey I would say, I was quite drawn into the world of of hospitality as I really enjoyed traveling so much and getting the most out of each and every destination I was going to. I was approached at quite a young age by a restaurant PR and marketing agency to help chefs and restaurants grow in terms of their PR and marketing. So when I started to to work for those restaurants which were most of the time located in the hotels, I actually started my career in hospitality and travel.

Okay. Well, day by day. Well, we're quite now... it's not a solo... it's not a one man show. So I have a team and on a daily basis we're managing the operation. So it goes from, you know, receiving requests of different clients who could be our members or CTD clients who book their trips and travels regularly. They send us a message saying like, 'Hey, I want to go I want to come to Dubai this Saturday, could you please try and get me a good rate in the Burj Al Arab or I want to stay in Bulgari, could you please help me negotiate the best offer for me.' By obviously, you know, curating beautiful trips to for example South Africa where we're planning a safari. I'm meeting my team. We're basically, you know, checking what what are the priorities and the urgencies. What needs to be done today and what do we have planned for the future which we can really enhance in terms of our connections and the access that we have globally. So every day is super diverse and dynamic and it's a very fun business to be in.

The best to me in practice is where I would say where we truly feel ourselves and connected, immersed in an experience. So for me, the best the world has to offer is all about the emotion that is behind an experience. So every trip has an intention. Maybe it's the intention to relax, it's the intention to enjoy family time with each other or to maybe network and connect with with new people. So for me it's all about that experience and to see how we can make sure that that experience is executed in the right way.

I feel like people have their preferences. I'm working for I would say the lucky few, the the people that can afford luxury travel. And they are usually so caught up in such a rush and obviously like the the rat race of life where they feel that with whatever their purpose is or whatever they're doing in their life, they spend so much time and dedication towards that, that when they are traveling they just wanna relax and they feel like if I take the most expensive hotel, that that will be the best choice.

Exactly. And and that's what they want, right? Time is so precious. Time is valuable, so they want to make sure that it's it's being coordinated properly and they usually have, you know, they have made money in their careers so they just want to spend it well. And if they go to Japan they want to stay in the most beautiful beautiful hotels of of Japan, you know. They feel like they want to experience they want to experience the destination at its truly best and therefore they they think or that's their perception to stay in the most expensive hotel as towards that being the the best experience for them.

Yes. Those people are often...

Not really. For us it's actually, you know, well if it's a Sunday evening and and somebody needs something Monday morning delivered to the doorstep, it is possible that we need to, you know, kick in some doors, open some doors, make sure that the owners of of for example... last week I had a client and literally Sunday night, almost 1 am for me Dubai time, he was in Europe, he needed some clothing. Sometimes we also do personal shopping. He needed some clothing for his trip to to Latin America and he wanted it delivered quite early morning before he was flying out. And you know he just decided at Sunday evening probably while packing that he needed some new outfits. So, you know, then we need to or I need to come in action straight away. I need to speak to a personal stylist who is working with me and make sure that she is connected to the right suppliers such as, you know, the right fashion stores. And then I speak to the owners of those fashion stores making it possible after, you know, closing hours to to still curate the outfits and making sure it will be delivered at 9am in the morning at right at its doorstep. So yes, it's all about, you know, that magic and that sense of curating or getting something last minute but to really try to focus and to keep our heads cool and to think like, okay, what are now the priorities that needs to be done. So I would say keep a calm mind and not to get distracted by the by the chaos of the last minute request.

Yeah. It is. I but I actually I thrive. I thrive for these like last minute moments.

It is. It's such an accomplishment. I always say like I'm not a doctor, but I am actually making people's lives a little bit better, right? And for me it's it's actually that's really I think my purpose of of life. That's what I love doing the most, is to really go beyond people's expectations and imaginations and yeah, to have clients who say like, 'Maxime, wow, you know, you've really created this whole experience for me and I felt so welcomed and I was welcomed by the owner and the manager came and you know they even had my favorite candies' or you know, just to to feel that emotion.

Yeah, yeah. And the emotion of inclusion I feel is so important because when I started my my company I was really thinking and I was actually speaking to a mentor of mine and I was asking him all these questions like how important luxury travel is and how I could really tap into that very niche market of luxury travel. And he was telling me like, 'Maxime, what for the rich and famous is very important is the attention, the eye to detail and that you make those people really feel seen and heard.' Because often, yeah, people are just drawn to to the glitz and the glamour but they're actually not tapping in a little bit deeper into...

Yeah. It is definitely about the small things, the the small details, the eye to detail and the perfection.

Yeah. Okay, so I have a brilliant team nowadays. So when I have my daily priorities, meetings with suppliers that I might attend or I am traveling, I'm basically I'm just, you know, reading the message and really getting to understand what my client wants. So I think it's also the art of understanding and knowing exactly what my clients are looking for. And I believe for me this is very this is so easy. Like I know exactly I know my clients, I know exactly what they want. This is also a reason why we work with our members because they're loyal to us and we can be loyal to them. And so they ask me like I'm looking for this or that with my wife or you know I need to go to New York all of a like last minute and I know exactly what hotel, what his budget is, how to negotiate for him a better deal. And so I then reach out usually first to the to the main connection, so which is maybe the hotel or the destination he's going to and I'm checking like, okay, you know, I have this client, it's a great opportunity to welcome this client to your hotel. Can we maybe, you know, get a guaranteed upgrade available? You know I have clients and they they literally call me and they say like, you know, 'I want I want to stay in this hotel, Peninsula, and I want to pay this rate but can you make sure that I can stay in a suite which is then sometimes maybe twice twice the price of of, you know, what what the budget is.' So it's also about getting getting bang for your buck I would say, to to really make sure that that clients are not overpaying but that you make an impact on their travel. So we wow them. So I check with the hotel supplier to see like do you have maybe that specific suite available on those nights? And then if they do, basically obviously they want to have everything written in an email, they want the background of the client as well for the hotels I believe it's is truly so important that they know who we are sending as well so they can help us to connect the dots properly. So then I delegate that task to the right person in my team. We have our travel agents, we have a guest experience manager, we have a lifestyle manager. So we have all these...

Right? It is. It is so much fun. Honestly every day we get so many people applying for job at Connecting the Dots.

And I'm always looking for that person who really goes beyond and you know who who really is available as a lifestyle manager. Because we are managing people's lifestyle so it's not a 9 to 5 job. It is being very involved with the client. And from the moment that that client basically checks in with us that he wants something, to basically stay present in that inquiry until the moment that that person checks in, experiences whatever he wants to experience and from the moment of check out going back to, you know, his or her career and and back to normal life as I would say.

Yeah. Or at least be persistent. But I also say like be be social. Get to know your clients. Do the research, go on LinkedIn, go on websites, read interviews with those people and really try to understand what for that person is truly unique and important and yeah you have to to know to get to know the client and being involved with that. But also I always want them to create this bond with my clients. So I'm always trying to push them to speak to them, to speak to the clients, to talk to their PAs. We're not a threat by the way for the PAs because we do have a lot of clients who come already with an army of personal assistants.

It is their job but it's their job to, you know, to obviously as well take care of them in their daily lives. And we actually jump in on the fun on the fun things. So where we help the personal assistants is is more with where does the client wants to have his business meetings, you know, confirming the most creative boardroom or inspiring boardroom but also to have a business dinner set up in a beautiful iconic restaurant with the perfect view and getting access to that restaurant which might be fully booked already months in advance, right? So I feel the personal assistants in the beginning feel threatened but then after a couple of months they can't live without us because they're also saying like, 'Oh wow, you know I can just hand it over to you guys and I'm not making the mistake anymore to put them to put my client or employer in the right or in the wrong, sorry, so they don't make the mistake to put their employer in the wrong restaurant which is maybe empty.

What type of pillow do they like to sleep on, you know? Do they want a soft mattress or does he have back pains or you know we definitely... and and that's also I I feel for us very important to not ask too many questions to our clients. We need to understand their request.

Exactly. They cannot be bothered with that. So they just call me, they say Maxime, you know I want this, this, this and that. They explain it very briefly to me and they actually trust you. They trust me and they expect me to understand what they want and they they throw it on my plate and I will make sure that everything will be coordinated properly with my amazing team. Cause it's all a team effort. It is really a team effort.

It is actually it's so beautiful because I also coming from a PR and marketing background, I love doing PR and marketing. But sometimes I'm actually thinking I don't need that. But I love, you know, having the right Instagram page where we, you know, curate reels or behind the scenes or showing some things. But obviously my clients, most of the lucky few are not on Instagram anyways.

They maybe barely have LinkedIn, you know? They're CEOs of big corporate companies and they're busy, they're not on TikTok or social media anyways. They maybe read some articles that we can post on LinkedIn.

No, no. So we don't do advertising at all. It is really word of mouth. So our clients get the experience and they really feel like wow this was so so great. And then yeah I have the honor of being referred to referred by those clients of mine to the other entrepreneurs and yeah it's actually really great. But I think it's also when you do your job right and people speak very highly of you, that's the best marketing obviously that you can find.

Yeah, yeah. Exactly. It's all about that first hand experience. And therefore, first hand experience, I travel all over the world. I go to the travel conferences and travel fairs all the time. I'm trying every new restaurant that there is. And because I'm always traveling...

It is a hard job. Someone has got to do it. But doing doing that and experiencing a lot first hand, also my team, we really know as well what we can recommend, you know. We know, okay, this client would like this room and that suite and it is something truly unique and special I feel.

Yeah. Well I guess it it like again as also with the teamwork it's it is everything coming together and bringing that to life. So it is definitely my my ambition of always making sure that it's getting done properly. I always go beyond. Like no is definitely not an answer. Like I I cannot stand no so no doesn't exist in my world. So making the impossible possible and with the right connections, yes, I'm always like thinking in my head like oh, you know, is there a destination or an area where I I need better connections and I pick up the phone and I have globally all these great relations that I've built all my life. Whereas I'm, you know, speaking to one person and and really trying to get, you know, at least three other person who would maybe know the restaurant manager or the the people at that hotel or wherever we don't have the right connection from. So it's it's all about that like having the right access. I think also being available. So for my clients I'm always available. They can call me any time and obviously I I need my sleep so sometimes when when it is time to to hit that flight modus button and that sleep button to to snooze for, you know, six to seven hours, I'm not I'm not available. But actually during the day I am always available which is I think which I believe is so important for my clients because they know whatever happens they can count on me and my team.

I cannot I cannot tell you my my recipe. This is like asking nonna's recipe for good pasta.

But it is it is... But you would say there is a way. Yeah, there is a way. I always say where where there's a way there's a will and we go beyond, right? It's we are a little bit annoying. It's going through the managers, going through the owners of that restaurant, trying different ways to yeah to really making it possible.

Yeah. It is actually for for me it's it's a good way of knowing as well the core of our business, our focus. Like I said, it needs a lot of eye to detail, pre-planning, making sure that we are available and to have the right access to that. So I need to pre-plan a little bit on the capacity of the inquiries I get on a yearly basis. So having those members... for us we we do have different tier memberships. We have VIPs and we have the Wanderlust. So the frequent travelers and the VIPs who need us on a daily basis. By knowing exactly how many VIP members we have and frequent travelers, we also or I also know how many people I need in my team, how available we need to be at at different time zones and different... yeah like it is important for us to prognose how how available we we need to be. So I would say the the memberships it's paid on an annual basis by our clients and they pay for our access, for our amenities, they get guaranteed upgrades, early check ins, late check outs, they get a lot of benefits. So I always say as well sometimes we have a member and they say like, 'Oh, you know I actually got a PA so I don't need the membership anymore.' And I tell them like, oh darling, it's it's not about it's not about that. It's it's about the total experience. But you will see with with your personal assistant who is very well trained to organize your life in the perfect way, she doesn't know what what new restaurants have opened up or who is the owner of that restaurant group or hospitality group. They don't go to the travel fairs as much as I do or they they barely they never go probably. So I am always on top of my game with with all the new and the latest trends and the things that are happening. And I make the impossible possible. If they can't get a table in the restaurant they most of the time have to give up or they have to take the no for an answer. Where we go beyond. So they they get used to the membership and they basically always they always come back and then they extend. It's a lifetime partnership I would say between me and the clients. They pay an annual fee for our accessibility and availability and our services and I basically know how to grow my team and how to make sure to always find the right time to listen to to what they want and to execute on that.

So again it's about the total experience. When people go to the F1 they get all these promoters that are trying to sell them tickets. And there are all these different tickets. So also people are getting a little bit confused I guess with all the different tickets that there that there are there. Like these hospitality tickets and then there's these like yacht parties and there... you know it's it there's so much to offer. So first of all they they need to make sure that there is someone experienced, an experienced planner who can explain what are the different tickets and what are they paying for. It's then also about trust. We never upmark prices or you know experiences. We do ask for a service charge or service fee so that's included in the VIP membership it's included and with new clients we charge that maybe on you know an experience such as the F1. But then again it's it's the total package. So it's going to the F1 in the most relaxed or easy way. Making sure that you're there on time before the traffic. You might want to fly in by helicopter or you want a luxury car transfer that's taking you there. If you go with your own car where do you park? So it's also really helping the client to to understand... and we are experienced in all the sports events and we know what we're offering. So to help them with that and then maybe they have a partner who wants to go and they want to stay in the best hotel but all the beautiful hotels are already sold out so it's also about pre-planning that trip for them. Going to Las Vegas, going to Monaco, going to Abu Dhabi, making sure they're close to the race track, they're in the right hotel, they have their restaurants pre-booked for after the race. They go maybe to to a nice party and they have their table pre-booked. So again it's it's not only about that F1 ticket. It's the total experience. And we even go beyond, like we work nowadays with you know the personal stylist as I say, photographers, videographers, people want to use sometimes content for their own companies or the things that they do. And we take care of the makeup artist, the hairstylist. It is it is really everything, you know. Making sure everything is in the right place at the right time.

So I always say that people like to go where the locals go. So for example Central Pay, I had a client who actually goes there for many years with her family and she like I know Central Pay very well and you know there were a few places, a few I don't know hike... a few routes to walk close by the water, like with a beautiful view. But there was also like this very cute restaurant next to the sea which is definitely not popular. It is important to send them to to like a curated place or like a hidden gem where that restaurant or that chef or nobody really tells that as a as a secret. Yeah. It's not where the tourist really usually go. Usually go. And it's not on Tripadvisor or it's not to be found. It is really by our local heroes as I call them, the people living in those places, the people that are from those destinations. Secret agents. They secret agents. Who who really can tell me, you know, 'Maxime I I I I was born in Venice and there's this little place and it's you know...' and then they tell their like their secretive cute spots where then I can really step in and I can curate that in a travel guide. But I need to finish the story about the Central Pay thing and then I'll go to this... okay. So I sent the the lady with her family to a very unique restaurant next to the ocean with a beautiful view and amazing food and only the local people of Central Pay who are born there who have family there, they know about it. But the tourists actually don't. And she was so surprised because she had for have been to Central Pay for many years but she never actually got that place recommended. And there are these lists going around and you know they just get copy paste copy paste shared easily, you know, quick easy fix. But people don't again, you know, take really the attention or time to really curate the right guides or the right list and to tell them like, oh but there is this, you know, there's this magical place where you should go between 5 and 7 for the most amazing you know sunset or whatever. It's so that is truly unique about our travel guides. I just came back from India and you know well I was curating my Delhi guide...

I am doing it with my with my team.

Yes. Yes. Everything everything goes via me of course.

Yeah? Thank you. Yeah. It's like this hand drawn drawn. So when I came back from India as well, like I sit down, I curate, I do my research as well online, but then I call three local friends who live there, who grew up there and I'm like, okay so this is what I curated. Can you please check what what do you think? And then there's basically that moment of magic where they say like, 'Oh you know I wish you stayed longer because I wanted to show you as well this place and that place and there is this restaurant where my wife actually works for which is really...' and then actually those hidden gems pop up which you cannot find on ChatGPT or Tripadvisor or anywhere. So that is truly unique.

Well this is luxury right? This is you want to find something that is truly unique.

Well I also am very lucky to be invited by many beautiful boutique hotels and partners, so they're al also representative of you know family owned hotels who then invite me to to come and try to the latest hotel in in Florence or you know to really see that. And then I I try to as well understand what is really the best time to travel here. So you know if you go to Positano and you go to the Amalfi Coast you don't want to be there you know July August when it's full and packed. So I'm trying to to really see what what is well is the best travel time to avoid the crowds. And to feel like a local, to still enjoy it but to be be before the crowds there. So yesterday I had a meeting with Jumeirah Capri and I've stayed at their beautiful hotel last year in one of their new suites so I'm also staying up to date with you know knowing that they're renovating the hotel, they're building these beautiful new suites right next to the pool. And you know whilst I I meet them yesterday I I sit with them and I try to understand what is the best travel time for my clients to to come beyond the Yeah hype hype time. Yeah yeah yeah. My clients don't want to feel like a tourist and being lost in the crowd so what is actually the best time for them to to go.

Maxime Weddings and Events. Yeah. Cause every love story starts with kisses. Yeah that's actually so good. Two x's. And in Amsterdam we always have like it's like the three x's for like the symbol of Amsterdam. So I wanted to do something special with my name so I gave it two x's.

Yeah this is like production to its max.

I used to Yeah. It well no I used to do all the weddings myself up until two years ago where in high season, summer season we had a client who wanted to get married within two three months.

Right? That's very very ambitious. And he wanted to invite like 150 people and he was actually together with his future wife with his fiancee, they were changing the destinations all the time. So I felt like oh this this is gonna be you know one of those weddings whereas I need to bring on board a professional wedding planner who I have in my team who can really dedicate the next two three months to this just for this because I unfortunately did not have like that full time focus so I really like I I told I told her, she's an yeah incredible relation of mine from Italy who was actually referred by a friend of mine from here from Dubai, he told me if you ever looking are ever looking for someone in operations, a a go getter, an event planner, it is this lady. So I basically hired her in my team to help with like the daily operations but also to to have as a you know fall back on for the events and the weddings. And so with her we curated this beautiful destination wedding and it was really magic. And with a wedding it's such a big production and you cannot make a single mistake. And you pre-plan everything to the minute. And it's all about the budget, the suppliers and the clients wishes of course and bringing that to life. So that is really something that I love to do but it takes up so much time. Like hundreds of hours. So yeah.

Well that's that's very that's very good for your husband.

I think nowadays luxury shouldn't be loud. I feel we like everything was especially after COVID was very loud and a bit show off and and I think now it's it's really more about how a destinations how a destination makes you feel. So I do see a lot of brands like Aman and Capella and beautiful luxury brands who go and also Six Senses who really go into the essence of its destination where you really feel like time is slowing down and where you can connect with your inner self and really enjoy the authenticity of a destination. So going to destinations such as Bhutan, India, connecting with wildlife, that's something that I I definitely see as a trend. Not just the safaris in in Africa but you know really yeah like going to Bhutan and experiencing very different culture and destination. But also longevity is a very important topic.

It's it's such a big topic. So we do see that there are a lot of conscious travelers that and I I tried it myself as well this this summer, I went to Sha Spa. After Ibiza I went to Sha Spa in Alicante in Spain which was beautifully set on the top of a mountain where they they track everything in your body, they do all these tests and they see like what what does your body needs. You know does it needs to reset, recharge, does it needs some activity.

Yeah. It is. And um I I really enjoyed that. It was all about what you eat, what you do. And for me I had to like recharge and and and sort of like disconnect. I love to work out so I'm I'm quite active and fit so but they also put that in your you know in your daily routine. But it was really everything that your body really needs and yeah that was very interesting to experience. And I I do see that my clients are looking for that, you know. They're looking for the best wellness places or going to spas and doing all these medical checkups but also to having to have that as a fun experience. But also like nature is such an important topic. The Dolomites where I've been, it was like the place to be where you know clients like Justin Bieber come to to relax. And and I get that. When I was in in Dolomites, when I stayed in Forestis, I I couldn't understand more that that's a place where people love to go and to recharge. To yeah and to also feel their emotions and and what they want in life. To slow down time and to understand what do I want because we get so caught up in you know everybody's what they want. But to like pause for a moment and to think like what do I want and experience that.

It's quite hysterical because even like I went to the Maldives and it was like a collaboration but also I just really wanted to start the year and and and sort of like relax a bit after the whole new year's festive season. But then my marketing and PR and social media manager they were all like 'But you know if you're like whilst you're there can you please you know make some videos and and put your tripod like this and like...' so it it is yeah so it is a work work-cation.

Yeah well it yeah it is it is sort of like finding finding the balance. So I try to you know at least when I wake up in such a beautiful hotel I try at least not to touch my phone for for for an hour. Obviously I make sure with my team that they also know that. So that I can really experience that hotel and and and and you know discover the the places and go swim in the sea and relax. But then it's when I see something beautiful I'm like 'Ooh, you know, let me get my camera and let me you know quick make some pictures.' And I want to share that. I want to share that experience and I want to share the rooms and how the rooms look like and the service and the unique... I had a chef coming to my villa who was cooking for me, wow, it was like the master chef of Australia and I've never tasted anything such in incredible as as his personal cooking. So then I also like to share that immediately on my Instagram. So it's work but it's definitely not hard and I love doing it.

Well we're we're we're not more expensive than the hotels so we we make an impact on giving you more for less money or the value the value for money.

Thank you so much. And good luck with the podcast. Thank you for inviting me.