People Want What They Think Others Want

SESSION DESCRIPTION

What if the answers people give aren’t the truth, but the story they want to tell about themselves? Drawing on behavioural science, cultural intelligence, and research with some of the world’s most elusive audiences, Alfred Malmros reveals how indirect questioning uncovers the motivations people can’t, or won’t, articulate. From aspiration and status to nostalgia and identity, this SPARK Talk explores how understanding tomorrow’s desires can transform strategy today. What if the most valuable insights are hidden behind the questions we ask?

THE PROVOCATION

Your clients are telling you the truth — but is it what they really want?

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF…

You want to uncover deeper motivations, anticipate future demand and better understand the beliefs shaping customer decisions.

SPEAKER BIO

Alfred Malmros is the founder of Early Studies, a cultural signals intelligence company that helps global brands uncover the subconscious beliefs driving human behaviour. Creator of the Triple Tense Technique, he specialises in understanding how people imagine the future and how those beliefs shape decisions today. Previously, he held senior roles at Google, including CMO of Jigsaw and Strategy Lead at Google Creative Lab, and has founded multiple ventures spanning technology, communications and behavioural research.

Recording Is Not Remembering

SESSION DESCRIPTION

We have never kept more information about the people we look after yet it has never been easier to forget them. In this SPARK Talk, Matthew Low explores the difference between recording a client’s preferences and genuinely remembering what matters to them. From the moments that create lasting loyalty to the human details that endure across generations, discover why feeling seen remains powerful in an increasingly automated world—and what the businesses built to last understand about remembering.

THE PROVOCATION

If technology can remember everything about a client, why does being genuinely remembered still matter?

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF…

You want to build loyalty that goes beyond data, preferences and personalisation, and create experiences people remember long after the interaction ends.

SPEAKER BIO

Matthew Lo is Co-Founder and CEO of Advant Labs, where he explores how technology can enhance the way businesses understand and care for their customers. His work sits at the intersection of technology, human behaviour and relationships, with a focus on what gets lost when meaningful interactions become increasingly automated. For this conversation, Matthew brings a perspective on why remembering the right things, not simply recording everything, can shape loyalty, trust and enduring partnerships.

The Luxury of Letting Go

SESSION DESCRIPTION

Luxury travel has become exceptionally good at removing friction, anticipating needs and giving guests control. But in making every experience seamless and predictable, are we removing the very things that make a journey memorable?

Brianna Sloan explores why novelty, emotional engagement and personal significance are essential ingredients in lasting memories and why creating them requires something more valuable than comfort: trust. From honest marketing and deep client understanding to listening, transparency and knowing when to gently push beyond the familiar, this SPARK Talk asks what becomes possible when a guest trusts us enough to let go.

THE PROVOCATION

What if too much comfort is getting in the way of creating experiences people actually remember?

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF…

You want to move beyond frictionless luxury and understand how trust, novelty and gentle challenge can create more meaningful and memorable experiences.

SPEAKER BIO

Brianna Sloan has spent nearly 20 years working in remote luxury hospitality, primarily with Nimmo Bay, a pioneering wilderness lodge on the coast of British Columbia. Her work spans marketing, storytelling and the creation of meaningful experiences in places where nature and remoteness are integral to luxury. She also serves on the board of the Wilderness Tourism Association of BC, contributing to the future of wilderness tourism across the province.

The Status of Signals: Decoding Tomorrow’s Traveller

SESSION DESCRIPTION

Following Alfred’s SPARK Talk, this discussion takes a deeper dive into what people really want — and what’s coming next. What can 60 cultural signals reveal about where the world’s wealthiest travellers are heading next? Alfred Malmros invites delegates to interrogate emerging shifts in behaviour, preference and aspiration across culture, travel, hospitality, and experiences. Together, we’ll move beyond what affluent travellers say they want to uncover the deeper signals shaping what they will seek, value, and desire next.

THE PROVOCATION

What if the most important signals about tomorrow’s traveller are hiding in behaviours they haven’t learned to articulate yet?

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF…

You want to move beyond today’s traveller trends and uncover the cultural, behavioural, and emotional signals guiding the future of private travel.

SPEAKER BIO

Alfred Malmros is the founder of Early Studies, a cultural signals intelligence company that helps global brands uncover the subconscious beliefs driving human behaviour. Creator of the Triple Tense Technique, he specialises in understanding how people imagine the future and how those beliefs shape decisions today. Previously, he held senior roles at Google, including CMO of Jigsaw and Strategy Lead at Google Creative Lab, and has founded multiple ventures spanning technology, communications and behavioural research.

Beyond Wellness: The New Health Traveller

SESSION DESCRIPTION

Wellness has become a familiar part of the luxury travel experience, but what happens when clients expect more than a treatment menu or another wellness retreat? This discussion  explores the shift towards personalised, preventative health and the growing importance of continuity before, during and after travel. Discover where investment can make a meaningful difference, which trends are shaping the future of health, and which wellness fads may not stand the test of time.

THE PROVOCATION

Is wellness still about what happens during a stay, or should the future of travel support a client’s health journey long before they arrive?

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF…

You’re looking to evolve your wellness offering, understand where health is heading and create experiences that build deeper value, loyalty and lasting client relationships.

SPEAKER BIO

Paul Macavoy is the founder of Yuuu, a personalised, data-led health company focused on extending healthspan and understanding the role of natural health interventions. Previously, Paul founded Matrix Concierge, supporting high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families with highly personalised travel, lifestyle and concierge services. Today, he brings these two worlds together, integrating health programmes into clients’ travel and lifestyles and working with trusted travel partners to create continuity of care wherever clients are in the world.

Designing the Unexpected: How Do You Surprise Someone Who Has Seen Everything?

SESSION DESCRIPTION

For the most experienced travellers, surprise is getting harder to create. When every spectacular villa, private dinner and once-in-a-lifetime experience is already visible online, bigger gestures rarely mean greater impact. This session explores a different approach: designing the unexpected through deeper knowledge of the individual, shared intelligence and considered detail. But who really owns that knowledge? And how do you create genuine surprise for a guest whose greatest luxury may be simply being left alone?

THE PROVOCATION

How do you surprise someone who has seen everything, shared nothing, and paid above all to be left alone? 

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF…

Owners, hoteliers, DMCs and advisors who design for guests who have done it all, and want an honest conversation about what it takes to know a guest well enough to surprise them.

SPEAKER BIO

Linda Adami is an Italian-born political economist with a deep commitment to social impact. She is the founder and CEO of Quantum Temple, a regenerative travel and community empowerment platform, and Dunia, an agentic travel and lifestyle concierge for high net worth individuals.

Linda spent the last ten years in emerging markets across Central America, South East Asia and the Middle East, working at the intersection of international development, public policy and tech innovation at top-tier private and public institutions.

Before founding Quantum Temple, she worked with the Government of Dubai at the Dubai Future Foundation, where she developed public policy and programs to drive the deep tech ecosystem in the Emirate.

The Business That Remembers: What’s Worth Remembering in the Age of AI?

SESSION DESCRIPTION 

There is a particular pleasure in being remembered: the concierge who asks after your mother, the advisor who remembers which trip your family still talks about, the waiter who brings the right coffee without a word. But what happens when that knowledge lives in one person’s head?

As AI gives businesses the ability to capture and recall more than ever before, this discussion asks what is actually worth remembering. Matthew Lo and Alex Liu explore how businesses can preserve what matters across teams, properties and generations without reducing relationships to data points — and where the line should sit between what technology remembers and what must remain distinctly human.

THE PROVOCATION

What should your business remember for a client to feel genuinely known?

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF

You want to build deeper client relationships, preserve valuable knowledge across your business and understand what should be remembered — and what should always remain human.

SPEAKER BIO

Matthew Lo is Founder and CEO of Advant Labs, helping hospitality businesses use strategy, data and AI to strengthen relationships and make better decisions. Over more than 20 years, he has worked across financial services, hospitality and technology, including helping grow a hospitality technology business from three to more than 500 hotel clients. His work explores how businesses can grow without losing their memory, judgement or humanity.

Alex Liu is Founder and CTO of Advant Labs, where he builds AI and data solutions designed to help businesses make better decisions. Based in Hong Kong, he brings 20 years of experience across data science and finance, including as Quantitative Trading Director at Qube Research and Technologies and Co-Founder and CIO of Blue Block Technologies. His work focuses on translating complex data into practical tools that respond to real client and business needs.

The Culture Forecast: Discussion

SESSION DESCRIPTION

Building on her opening keynote, Carla Buzasi, CEO of WGSN, takes the conversation from cultural foresight to practical application. As shifting consumer behaviours redefine how luxury brands earn relevance, this interactive follow-up will explore what tomorrow’s cultural signals mean for your business. Workshop your brand’s cultural archetype, discover how to leverage emerging culture codes and explore how ambient placemaking can help you connect with the next generation of ultra-high-net-worth travellers.

THE PROVOCATION

Are you culturally relevant today? Will you be culturally relevant tomorrow?

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF…

You want to turn the insights from Carla’s keynote into practical ideas for keeping your brand relevant, distinctive and desirable.

SPEAKER BIO

Carla Buzasi is CEO of WGSN, the world’s leading trend forecasting company. She leads a global team delivering insight, data analysis and consultancy services that help brands anticipate what’s next. Under her leadership, WGSN has expanded into sectors including hospitality, luxury and travel. A sought-after commentator and a regular keynote speaker at events, including SXSW, Cannes Lions and Web Summit, and the podcast host of Lives of Tomorrow. Carla helps business leaders navigate change and prepare for the future with confidence.

The Story Worth Telling: How do you become discoverable to the right people?

SESSION DESCRIPTION 

What makes a property or experience worth writing about—and how do you get that story in front of the right people? Journalists Selina Denman and Flora Stubbs join moderator Brooke Berlin for an informal conversation about how independent travel brands can uncover and share their strongest stories. Together, we’ll explore what catches a journalist’s attention, common pitching mistakes and how best to approach the media. Bring your questions and story ideas, and leave with a clearer sense of your strongest angle and next step.

THE PROVOCATION

What if your most compelling story is the one you’ve overlooked?

THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU IF

You want to spot the stories within your business, understand what journalists are looking for and build recognition with the audiences that matter to you.

SPEAKER BIO

Selina Denman has spent nearly 25 years writing about travel and luxury. Born and raised in Cyprus, she joined Condé Nast to launch the Middle East edition of Condé Nast Traveller in 2023, headquartered in Dubai. Prior to that, she spent 12 years as part of the features department at The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi.

Flora Stubbs is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor who has worked at titles including Condé Nast Traveller, Vogue and Travel + Leisure. She now contributes to titles ranging from The New York Times and The Financial Times to YOLO Journal and Air Mail.

Brooke Berlin is Founder of Karoo Consulting, promoting low-footprint, high-impact luxury travel to Africa and supporting conservation and community non-profits. She brings 20 years of experience exploring the continent, having visited 26 countries, alongside a background in journalism and travel marketing. Her work champions family-owned, socially responsible properties and celebrates Africa’s wildlife, cultures and contemporary creative communities. She is also Director of Sales and Marketing for Ol Jogi in Kenya.