Episode 212 - Laura Fernandez, SiriusXM
In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 6: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine shares a soulful conversation with Laura Fernandez.
Laura Fernandez has played a pivotal role in the audio industry at SiriusXM Media, a media group renowned for providing advertisers with unparalleled access to a dynamic portfolio of audio content. This includes live and exclusive content on SiriusXM, immersive streaming experiences on Pandora and SoundCloud, and a vast array of podcast networks featuring celebrated creators and hosts. As the VP-Head of Industry for Travel at Sirius XM Media, Laura excels in developing media solutions that connect travel brands with their target audiences through these platforms. She expertly aligns SiriusXM's offerings with the needs of travelers, ensuring effective brand engagement. Starting her journey with SiriusXM Media in 2011 as a Sales Executive, Laura was initially tasked with launching the Las Vegas market's advertising sales. Her career swiftly expanded as she built and led new verticals for Casinos, Tourism, and Travel from scratch, harnessing the company’s resources to fuel her entrepreneurial vision. Her deep passion for both music and travel brings an emotional depth to her work, emphasizing the transformative power of audio.
Laura also serves on the boards of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Living in Las Vegas with her husband, two dogs, and two horses, Laura spends her free time competing in show jumping or enjoying trail rides in the desert.
The Transformative Power of Audio Storytelling
The conversation begins with Laura sharing her early travel experiences, which centered around family road trips and outdoor adventures. "For me, with travel, as long as I can get outside, I love to be outside. I want to be one with nature," she reflects. This connection to the outdoors remains central to her travel philosophy today, particularly through her passion for horses – she owns three and often incorporates equestrian activities into her travels.
Her role at Sirius XM is a natural extension of her passion for travel linked arm-in-arm with her passion for audio storytelling.
Christine and Laura focus on the unique potential of podcasting as a powerful medium to connect us, inspire us, and of course, make us laugh (including several mentions of the Smartless podcast featuring Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett!). Laura highlights how podcasting allows for deeper, more meaningful conversations compared to traditional media formats. Citing Conan O'Brien as an example, she notes: "He loves the podcast format because when he was doing the late night show, he would have like, not even five minutes with these guests. With podcasting, you have this long-form content opportunity where he now gets an hour, hour and a half."
The Role of Audio in Travel
Laura shares her insights on how audio accompanies travelers throughout their journey. Drawing from Sirius XM Media's research, Laura shares that audio is integral "from planning a trip to booking a trip to actually going to the destination." She points out that about "80 to 90 percent of people have earbuds in or their headphones on" during air travel, demonstrating how deeply embedded audio is in the travel experience. Check it out next time you’re in the air; we bet she’s right!
Christine and Laura also share the powerful potential and role of audio in cultural connection. Laura highlights how her company's multicultural team, Fluency, helps brands connect with diverse audiences through audio: "If we look at platform medium that transcends across generations and ethnicities, it's music and audio."
Self-Care & Wellness through Active Travel
Vulnerably, Laura opens up about managing autoimmune issues while maintaining an active travel schedule. Her approach emphasizes the importance of wellness in travel: "I'm going to travel, I'm going to do these things, but I'm going to do it differently... I'm very mindful of what I'm eating and drinking, and I make sure I'm sleeping."
Laura’s approach to travel has evolved along with her travel identity. "I had this realization... I'm a solo female traveler. And for business, cause that's who I am. I'm resilient. I'm strong. I know what to do and I'm completely capable of traveling by myself. I never thought of myself as a solo female traveler. I just thought of myself as a business traveler."
As Laura sums up her approach to travel and work: "I'm always making modifications in real-time... my travel and how I travel keeps getting better and better as each day goes on." This adaptability and growth mindset perfectly encapsulate the evolving nature of both the travel industry and the audio landscape she helps shape.
Women Leading Travel and Hospitality
Women Leading Travel and Hospitality is an organization that has been instrumental in Laura’s career development, and she is in good company with the Soul of Travel community! The organization hosts regular events focused on topics impacting the travel industry, with a particular emphasis on leadership advice and team management from a female perspective. "They do round tables throughout the year where they talk about topics that are impacting the travel industry, but also leadership advice, whether it's how to lead a team better or give advice on how to help with retention," Laura explains. The organization's annual summit in Atlanta serves as a crucial networking platform, bringing together representatives from major airlines, accommodation partners, and OTAs. This creates a powerful ecosystem where women leaders can connect, learn, and grow together while shaping the future of the travel industry.
Throughout this soulful conversation, Christine and Laura’s reflections are a compelling reminder of how audio content, particularly podcasting, continues to transform both the way we travel and how we connect with the world around us.
It highlights the unique power of audio to bridge cultures, create intimate connections, and enhance our travel experiences in ways that other mediums simply cannot match.
“My number one priority in life is my health, and then everything backs into that. And how I live my life, is to ensure that I am healthy.”
Soul of Travel Episode 212 At a Glance
In this conversation, Christine and Laura Fernandez discuss:
· The power of podcasting to reach intergenerational audiences
· Creating habits to maintain our health and wellness as we travel
· Women Leading Travel & Hospitality
Join Christine and Laura Fernandez now for this soulful conversation.
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Special gratitude to our partner for this month, Explorer X and their newly launched Hero Travel Fund! If you’ve been dreaming of an extraordinary journey, one that takes you beyond the ordinary and into the heart of new cultures and perspectives, but the financial barriers have been holding you back, then the HTF is for you. Apply by February 28th: https://www.explorer-x.com/hero.
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable Development Goal #17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Resources & Links Mentioned in the Episode
You are going to want to listen to Smartless after this…trust us!
Connect with Laura on your favorite social media network! Instagram / LinkedIn.
Discover your next favorite podcast at Sirius XM. Looking for information on audio advertising? Learn more at Sirius XM Media.
About the Soul Of Travel Podcast
Soul of Travel honors the passion and dedication of people making a positive impact in the tourism industry. In each episode, you’ll hear the stories of women who are industry professionals, seasoned travelers, and community leaders. Our expert guests represent social impact organizations, adventure-based community organizations, travel photography and videography, and entrepreneurs who know that travel is an opportunity for personal awareness and a vehicle for global change.
Join us to become a more educated and intentional traveler as you learn about new destinations, sustainable and regenerative travel, and community-based tourism. Industry professionals and those curious about a career in travel will also find value and purpose in our conversations.
We are thought leaders, action-takers, and heart-centered change-makers who inspire and create community. Join host Christine Winebrenner Irick for these soulful conversations with our global community of travelers exploring the heart, the mind, and the globe.
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Soul of Travel Episode 212 Transcript
Women’s travel, transformational travel, sustainable travel, women leaders in travel, social entrepreneurship
Christine: Welcome to soul of travel podcast. I am your host, Christine, and I'm so excited to be kicking off our new year here with this conversation. You'll be hearing it a little bit later on, but today Laura is joining me here on January 3rd.
So this is a really fun way to start. Um, Laura Fernandez is joining me and, uh, to start, I'm just going to welcome you and let you introduce yourself to our listeners.
Laura: Perfect. Well, happy new year, Christine 2025. It feels pretty good. Feels good. Um, so my name is Laura Fernandez and I live in Los Angeles. Vegas and work remotely for Sirius XM Media. I am their VP, head of industry for travel, and I work on the advertising sales perspective. So Sirius XM Media is the combined advertising sales or for the big audio brands that you may know and love like Sirius XM, Pandora, we also produce.
Uh, over 300 plus original podcasts, like “Conan (O’Brein) Needs a Friend”. We also have exclusive US based ad partnerships with SoundCloud, NBCUniversal. And we actually. Speaking on the podcast side, we had recently, um, about a year ago, did a deal with the podcast Smartless. And we also just did a deal with Unwell Network with, ”Call Her Daddy.”
So I love podcasts. I love audio. I've always been in audio my entire career. Uh, so music podcasts, that is my jam all day long.
Christine: Yeah, I'm so excited to talk to you and it, it's kind of funny because when we first connected, I actually reached out to you with like a wellness hat on and then realized what you do because we, you were, um, just moderating this panel and I loved your energy and I was like, Oh, I am putting her on my podcast wishlist.
And then when we actually connected, I was like, Oh, there's this whole other. aspect to what our conversation will be able to include. So, um, I'm really excited about that because obviously I love podcasting as well and audio.
Laura: Yeah, and I do remember that like I've always been into wellness and and wellness travel specifically. But yes, so I do so many travel focus panels or whether a moderator on the panel. And I think sometimes people forget, Oh, she works for a massive audio entertainment company, but which is amazing because I'm passionate about audio, some music and podcasts, but I'm also very passionate about travel.
So to be able to combine the two is pretty awesome. A
Christine: Yeah, I think so too. And I love seeing that for my guests when you see how these different parts of their journey start to combine. And then all of a sudden they're like, they are the best versions of themselves. So then you all of a sudden see them everywhere and you're like, Oh, they hit that. Spot where they are whole and showing up in that way, which is something we definitely talk about
Laura: lot of LinkedIn, a lot of LinkedIn.
Christine: Yes, I live on LinkedIn. I think I, in my notes, I have it ready to mention a dozen times. So someday LinkedIn needs to be sponsoring my podcast.
Laura: Yes.
Christine: that's, it is, it is powered by LinkedIn.
Laura: it.
Christine: I am manifesting. I'm doing a manifesting as everyone probably is this time of year, like a manifesting exercise.
But, um, well, before we get going and talking about, you know, all the things in your life today, I'd love to understand you as a traveler in your early travels. So would you mind sharing a little bit about kind of how, uh, travel initially shaped itself in your life and how you began to develop that relationship with travel?
Laura: For me. For me growing up, we, we didn't have the funds, uh, to be taking these, like whether it was going to even just Disney world or these elaborate trips. I always felt like my friends were going on summer vacations or winter vacations. We just didn't have the funds to do that. And, but the way that I traveled was actually through.
Uh, charity organizations, and my family got me involved with Habitat for Humanity very early on. Uh, I was also very heavily involved with my church youth group, and we would go on these trips every single summer. Now, going back to, you still had to pay for this trip. Um, but I remember doing car washes and big sales just to get the money.
And I mean, I will tell you, Christine, I started working at 12 years old, uh, just to be able to have funds to do these summer charity, massive charity trips. And that was my first real experience with. With travel, I mean, we would get in a van, um, or a big bus and we would, I live, uh, grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
It's about 45 minutes north of Philly and an hour south of New York City. So we would get in these big buses and we would go to like South Dakota. We would go to Savannah, Georgia. We would go to Portland, Maine, and we would spend about two weeks, whether Building houses or building, um, community centers.
And I was my, that was travel for me is to completely immerse myself in the local community, but then also give back. I think that was. rewarding piece of my, how I grew up because I love to travel. I loved getting on the bus. I loved stopping at rest stops. I loved exploring all these like small destinations, but immersing myself in the community and getting to know the people in that community truly was so impactful.
And then just the work alone, if you've ever. Experience being a part of Habitat for Humanity. It just, it's such an incredible organization and to actually build something and then go back home. And you felt so accomplished. So it's interesting because I didn't do a whole lot of, I would say. Leisure or if any leisure travel growing up.
And even today, I mean, my majority of my travel is business focused, so I've always traveled with, uh, whether it's a work ethic in mind. I think that's just who I am. But I've always had that work ethic mentality with travel.
Christine: Yeah. I think that's really interesting too, to talk about it. Cause I do think that some people, Maybe, sounds kind of weird, but miss that they're traveling because it's a part of going somewhere to do something, you know, if it's work or, you know, meetings or even traveling to meet family. We sometimes disconnect those experiences from the idea of traveling.
And even as you were saying that, I was thinking, um, similarly in my life, like, that's It's what my early travels or non travels looked like. And summer camp was my big thing. And I remember how hard I had to work to be able to go. And my goal was always to go for three weeks. And so my parents are like, we've got one week, but if you want to go more than that, you have to earn your way.
And so same. I was. Started working young and then I would work, usually I could earn enough to pay for one, uh, my second week and then my third week while I was there, I had to wash dishes and that's how I got to be there
Laura: Oh,
Christine: Um, which actually was so fun 'cause one of someone who ended up being like a, a great friend all through that experience and then into high school and college, like we were always the dishwasher kids,
And um, and I learned so much through that. But, but just as you were talking, I was like, wow, that really was a powerful. Travel experience, and it also, I think, probably formed The idea of community for me because that's a huge part of travel for me, and then also just connection and being immersed in nature and It was so much about the experience over where I was it was about like what was happening And I think even today I as long as I find community and connection It doesn't matter as much where I am because that's what's important to me So I think it's, it's always fun to kind of go back and look at those early experiences because I think they do really inform what we're doing when we travel today.
Laura: yeah. I, I'm right there with you and. You brought up a good point about the outdoor and the nature and these were the best memories. Like I go back to traveling to Sioux Falls, South Dakota or Savannah, Georgia. I mean, it's the landscape and for me with travel, as long as I can, I love to get outside. I love being outside.
I want to be one with nature. I am, um, my other passion is horses and I'm always, I love horses and I have three and I want to ride and I want to be outside. And so for, for me, for travel, it's like I just growing up, I needed to get outside and I needed to do things outside and to be able to be a part of those communities and build and do cool things like that, I needed it.
Christine: Yeah, I love that you mentioned horses and I'm sure they'll come up again, but that's
Laura: They always come up with me.
Christine: Yeah, uh, that finds its way into my travel too, like, in just interesting ways, and I think I grew up, um, um, in Montana, and my grandparents had a huge cattle ranch, so horses were a huge part of my upbringing.
I loved riding. I don't do it now as often, but When I was young it was huge and I remember my like awkward middle school years and my horses were like my besties
Laura: Yes.
Christine: And I would go out there and be like, you know combing them and petting them and grooming them and chatting with them and I just I felt so at ease and I'll notice when I travel.
I don't know how I find horses, but every once in a while, you know, you're just like Oh, there's a horse and we're we're connecting and I'm finding that same like calmness and it helps to transition or ease. like discomforts of travel because it's such a grounding touchpoint or even I remember one time I was in Dubai and we went to visit this sheikh who had these beautiful Arabian horses and he's like, oh, everyone's afraid of my horses cause they're so huge.
And then here's me over like forehead to forehead with this.
Laura: yes.
Christine: Horse.
Laura: Oh, yeah.
Christine: I was like, Oh, I'll be back in a minute. I just have to commune with this horse.
Laura: I'll tell you. It's funny that they said Arabians, Arabians, I feel like are such small, such a small breed. And so you probably they're like, Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I am. I have warm bloods and they are beast. They are. And I am five two and getting on my warm bloods. But yeah, I I'm right with you. I sometimes some of my trips, Right now are all actually around horse competitions, and that's my leisure travel is going to a horse competition.
I do the show jumping and everything. Um, I'm not the one that's hauling my horses, my trainers, but we haul the horses out, go compete and it's. Stay at an Airbnb and that is my leisure trip for the year is going to a horse competition.
Christine: Yeah, I love that. Um, well I want to, um, get into talking about podcasting and audio. As you mentioned, you also have a podcast talking about horses, Equestrian Podcast.
Laura: I tell you it's always come back to the horses with me.
Christine: Yeah, it's, it's everywhere, and it's also making me laugh. No one, if you're not watching, if you're listening, you have a picture of a, of a cattle, of a cow behind you, and I'm like, oh, I feel like maybe it should be a horse, but there's probably a
Laura: I know I got it at West Elm and I like never switched it out.
Christine: Uh, well, that will be a 2025. mission, maybe. Um, but so I love podcasting so much. And what I wanted to do, we kind of hit on this when we were preparing for this conversation is to dig a little deeper into the value and the power of podcasting from both a consumer standpoint and, you know, building travel brand relationships and advertising relationships, because One of the things I mentioned to you is because this is a newer medium, I guess, sometimes it's hard to convey the unique space that this is.
And it's such a deeply personal and like intimate experience, even though it's this one sided experience. For the listener and, you know, the people having that conversation or hosting the podcast. Um, and I would have to say, like, I'm not really a crime podcast person. I know there's a lot of people that that's what they Think of when it comes to podcasts.
I'm definitely a conversations person and like some of my favorite Podcasts are “Pulling the Thread” by Elise Loehnen. You mentioned Smartless. Oh my gosh That's my road trip podcast Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes and Will Arnett. I'm just like okay girls Put your headphones on mom's listening to smartless Um, and there's a few other that I just really love as well as business podcasts and spiritual podcasts.
And what I love most is that I feel like I'm sitting across the sofa from these people and like I'm invited into this conversation. I'm learning, but again, I'm appreciating this connection and this.
I feel like this is a part of my journey and this story and I'm important in the equation. And I think that is what I love so much, particularly about podcasts. Um, even Audible, like there's something about hearing the story like it feels like it's yours when it's So, I'm going to talk a little bit about this and why.
Why do you think it's so unique or what do you see is the real power of podcasting?
Laura: To your earlier comment of podcasting being a new medium, it was actually one of the first mediums. I mean, you go back way in time where there'd be families sitting around the fireplace and they would have the radio playing. Audio is truly like, Print audio, the start of media and podcasting has definitely had this massive growth over the past couple of years, but I think that with podcasting, why I am so drawn to it, not only from a great way for brands to get their message heard, uh, but also just from a medium because it doesn't interrupt your daily life.
You can, as you said, you get in the car with your family, you listen to Smartless, like you're driving, like you're working out, you're cooking, you're cleaning, it never interrupts your daily life. When you think about social media, you're, you're sitting on your couch, you're watching TV, like you're scrolling, like it's.
It is a part, it doesn't like feel as seamless as audio does. And I always like audios as like such a great compliment to visual media, because you're never going to be watching TV and listening to Smartless at the same time. And. For me, podcast, I've always been in audio, like I've sold advertising on our music, uh, platforms and amazing ways.
Still the top form of audio is music. And, but with podcasting, you have that influencer piece. And the host is an influencer, same as you look at Tik Tok or Instagram, the podcast host is the same kind of built in audience, but it's so amazing because you can have them do these awesome host read ads where they're talking about your brand.
And for me, the reason I, I started my own podcast. Um, I was going to do a travel themed one, um, but I felt like, you know what? I'm going to go the route of, trust me, audio, music, everything, uh, travel are such passion points of mine, but I wanted to do something around horses, um, because horses are such a niche, like very niche audience.
And all these horse equestrian podcasts were doing these like interviews with these big name writers, but there was nothing out there that found the humor in the equestrian world. So it's me and my two girlfriends called the three stride podcast. And we just riff and we talk about the equestrian world.
But again, I wanted to understand. Cause. I work on the advertising sales perspective. So I wanted to understand from start to finish on how like podcasts work. So now when I talk to brands, I understand what the whole process is. And then I also do understand the value for brands to advertise in them.
Christine: Yeah, I love how you were sharing about that and then the idea of the influencer piece. This is something that I recently, like someone said, Oh, you're a travel influencer. And I was like, Oh no, I'm not. And then it came up again. And I was like, wait, why do people keep telling me this? And then I started thinking, I was like, Oh, well, yeah, I actually, I, I want to be an influencer because I'm speaking about.
Travel in a way that I think can heal the world. I want to influence as many people as possible to take part in these conversations or think about travel in a different way. And then when I started thinking about it from that perspective, I was like, okay, how do I shift gears and think about what that means if that's How I want to show up.
And I think that was a first big shift for me. Like, I don't know that people were maybe thinking of it like that. And I don't know if you have heard that from any other podcasters, but you know, that is, it is what we're doing, whether it's what we send it set out to do or not.
Laura: Yeah, I, yes, I do. Podcast hosts know that they are influencers because influencers are merely people and celebrities that are big voices that influence other people and podcast hosts, they know this and one thing, you know, Conan O'Brien, one of, I think one of the best comedians of all time, he loves the podcast format because When he was doing, um, the, the late night show, I'm, um, the late night show, he would have like, not even five minutes with these guests with podcasting.
You have this long form content opportunity where he now gets an hour, hour and a half. With the guests and so you can have these longer, more in depth conversations. And while we live in this world where people's attention spans are so short, I will tell you, they can listen to a whole podcast because you go back to what they're doing when they're listening to podcasts.
I mean, there's no better road trip when you have Smartless playing in the background. Yeah,
Christine: I'm like, okay, Smartless guys, that's enough mentions now. Like I want to talk to you. That's funny. Um, I didn't intend for that all the plugs, but it's happened.
Laura: Yeah. Oh, there.
Christine: I've, I, uh, anyway, we'll digress if we start talking about why I love Smartless. Um, so yeah, I, I think that's really, it's, it's really great to, to create that understanding and kind of talk about the power.
And then, like you said, the, the trust is really important too. And I, I think that's where it's, the influencer piece is so powerful. And like that, the long form connection, like you also said, the hour long. Conversations, which I know when I started my podcast, and I think I first started with doing like 40 to 50 minute episodes, and then pretty quickly I was like, no, we're just gonna take a whole hour, and it's okay if someone maybe has to come back and listen to the other half later, but I want the depth of conversation that comes through.
from that space. And I, then if you flip that, then that is also building that connection with my audience even more. And they can learn from me, they can learn from my guests, which is what I want them to be able to do. And so then you look at the advertiser, then they're, they're connecting with someone who's already put in all of this groundwork.
And so I just, I think. It's brilliant. I don't understand it nearly as well as you do, but I, I just love kind of consuming podcasts and seeing my own behavior and then trying to translate that into it from this side of the microphone.
Laura: Agreed.
Christine: Um, and you also mentioned, you know, that one of the things that's unique about it is that the audio reaches us everywhere.
And I think also it's interesting being in the travel industry is that podcasts are such a part of many people's travel experiences, whether it's road trips or airplanes. Um, do you think that the connection between travel and audio? Um,
Laura: We, uh, we did our own research study. So we have our own panel based study and we asked, um, our audience of when is audio part of the whole travel journey? And it's from start to finish. It's from planning a trip to booking a trip to actually going to the destination, whether it's just having your earbuds in, you're listening to music or you're listening to podcasts or an audio book.
It's a part of the whole journey. Uh, you even think about when you're recapping the trip. I mean, you're not going to post a real on Instagram without having a killer music bed. And it truly is a part from start to finish and all the travel moments. But definitely, I mean, You just as a consumer can go through the airport and take an inventory of how many people have their earbuds in or their headphones on.
I mean, you go and just look through the plane when you're walking up and maybe walk from the front of the plane to the back of the plane. I would bet that around 80 to 90 percent of people have earbuds in or their headphones on. And it truly is a part of the whole travel journey. I mean, but that's audio.
People are spending, I think four hours plus a day with audio. So you add that to the whole travel experience. People are going to be consuming it, not just only on the plane or in the car, but also making those travel decisions. They're going to be listening to it. Um, whether it's on their desktop computer or their Amazon Alexa, like it's a part of the whole travel journey.
Christine: and I think it's really interesting, too, is who is listening to audio, because it's It's not, you know, there's,
Laura: Trans across all generations, all ethnicities, uh, audio is a part of everyone's daily life.
Christine: yeah. I even think like my nine year old, you know, or my daughter that was just in here as we were trying to get the conversation started. I was like, go put some music on with your headphones. Like that's, you know, such a part of our reality. So I think it's so beautiful. Like you said, how seamless it is with our lives.
Um, I was, as I was researching you, I always love to spend time on LinkedIn. Here's our first shout out for LinkedIn. We're moving from Smartless to LinkedIn now. Um, and I saw your post, um, that you shared of Christia Watkins, um, Melendez, and she is working on the multicultural, multicultural traveler series.
And I thought that was so interesting because she was saying, um, that on her LinkedIn post, that Latinos use travel as a means to connect with their heritage and that the audio they consume every day enhances their desire for that cultural connection. And I just thought that was such an interesting way again to think about this unique platform and what it can do for us.
So I'm wondering if you can share about the importance of audio and fostering those types of connections.
Laura: Yeah, that's, um, we have an incredible multicultural team at Sirius XM Media, uh, entitled Fluency. That really helps brands bridge the gap to connect with multicultural audiences. And if we look at. platform medium that transcends across again, when I said generations and ethnicities, it's, it's music and audio.
And just to feel closer to their culture, music plays a big piece into that.
Christine: Yeah. I just, I thought it was so interesting. And when you were sharing that, it reminded me of a time when I was in Bali and I had this, um, great driver I was working with for a few days while I was researching trips for my, for my company, Lotus Sojourns. And, um, we got in the car and he was like, Music, right?
I was like, well, of course and he put on like Pearl Jam and then all this 90s music And he was probably maybe like 10 years younger than me and you know Here I am on the other side of the world and we're both just like Talking about how much we love Pearl Jam and all this stuff and I was like, wow I love how this happens everywhere because I've traveled to other places in this and this Connection of music, especially, I mean, we're fortunate that, you know, people are listening to English speaking and American music everywhere around the world.
And that's how many people even learned the English language. And so, um, I feel like it really bridges. Those gaps when you're traveling.
Laura: yes. It brings communities together. I mean, you go look at all these amazing destinations, even just in the United States, that music is at the center. And I mean, you go to like the state of Texas and music is so different from Dallas to Austin to Houston. And, but it really is, it is the ultimate connector.
Christine: Well we have talked about our deep love of audio and podcasting and I'm sure that we could go on and on, but I want to shift gears and as I mentioned, when we first met you were on a panel on wellness travel. Um, I think is something we both think is really important. And I wanna talk about wellness and travel, but maybe not from the perspective that people might think.
Um, not necessarily in terms of. Um, So I'm going to talk really briefly about, like, retreats or wellness with resorts and spas, but really about uh, What it takes to be in travel and be well, because I think this is something that is a real struggle for people, you know, I, for example, for me, I might be up at 5am to catch a webinar in Indonesia and then, you know, trying to grab a call at 11pm to be on someone else's time zone.
And I know that you travel a lot for your work. Um, yeah. And it takes a lot to create that balance and I know that you also have a real commitment to wellness and work with the National Alliance for Mental Illness and Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. Um, so I wanted to talk to you about why prioritizing health and wellness on the road is important and about how you actually do this because I think it can be super overwhelming with Packed schedules to places that look different every time you get there and routine is a huge part of health and wellness.
So we're going to just jump in here.
Laura: Health is my number one priority in life, my health. And then everything backs into that. And how I live my life is to ensure that I am healthy. I about, um, at 20 years old. So over 22 years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and very severe Crohn's and I was in the hospital. I mean, dropped a tremendous amount of weight and I was in college at this time.
Um, I was working, I mentioned earlier on, um, but I've always been working. So I was working my way through college and I got sick and got diagnosed with Crohn's disease and the doctor, and this is like 2003. So autoimmune conditions weren't as prevalent. I got diagnosed and the doctor that diagnosed me gave me a list of foods.
It was, um, alcohol, spicy food, red meat. And he just gave me dairy, gave me this long list of foods. He goes, I would recommend avoiding all of these foods. And he goes, it all goes back to your gut health. I mean, not to be like TMI, but like you, you want to have a healthy gut, like gut, um, gut balance. And so.
When I, when I got sick, I was in college, I was working my way through school. I didn't have any other choice, but to cut out all those foods and give myself a fighting chance. So I cut out the dairy, the fried food, the greasy food. And can you imagine being 21 years, 21 years old? And I was in Morgantown, West Virginia, WVU.
And, but I made that choice because for me, I needed to work. I needed to support myself and needed to get through college. I wanted to have an incredible career. I just never let, I didn't want to let the Crohn's disease hold me back. I get into my career doing advertising sales and I, I build up, um, the vertical now that I oversee travel and you can't run a travel vertical without traveling.
And definitely my first. Um, couple business trips, I was almost flying by the seat of my pants a little bit. And I, while I wasn't eating poorly, I was eating out a lot. I was, um, just not as mindful of what I was actually consuming. And I got really sick, got put into the hospital and I was like, okay. You know what?
I need to focus on my health. I need to focus on my wellness because this is my career. I travel for my career. I love to travel. I really do. I love business travel. I have such a good flow state when I get into it. But I need to maintain my health. Um, my top priorities when I'm traveling is, um, my sleep to ensure I sleep well.
Cause I do. I, I, I love my sleep and that I continue with my diet and, uh, I have made, um, one thing that I am. So I travel a lot to the East coast and I am, I live almost a permanent East coast time zone. Cause I wake up every day. 4 a. m. and I go to bed at 8 p. m. So it actually makes my life really easy when I'm traveling from West coast to East coast because I'm sleeping till like 7 a.
m. Instead of like some people wake up at six and they'd be waking up at nine. I am really good at almost keeping a very similar sleep schedule. Um, no matter what coast I am now, granted, if I have a trip to Europe, Um, makes it a little bit trickier. My husband says I'm going a little next level by waking up earlier and earlier on the west coast, but maintaining my sleep cycle is really important.
Um, and I do things in the hotel room. Like I bring my own pillowcase. I, um, have a sound machine. I have this incredible, I used to carry this really big sound machine, like a dome, I think it was, I think it's called the dome, but I found this little mini one. So now I can have an extra pair of shoes when I pack.
Uh, but it's a tiny little mini sound machine. I do that. Um, I also, I, with my diet, I get to a destination. I know where the grocery stores are. I know where, um, I love whole foods, uh, and I load up in things that I would eat at home. I really don't alter my diet when I'm on the road. And if it means calling the restaurant ahead of schedule, just to let them know, I don't do dairy.
I don't do fried food, greasy food. Restaurants are so accommodating. I also do a lot of sushi. I love sushi so much, and I know that sits well with my stomach. And I really am also, I'm not a. Big drinker by any means, but that's one thing of the client entertaining. I'm just I have been known this is a secret.
I fake drink all the time. Um, I get, um, some soda water. I tell the waiter ahead of schedule, like, Hey, I'm going to order a Tito's and soda, but I'm just going to drink soda water. These are, these are very basic things, but again, going back to my two prop top priorities when I'm traveling for business, it's keep up my sleep and keep up my diet.
Christine: Yeah. Um, thank you for sharing all that and for sharing those tips. And I think, um, as you were mentioning, you know, has it being eating and drinking, being a part of your job, staying up late, being a part of your job. Like these are things, especially at conferences and events. But even like you said, working just with clients, it, I think you don't realize how much that's a part of those experiences until you are.
Trying to remove those from, from your travel, your business travel. And I, I think it also, it's, um, even harder a lot of times people with travel have this mindset that because travel is usually for a short period of time, it's like, we can just like let go of all of those rules for ourselves, right? Like we can order dessert at every meal or we can stay up late or you can have poolside margaritas or whatever because it's only gonna be for a week.
And Then when your travel shifts and it becomes your work and your normal routine, I definitely see colleagues that I feel like they just pull that with them and they're like doing that 24 7, 365 for 10 years. I'm like, I would be dead now. Literally, figuratively, I don't know. Um, I can't do that. And so I really appreciated having this conversation with you when I did.
Um, over the last year, I have had a lot of issues with migraines and vertigo, and it has really impacted how I can travel, how I feel comfortable traveling, because those two things make travel really uncomfortable. Um, and this year, at the end of the year, I had a series of conferences back to back to back, and normally I would try to, you know, do a carry on, all these things, and I was looking at, I had direct flights to every place I was going, and I was like, you know what?
I'm checking a big bag and I'm throwing in, I went to an event in San Diego. I threw in my yoga mat and an acupressure mat and I used them every day and it made such a huge difference and I knew like that was the beginning of setting myself up for the the circuit of events I had to attend and then brought like my tea and my favorite tea cup and you know these things that normally probably people wouldn't be packing.
Um, And then I told myself, I'm like, we're doing early bedtimes and it's fine. And I have also been a super fake drinker,
Laura: Yeah.
Christine: um, and healthy snacks in my bag, like at the events. And I think, I love having this conversation to normalize this and to make people realize that it's okay to set those boundaries when we travel, because especially when there's all these late night events.
And then people going out after the late night events, like, it, it can feel like a lot of pressure to participate that, to not lose out on a connection. And I think we really need to be more conscious of the reality of people needing to be well while they're on the road.
Laura: I. Don't get me wrong. Like I, I definitely modify some of my daily wellness. Obviously I'm not riding my horses and, or I, I don't have the bandwidth most of the time when I'm traveling like, I love going to Pilates classes. I don't have the bandwidth to do that. Um, I run almost every day. Don't have the bandwidth to do that typically when I'm traveling. So I do make some modifications, but for me, it's like, if I can still maintain the diet and Yes, there are some later nights, but I have no problem, um, wrapping things up early and like leaving the conference a little bit, um, sooner than most people, but I also so much of my work ethic is I will.
Have an amazing dinner with our partners and everything, but I never feel the need to be like, okay I got to stay out to like 3 a. m. With our partners just because we already had like a nice meaningful conversation but I think it's I Maybe I do find While being diagnosed with Crohn's disease was not ideal, especially getting diagnosed so young, I think it really did help me, um, with my whole health and wellness journey, because in my mind, I never had the choice to do anything but this, and I need to maintain my health because I would not be as, um, able to accomplish all the things I am, have been able to accomplish in my career if I wasn't healthy and don't get me wrong.
There's, Oh, there's been some trips though. I would tell you the plane rides that were brutal. I was having a flare up, but it, uh, it does not define me and I'm able to get through it, but I'm also very mindful of what I'm eating and I'm drinking and, and I make sure I'm sleeping.
Christine: Yeah. Yeah. I just, I think it's so important. And I, I just, um, aired an episode in my new, um, my new subscription product that I'm offering called soul travel beyond. That's just been announced, but we, I did an episode on success. And one of the things was, you know, how our wellbeing impacts what we're able to do.
And that we often only talk about wellbeing in the context of like burnout or like the end point and what you've done wrong at that point and not like how to foster it all along the way in order to have a bigger impact and to do the things you really want to do. Like don't let that be the thing that holds you back.
So I, I just think it's so great to invite like earlier conversation. Like you said, your hand was forced, so it was never not an option. Not an option, but I do think a lot of people that's what has to happen before we realize that we need to take our health and well being into consideration in our lives every day.
Laura: I completely agree. And so with me, I'm always like making modifications in real time. Like I never, I noticed I wasn't sleeping as well. So then I was like, you know what, I'm going to bring my own pillowcase, like making constant pivots into like how to make things a little bit better. Because my travel.
And how I travel keeps getting better and better as like each day goes on and every trip goes on is I'm getting more and more familiar whether it's with my surroundings or how to get something really quick and also like technology now like Uber Eats and Postmates like it makes things so much easier.
I actually um In life, I never have done New Year's resolutions. This is like, I never do New Year's resolutions. Cause if I need to make an adjustment or if I need to do something different, I make it in real time. And that's always been my mindset. Like there's some early on, I felt like I could not eat tomatoes.
And then I started getting really sensitive tomatoes. So you make a quick pivot. And as long as I can just keep staying healthy, I'm good to go.
Christine: Yeah, thank you. Um, well I wanted to talk a little bit, I know that you talked about how much work travel you have and then at some point you had this realization and kind of a mindset shift around what you wanted from your, um, Non work or your leisure travel and that you wanted to spend more time riding horses, be more local.
Um, and I think in this is really important in the context, both of well being, um, understanding why you're traveling and what you want out of travel, as well as in the context of sustainability. Because I think if we travel in a way that's more nourishing, we travel less because we don't need all these experiences.
Um, and so I wanted to see if you could share a little bit about that mindset shift and how that has changed what your leisure travel looks like today and how you make those choices.
Laura: Yes. As I, as I mentioned earlier, I'm on the road probably like every other week, um, or three times a month for work, travel for business travel. So when I'm not traveling for work, I do enjoy being home and I enjoy being with the horses. I enjoy going back to my normal routine, but I will tell you, I'm very fortunate because I live in the tourism, one of the tourism Meccas of the world, Las Vegas.
And I am the queen of staycations. Uh, a lot of Las Vegas locals never go down to the strip. I go down to the strip, um, when I'm home two to three times a week. And I love experiencing whether it's a spa at Wynn or going hiking in Red Rock. I am all about really enjoying. Uh, my local community and now I'm very fortunate that I live in Las Vegas.
So I get to experience so many incredible things, but it's the staycation mindset. And I think when you are traveling so much for work, it is good to have that reset where you're at your home base. I'm fortunate. My home base is Las Vegas, so I still get a little bit of a vacation. Um, when I'm going down to win for dinner or going to the cosmopolitan next week is, uh, the consumer electronics show.
So I'll actually be on CES. I'll be on the strip all week long, but it, it did. It's. Cause so a lot of my friends that don't travel for work are going on these amazing, like two week long vacations are doing this, but they also, they're not traveling for work and they also, a lot of them don't have horses.
And for me, my, my passion is the horses. And I mentioned, uh, earlier on the podcast, but I do travel. Um, I do travel with my horse and I think that's where we talk about sports tourism and the massive growth there. It's just a different, it's a different way to travel. Um, I, there is one annual trip I always do with me and my husband.
Um, we go to Jackson hole, Wyoming. And we drive out from Las Vegas to Jackson. It's a 10 hour drive and it's my, one of my favorite trips that we do every single year. When we go there, I'll tell you, we're keeping up with our same routine. Um, the only thing is we occasionally will do a trail ride, but for the most part, I just go for runs and hikes and go to our favorite sushi restaurant.
All things we do, um, in Las Vegas, there's just a little bit more greenery there.
Christine: Yeah. And I think that's so interesting too, is just thinking about, you know, we often feel like we have to just like go big when we travel and we don't realize that we can just still be ourselves wherever we're going. And I think that that's even a different way of re envisioning travel and envisioning the future.
Traveling with wellness is not trying to push every single limit and, and allowing yourself to be who you are. And I would say many of us are our best selves when we travel, so there are actually parts of us that come alive and things we do and ways of being that we don't. aren't as successful as doing in our normal lives.
But I think the converse can be true, too, where we can allow ourselves to just be somewhere and and not expect that all of a sudden now we're like the best salsa dancer and we're vegans and
Laura: Yeah,
Christine: like whatever it is that we have thought we might invent about ourselves on this trip. Like that doesn't have to always be the way we travel.
Laura: I agree. And you know, one thing I had this realization, um, a couple of years ago, cause I was doing a couple of different panels all around the growth of not only wellness travel, but the growth of the solo female traveler. And I had a realization, I go, I'm a solo female traveler. And for business, cause that's, that's who I am.
And it does. It's like, I am resilient. I'm strong. I, I know what to do and I'm completely capable of traveling by myself. I never thought of myself as a solo female traveler. I just thought of myself as a business traveler. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I actually had attended this. Conference, uh, wonderful, uh, with, uh, and I attended that conference and I wanted, it was actually up in Maine.
I think it was my first one that I had attended and I had the Uber driver take me to a lighthouse cause I wanted to see one and I had the Uber driver take a picture of me in front of the lighthouse. And I go, I am a solo traveler. That's it.
Christine: Yeah. I love when we learn these new definitions of who we are. It's like me. I'm like, Oh, I am a travel influencer and you're a solo female
Laura: Yes.
Christine: which are both super obvious. And yet we were like, Oh, wow.
Laura: that's weird.
Christine: Um, and we love wonderful here. It comes up all the time. So thank you, Beth Santos for such a great event.
Um, speaking of organizations, um, I wanted to talk about women leading travel and hospitality. I know that that is a organization that you have spoken about being instrumental in your career. And I haven't talked much about them here on the podcast. Um, I learned about them. I was on their 2023 Game Changers Women Entrepreneurs Disrupting Travel and Hospitality list, which when I saw that, I was like, what, that's the most amazing.
series of words ever to be strung together and they included me. So that was such an honor, um, but I wanted to talk about, um, why that's important as well as bring it to the attention of my listeners who maybe are looking for this type of community.
Laura: Yes. Women Leading Travel and Hospitality is an incredible organization. They do round tables, uh, throughout the year, uh, where they talk about topics that are impacting the travel industry, but also leadership advice, whether it's how to, um, lead a team better or give advice on to how to help with retention, but a lot, all this surrounds with.
Female leaders in the travel industry. And it really is. It's an incredible organization. Uh, they have their annual summit in Atlanta, um, coming up in 2025. Why I like this organization and any, honestly, organizations that serious XM media partners with is because. The connections that I'm able to make with our travel partners.
So we have some of our major airlines, our accommodation partners, our OTAs that are all in attendance. And not only are we learning about the travel industry and what's impacting it, um, From not only just an overarching, um, overview, but also from a marketing perspective and, but women leading travel and hospitality, um, I'm only a couple of years into the partnership, but I love that organization.
They do an incredible conference. They do incredible round tables, and then they have virtual events all through the year.
Christine: Yeah, thank you so much for, for sharing that. Um, okay, so I know we are getting close for time, so we have to jump to our rapid fire ish questions. We'll probably be a little more rapid. Um, but the first question is, what are you reading right now?
Laura: Oh my gosh. Um, let me tell you, I just started. know we're supposed to do rapid fire, but, uh, the God of the Woods, The God of the Woods, Liz Moore. It's actually a summer camp that takes place as a summer camp story. Mystery, uh, takes place in the seventies. Uh, one of the campers goes missing.
Christine: What is always in your suitcase or backpack when you travel?
Laura: machine all day long. My sound machine.
Christine: I'm gonna, you, maybe you can share the link for the little one that you found because I feel like that's something many of us Love. Um, to sojourn is to travel somewhere as if you live there. Where is a place that you would still love to sojourn?
Laura: I would love to go and I've not yet been there. Big Sir.
Christine: Ooh, me too. That's been on my list for a long time.
Laura: right on the West Coast. I need to go.
Christine: Yeah. Uh, you would take the long way to, um, Jackson Hole. The really long way. Um, what do you eat that immediately connects you to a place you've been?
Laura: I'm going to say, uh, sushi. I love sushi. And, um, My husband, I go to the same restaurant in Las Vegas almost every single Friday, other mama. And, um, there's another incredible sushi place in Jackson, but that truly brings me almost the comfort of home. If that is like almost the reverse. And that's why I love going for an Amakase, um, when I'm traveling is it does give me a sense of comfort.
I love sushi.
Christine: Yeah, me too. Uh, Denver has a really great one. I don't know what, next time you're traveling through here, let me know and I'll make sure you, Sushi Den is so good. Um, let's see, who was a person that inspired or encouraged you to set out and travel the world?
Laura: I would say my Aunt Leslie and my Uncle Walt. They are, uh, my Aunt Leslie is my mother's, um, sister, and then her husband, and they travel the world. Uh, they do not have children. They're like my second parents. And they go on three to four like massive trips a year. They're retired now. They just were in Iceland.
Um, I think they're doing Dublin coming up and they really did give me an inspiration to travel.
Christine: If you could take an adventure with one person, fictional or real, alive or past, who would it be?
Laura: I'm going to go with, um, I'm going to bring it back home. I'm going to say Will Arnett. I want
Christine: Oh, man, these guys, okay, they're not letting us alone today.
Laura: to be with anyone that is. funny. I love to laugh. I want someone that's sarcastic and funny and just can keep me, uh, laughing the whole time.
Christine: I would say 14 year old me as much as today me would also love to travel with Jason Bateman because he kills me. So that's hilarious. But this is funny. I don't know what we're telling the universe, but something is happening right now.
Laura: Yep.
Christine: Who is one woman in travel you’d like to celebrate on Soul of Travel Podcast today?
Laura: Amy Martin Ziegenfuss. Um, she's the CMO of Carnival, um, Cruiseline, and she was at Hilton and I. She definitely has inspired me, has helped me get connected. She's actually was the one who connected me to women leading travel and hospitality. And one of my favorite partners that I've worked with, um, very honest, transparent conversation.
Uh, she also, she has not ridden a horse, but way back when she used to ride horses. And, uh, so we just really, we met, um, right before at the beginning of 2020. She was actually on a panel of mine, um, her and Beth Santos actually, uh, about the solo female traveler. And I, we never got to air that because the worldwide pandemic happened, but that was where I first met Amy and it was really cool to see her a year later.
I can't remember what city we were in, but we had. Dinner. I think we were getting some sushi and, but she has been such an inspiration for me, um, and it definitely going through the pandemic, even though I wasn't directly in the travel industry, I sure felt like it and, uh, just my, all my dialogue with her.
Christine: Yeah. Thank you so much for, for sharing so much about, uh, about your connection with her. And thank you for your time talking about podcasting and wellness and Smartless. Like what else could we talk about? This was so good.
Laura: my gosh, Christine, thank you so much for having me really. It was a fun conversation and I'm really happy you're in the podcast space.
Christine: Thank you. I appreciate that.
You can find me on Facebook at Lotus Sojourns on Facebook, or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community, or follow me on Instagram either @lotussojourns or @souloftravelpodcast. Stay up to date by joining the Lotus Sojourns mailing list. I look forward to getting to know you and hopefully hearing your story.
