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Defining Hospitality

Defining Hospitality

Dan Ryan

Welcome to Defining Hospitality, the podcast focused on highlighting the most influential figures in the hospitality industry. In each episode we provide 1 on 1, in depth interviews with experts in the industry to learn what hospitality means to them. We feature expert advice on working in the industry, behind the scenes looks at some of your favorite brands, and in depth explorations of unique hospitality projects. Defining Hospitality is hosted by Founder and CEO of Agency 967, Dan Ryan. With over 30 years of experience in hospitality, Dan brings his expertise and passion to each episode as he delves into the latest trends and challenges facing the industry. Episodes are released every week on Wednesday mornings. To listen to episodes, visit https://www.defininghospitality.live/ or subscribe to Defining Hospitality wherever you get your podcasts.
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Top 10 Defining Hospitality Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Defining Hospitality episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Defining Hospitality for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Defining Hospitality episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Defining Hospitality - A Year of Memories - Dan Ryan - Episode # 068
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08/31/22 • 18 min

It’s a big celebration for Defining Hospitality! We celebrate a year of podcasting with some of Dan’s most popular guests. Throughout the past year, we have heard many great stories and learned so much about what hospitality means to those who work in this beautiful industry. Listen in as Dan guides us through some of his favorite clips and conversations for this week.

Takeaways:

  • Even though there are devastating moments, there are silver linings that lead to greater opportunities. Use the difficult times as your inspiration to push forward.
  • There is a shift in how to interact with design from the perspective of hotels. You have to keep in mind who you are designing for and create memorable experiences.
  • The true reason hospitality exists is to bring people closer together. It helps to strengthen the common bond between people.
  • Every project you work on will be narrative driven and it should reflect the values of the community the project is in.
  • Providing a welcoming environment and a certain level of service in a hotel is something that can never be replaced by a robot or an Airbnb.
  • Part of hospitality is how you make people feel. You want each and every guest to leave with the best experience they have ever had.
  • Hospitality is like a gathering spot for everyone to come together and find out how close we all are to each other.

Quote of the Show:

"I walk away from each conversation completely energized. And I think that also taps into what makes our industry so special to really put others first we must excel at openhearted listening"

Links:

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Defining Hospitality is produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/

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What makes you feel most at home? Is it some comfy furniture, a familiar scene, or is it something far deeper?

Mikey Dobin, President of Valley Forge Fabrics stops by to share his perspective and swap stories with his lifelong best friend, Dan Ryan. Listen to the episode for more laughs & poignant insights into the hospitality industry like the ones below!

Takeaways:

  • “Hospitality is a place where I feel like it's home away from home.” - Mikey Dobin
  • What makes a hotel feel like home is a good environment mixed with social aspects. Places where you can joke with the front desk clerks, or have a good conversation with employees there. Rigorous processes can get in the way sometimes.
  • The best way to engage with people is to listen. People want to be heard. In Mikey’s experience, getting down to real human connection immediately gets people to open up to him faster.
  • Culture is more important than a good strategy, but culture is more than a buzzword & a ping pong table. Culture is how you work, how you interact when you work, how you interact when you’re having fun.
  • “I feel like I never really knew how to run a business until the pandemic” - Mikey Dobin
  • There is a measurable ROI when putting your people first, because it translates to the client that the company takes care of its employees. Your output from investing in culture is a better quality of service.
  • The pandemic has magnified large divides not just economically, but in terms of safety & comfort. It has also shown just how resilient humankind can be.

Quote of the Show:

  • “You could definitely feel the difference in a hotel that's going to be your part of a transaction versus a hotel that is a little bit more owned by someone with a little bit more passion for the business.” - Mikey
  • 2021 is going to be the Year of Hugs #YOH

Links:

Shout Outs -

31:36 - The W Hotel in San Francisco

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When you design your space, are you thinking about the next generation? In this week’s episode, Dan Ryan is joined by Glen Coben, President of Glen & Company, and his daughter Maya Coben of Rialto Capital for our first ever double guest episode! Listen in as they share their combined, multi-generational perspective on the future of hospitality, nurturing growth, developing intuition, and more great insights!

Check out some takeaways from this episode below:

  • Hospitality is about creating a community. We can build community by having empathy and listening to others, and pivoting to whatever the guest needs to feel like they’re most important.
  • Work for the people instead of yourself. Identify the unique aspects of your client’s vision by approaching them with empathy and understanding.
  • When you design a space, it’s not just for the current generation. You’re designing for the next generation as well. “The best way to stay relevant is to make sure that your 12-year-old child is teaching you” - Glen Coben
  • Nurture growth within your own company by giving people opportunities to learn and develop. The mutual desire for success can lead to more than just satisfied clients.
  • Negative feedback can be an opportunity to delight a client on the next revision, but success doesn’t have to be based on fear and intimidation. Hospitality and empathy drive successful students and future industry leaders.
  • Glen’s most important question when taking on new clients; Who is going to be making the decisions? The best answers to that question are the honest answers. If the whole family is going to review and approve a presentation, they should be in the room so they have all the information.
  • Intuition is built not just by listening and learning, but by asking questions. Be a sponge.
  • Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know the answer.” Asking for more information is a sign of strength, not weakness. Be okay with feeling that nervous energy, because it’s a sign that growth is coming!
  • One positive change from the pandemic: taking non local projects becomes easier. Collaboration tools will always be better in person, but our ability to adapt to remote working enables us to think more globally about new opportunities.

Quote of the Show:

22:46 - You remember those days when we were talking about “how do you design for the millennial?” That bothered me because the millennial is going to no longer want that cool hip thing. So we have to figure out a way to strike a balance through our design skills, that there are Instagram moments, there is technology, but there's also, we're designing across a broader spectrum. - Glen Coben

53:07 - I think that asking questions is the most important thing. And whenever I ask at the end of an interview, or just any conversation I have with anyone, a mentor, a friend, what advice do you have for me? Ask questions, be a sponge. Those are the two main things that I've heard time and time again. How can you learn as much as humanly possible in your career and through each experience that you're a part of? - Maya Coben

Links: Guest’s info

Shout Outs:

4:20 - Danney Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group - “Hospitality is a Team Sport”

7:19 - Stacey Shoemaker’s HD Summit

8:50 - The Architect’s Cookbook, Max & The Magic Mushroom

10:10 - Grey Kunz

11:53 - The French Laundry

16:13 - Gabriel Kreuther

35:36 - William Grimes of the New York Times, Moda

59:59 - Nervous Energy by Dr. Chloe Carmichael

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How do you handle unhappy clients?

Christian Giordano, President and co-owner of Mancini Duffy, approaches any situation by thinking about what he can do to improve it. He joins Dan Ryan to talk about #architecture, #hospitality, & more in this week’s episode. Check it out now!

Check out some takeaways from this episode below:

  • Christian’s show, The Anti-Architect Podcast, originated with his unique perspective on the architecture industry, and figuring out how to listen, understand, and connect with his clients. Whether you’re a black cape architect or a junior designer at a corporate firm. The best thing you can do is listen.
  • Hospitality comes from incredible service and listening. From those two points, we can begin to anticipate customer needs and implement them into how we impact their experience.
  • Giving clients more information up front can help facilitate decision making, especially since budget plays a critical factor. For example, Christian’s team shows different sized dollar signs ($) in early designs and discussions to give them a visual cue into their options. The reactions and conversations that come out of it can inform new and better ideas.
  • Building & maintaining culture during a pandemic is challenging, but Christian’s firm weathered it by having open, agendaless Zoom calls twice a week and being flexible with how people work. Giving everyone an opportunity to contribute, regardless of seniority or experience leads to better ideas and a more engaged workforce.
  • It’s not our place to tell clients they’re wrong, it’s our place to come to them with a different solution.
  • Companies don’t have to follow their industry trends for workspaces anymore. Instead, they should focus on planning a space that works for them and their business’ specific needs.
  • Christian’s advice to his younger self: Enjoy the journey, and don’t be so stressed out along the way.

Quote of the Show:

32:36 - We have to respond to them a certain way. We always have to be positive. Right. You never want to tell a client? "No, you're wrong. No, that's ridiculous." I mean, as many times as you, you may want to, that's not really our place. I always found our place to be: we have to come back with a solution. If they're not happy or they don't think this is correct. Well then it's, it's not on them. It's on us to find the right solution. And most of the time I will say we do.

I think I take that approach on a lot of things is, "Well, maybe it's me." And I think if you take that approach, "Well, it's not them. So what am I doing wrong? How can I make this situation better?" Because think about it, if you're in a situation and someone is beating up on you the entire time, you kind of lose interest in it and it's no fun anymore.

So that level of trying to figure out what is it that I can do to improve the situation? Always helps in that. And I think our clients appreciate that. You know, we don't say, "you're wrong or no, that's impossible. No that won't fit over there. Don't you understand scale?" You know? We will say, "No, let us take a look at it, and give you some options." And usually that works. - Christian Giordano

Links:

Shout Outs:

1:40 - Carrie & Lauren of Brand Groupies

6:20 - Gensler

9:43 - Isadore Sharp & the Four Seasons service model

19:15 - The Arlo Hotel in NYC

27:45 - Mancini Duffy Lux

30:00 - Mark Green

41:40 - UCLA’s faculty Frank Gary & Thom Mayne

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The hospitality industry has roots in all sorts of other lines of work, even in journalism.

Dan is joined by the author of the Moon Boston Travel guide and world traveler, Cameron Sperance! Cameron is also a hospitality beat reporter at Skift. Listen to this week’s episode as he shares #hospitality insights with Dan Ryan today!

Takeaways:

  • Hospitality boils down to providing that home away from home experience. It’s all about providing caring service with a smile and making a pleasant stay for the guests.
  • You can tell if people are being treated well at the hotel they work at by the way they treat their guests, and a positive attitude creates a better experience.
  • In Cameron’s experience reporting about hospitality, you have to build genuine connections with people.
  • During the pandemic, many industries have tried to replicate how the hospitality industry makes their guests feel, showing that hospitality has its roots in many industries.
  • The concept of doing some self isolation and meditation has taken off in recent years, and it’s a great way to recharge with a busy life.
  • There is a lot of tension around who will stick in the hospitality industry in terms of the labor level employees, the ones who work long hours and demanding schedules.
  • A struggle some hotels face is finding the balance between being exclusive while also being fair to your clients and guests.

Quote of the Show:

28:33 “There was always a hospitality element to how we work that I think that's why it made it so successful and popular, pre pandemic.

And I mean, it just kind of runs the gamut. There's so many different, Industries out there that are trying to get a little bit more hospitable that I think this has been a wake-up call of just like how the tentacles of hospitality span out into so many different industries.”

Links:

Shout Outs:

2:41 Boston Bureau

2:51 Ghelfi and Laura Posa

3:04 Skift

4:16 Alice conference

8:01 Daily Planet from Superman

8:01 J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man

8:41 Boston Herald

11:14 Wall Street Journal

11:15 The Real Deal

11:16 The New York Times

12:01 Boston University School of Hospitality

12:02 Pinnacle Advisory

17:20 Hilton

17:21 Marriott

21:18 Soho House

21:19 Rosewood in Hong Kong

32:54 Walden Pond

33:04 Henry David Thoreau

32:20 Parker Torres

35:39 The Lorraine Motel

37:06 Dubrovnik, Croatia

37:30 Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones

41:46 Russian River

52:16 SoulCycle

52:22 Equinox

56:46 Michael Lastoria

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Dr. Chloe Carmichael is a world renowned psychologist, entrepreneur, and public speaker. She is also the author of “Nervous Energy - Harness the Power of Your Anxiety”, teaching people how to manage their anxiety. She’s here to give a unique perspective on the overlap between hospitality and psychology. Listen to this week’s episode as she shares #hospitality insights with Dan Ryan today!

Takeaways:

  • There is an overlap when it comes to hospitality and psychology. There is a level of empathy that needs to be reached in each one.
  • Reflective listening is when you are hearing someone talk to you but then you're able to feed it back to them in a concise manner.
  • There is a healthy function to anxiety, so it’s not healthy to want to get rid of it. The best way is to manage it and focus it in a constructive way.
  • Mental Shortlist Technique is when you are hyper focused on something coming up, so to make sure you don’t lose focus of everything else you make a short list of other things to keep you focused.
  • Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. It can be nerve wracking but in the long run it will be extremely beneficial and rewarding.
  • Taking care of yourself mentally is extremely important. Often we get so busy in our daily lives that we don’t take time to focus, breathe, and relax and ease our busy minds.

Quote of the Show:

2:10 “When I even saw the title of your podcast, Defining hospitality, I got really curious about the etymology or the Greek roots of that word. So I was just looking it up and noticing that the Greek word in ‘hospa’ is going to be traced to caring for people. Not only as a host, but that it also pertains as a guest. And I thought it was interesting to see it was the same route that we applied to hospital.

So I personally have almost had that emergency room feeling like, get me to a fine dining experience or a great hotel. I need that, my soul needs to be taken care of. Because actually also in psychology, the Greek word, ‘psyche’ traces to spirit. So I do think that there's so much overlap with psychology and hospitality, that level of empathy that we need to bring to people.

Links:

Shout Outs:

0:14 Deepak Chopra

0:57 Entrepreneur Organization

20:26 Zone of Control technique

33:42 Baker McKenzie law firm

34:15 Corporate Counseling Associates

36:42 Flatiron District

50:31 YPO event

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Defining Hospitality - The Hospitality Gene - Harsha L’Acqua - Episode # 027
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12/01/21 • 62 min

Harsha L’Acqua, Founder of Saira Hospitality, wants others to develop the “hospitality gene” for others. She has created a unique business to help students interested in hospitality find their way to the industry through what she refers to as pop up hospitality schools. Harsha shares with host Dan Ryan how to grow and develop this hospitality gene and her take on defining hospitality.

Takeaways:

  • When we first make hotels, walls are the first thing that are put up. To the community it comes off as that it is a boundary they aren’t allowed to enter, but they should feel welcomed by these additions to their areas.
  • Hospitality is more a gene that people have. It is based on empathy and the ability to understand the needs and feelings of others.
  • Not everyone has the ability to make others feel comfortable. It’s a skill that can’t be taught, some are just born with it. You can hone that skill to better serve your guests.
  • Hospitality now has a need to hire anyone and everyone, and that includes giving chances to those who were formerly incarcerated. Everyone deserves a second chance.
  • It’s important to take a minute and listen to those around you. You don’t always need to have an answer, just knowing that someone is being heard is enough.
  • Harsha’s advice to others is to be more open minded. Listen to those around you and be open to new experiences and journeys.

Quote of the Show:

7:36 ​​”It isn't a universal thing to make people feel comfortable. And we talk about what we're calling the hospitality gene, and we teach that in week two. The hospitality gene is more of a mentality that we believe people have that's based on empathy and the ability to understand not only the needs of other people, but the feelings of other people. And so hospitality itself is very much along those lines. To me it's not the hotel. It's not, unfortunately, the design to me, it's the feeling they can be met if you look at the hierarchy of needs. And you're like, okay, great. I've got shelter, I've got food, I've got water. I'm good. Or they could be met hopefully in kind of true hospitality to another level where your needs are being exceeded, needs that you didn't even know that needed to be met, are being met.

But the beauty of that in terms of hospitality is that once there's, those needs to whatever level. And I think that really goes along the spectrum of luxury to kind of entry-level hotels. But once they're met, that leaves this space for the guest to then be able to feel, to come back to who they are as people.”

Links:

Shout Outs:

1:51 Rosewood

1:52 Four Seasons

1:52 Virgin

4:03 ACE Hotel

4:06 Home

10:26 Kevin Austerhouse

10:47 Soho House, London

12:40 Six Senses

24:53 Chris Voss

31:48 Coss Marte

32:20 Saks Fifth Avenue

32:44 CONBODY

38:13 Andre Balazs

38:15 William Beaver House

40:27 “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

45:13 ASG

49:14 Citibank

56:59 Mother Teresa

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Today’s guest started her career in hospitality in a very unusual place; McDonald’s! She focused on how architecture and design could connect with the customers at the restaurant. Now, Sarah Klymson is the Vice President of Product Brand Development at Hyatt Hotels. She joins host Dan Ryan to discuss her journey through #hospitality and how she views the industry.

Takeaways:

  • You can use architecture to create a warm and inviting feeling for guests when they come across a hotel or restaurant. The same can be done for design.
  • Hospitality isn’t just about providing a great service, it’s also about inspiring your guests so that they take that inspiration with them when they leave.
  • It’s important to remain authentic and genuine in the hospitality industry. Staying with what makes your brand stand out is always important to keep.
  • Your hotel or restaurant should be more than just a destination. You want to bring something that no one else can bring to the table.
  • Being present in the moment is a beautiful feeling. It’s important to take time to be away from all the technology and just relax.
  • Being intentional is the ultimate form of mindfulness.
  • It’s important to be aware of the things in your life that upset you and try to find a way to overcome those things and better yourself as a person.
  • You can create a beautiful space, but the key point is making sure the experience itself is something that can change someone’s life for the better.

Quote of the Show:

9:09 “One of the biggest things that I actually was reminded of this week when I traveled is how important inspiration is in a hospitality experience. Inspiring people and creating experiences for them that they will take into their lives. That's what hospitality is about. It's not just about caring for people and creating a wonderful experience when they're there, but it's also inspiring them, getting them to think about things in a different way.

When they go back into their normal lives, they take that sense of inspiration and hopefully it bleeds into other areas of their lives. I think that's really what's at the core. And I think that's why people are so passionate about this industry is because it inspires them. The sense of passion can come out and what we create either through design or the experiences that we create on property.”

Links:

Shout Outs:

1:44 McDonald’s

10:29: Miraval

14:46 Mark Hoplamazian

39:57 Hoffman Process

46:50 Jerry Seinfeld

54:05: Rookie Smarts

56:57 Vasu Dora

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Defining Hospitality - Going to California  - Avi Brosh - Episode # 038
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01/26/22 • 69 min

Avi Brosh is the CEO and Founder of Palisociety. At his core, he is a modern day inn keeper. He’s been involved in real estate and hospitality for over 30 years. He joins host Dan Ryan to talk about his #hospitality journey all the way from a small school in New Jersey all the way to Malibu, California.

Takeaways:

  • It’s better to get up earlier and accomplish some goals earlier in the day. It’s a good way to work and sets you apart from others.
  • Hotels should be able to tell a story about their place. It can make the stay at the hotel feel more like a home and you feel connected with it.
  • You want to manufacture an environment that doesn’t actually feel manufactured. The environment should feel like it is inviting and it all feels natural.
  • It’s not easy to create something that makes you feel a certain type of way. It can be a difficult process but it is rewarding in the end.
  • Every kind of hospitality is different. Once you find your style of hospitality, it needs to be something that you can do repeatedly and consistently.
  • You need to have an uncompromising vision. Once you have an idea in your head, go for it and make that dream a reality.
  • If you are going through a tough spot, you have to keep going. You need to keep believing in yourself and keep going.

Quote of the Show:

36:31 “I'm very particular at our hotels and restaurants and what have you that It's a certain kind of hospitality, which is not the same hospitality you would get at a four seasons in Paris. It's different then the motel six off a highway in Cincinnati. You have to decide what it is that you want to deliver in terms of the style of hospitality you want to deliver.”

Links:

Shout Outs:

3:31 Saddle River Country Day School

3:35 Joe Auginello

6:44 “Howard’s End” by E.M Forster

7:34 Boston University

12:17 Misha Bedner

12:39 Michael Bedner

24:42 Ian Schrager

24:43 Philippe Starck

25:22 Mondrian Los Angeles

26:15 Royalton

28:30 Keith McNally

39:43 Aman Tokyo

47:59 Ritz-Carlton

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What do you remember most about a hotel experience? For some, it may be the furnishings or fabulous architecture. But for Bashar Wali, Founder & CEO of Practice Hospitality and This Assembly, it’s about the moments of real human interaction and connection that matter most.

In this episode, Bashar Wali joins Dan Ryan to talk about what hospitality means to him, ways we can improve diversity throughout the industry, & the future of hospitality. Check out some takeaways from this episode below:

  • “Fundamentally the difference between the service industry, which is what you deliver, versus the hospitality industry is the following: hospitality is how you make people feel.”
  • Authenticity is more than just having an unapologetic point of view, it comes from a place of being yourself.
  • Hospitality is not just about luxury, it comes from believing that you are there to make someone’s life better for more than just one moment in time.
  • The new definition of luxury is ultra personalization. Understand the wants and needs of the customer, and utilize available technology to serve those needs.
  • You can’t train on culture & community, but you can build it by showing your employees that they treated as more than just part of the team
  • Don’t treat guests differently based on market segment or source of business - treat them as an opportunity to win over a new customer.
  • Diversity in hospitality is one sided - while the lowest levels have tremendous diversity, leadership has far less. To improve this, we can do a better job of encouraging & creating opportunities for underrepresented groups. It’s a lot more than just talk, and it can take generations to fix.
  • The future of hospitality is in sustainability & utilizing big data to optimize human experiences. As our society breaks down binary barriers, hospitality has an opportunity to be at the center of it all.
  • Don’t think of technology as cutting on cost, but to remove friction from human interactions
  • Every new customer, every new person you talk to, is an opportunity to see the world through their eyes & understand their wants and needs.
  • “Never turn down a meeting, because you’ll never know what you will learn.” - Bashar

Quote of the Show:

“People ask me why I got into this business. Where I grew up, there's a saying that goes, ‘When a stranger shows up at your door, feed him for three days before you ask him who he is, where he's from, where he's going to. Because by then, he'll either be strong enough to tell you, or you'll be such good friends it won't matter.’ That is hospitality.” ~ Bashar Wali

Links:

Shout Outs:

10:24 - The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

11:36 - Danny Meyer - Union Square Hospitality Group - “The Hospitality Quotient”

26:09 - Bill Kimpton’s Core Principles

26:38 - Joie de Vivre / Chip Conley

38:27 - Damon Lawerence, Homage Suite

41:03 - Independent Lodging Congress

51:32 - MaidBots

55:39 - Simon Sinek, Start With Why

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FAQ

How many episodes does Defining Hospitality have?

Defining Hospitality currently has 176 episodes available.

What topics does Defining Hospitality cover?

The podcast is about Hospitality, Hotel, Design, Podcasts, Interior Design, Arts and Hospitality Industry.

What is the most popular episode on Defining Hospitality?

The episode title 'Celebrating 2 Years Of Defining Hospitality - Dan Ryan - Defining Hospitality - Episode # 120' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Defining Hospitality?

The average episode length on Defining Hospitality is 54 minutes.

How often are episodes of Defining Hospitality released?

Episodes of Defining Hospitality are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Defining Hospitality?

The first episode of Defining Hospitality was released on Aug 5, 2021.

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