Did you spot me in the photo above? That’s me hosting a meeting with one of the team at the Yanqi Lake Hotel by Kempinski. And in the background you can see their other property, the gloriously iconic Kempinski Sunrise across the lake. Seriously, seriously impressive.

What a time we have been having over the weekend. I’ve already mentioned the action-packed schedule that the Kempinski team pulled together for us. We’ve been keeping to schedule and our minds are buzzing — absolutely buzzing!

Peter and I are totally certain that we’re going to deliver a phenomenal event when we bring Connections Luxury Asia to Yanqi Island.

I just can’t wait to get back into the UK and start making calls to tell all our buyers and suppliers about this place.

The majesty of the surrounding landscape together with the spared-no-expense detail of the Kempinski resorts really does create the perfect conditions for business networking.

The photo you see above is a great example of the Connections Experiences that we’ve been working so hard to craft. Instead of having suppliers and buyers meet at a table somewhere in a cavernous, concrete exhibition hall, our belief is that better, higher quality relationships are formed when you enhance the environment and the circumstances.

Sitting down to that meeting earlier shown in the photo, I felt completely free from the normal restrictions imposed by standard business culture. I was outside in the fresh air. The seats were comfortable, the panorama simply stunning — and, super-five-star Kempinski level service was available with just a nod to the nearby waiter. That’s what it’s all about for us.

Of course we do like to include activities beyond ‘sitting outside’ (witness my previous Noodle-making post!) but we recognise there’s also a need for relaxed networking too.

Right. I’m now about to go and take to the lake in one of the fabulous looking yachts!