“You’ve spoiled me!” – that’s the best complement you can receive when you’re hosting industry leaders for the second edition of Connections Luxury. The type of client that is used to being attended too – ordinary is just not good enough.

It’s not just that we are proud of what we do but we feel we are making a contribution to the evolution of the industry.

There’s no disrespect to the other industry events but for some, only some, the sense of togetherness is key to everything that they do – lose that and you lose them.

Fundamentally this is what Connections was all about from the outset.We delivered on a theory at the Four Seasons in Hampshire and we are forever thankful to those founding partners who supported us as we thought through the agenda.
Those who returned will have noticed the changes based on the feedback we received.

• One hour experiences were just too long – it almost got too personal when you started discussing the kids – so we reduced the meetings to 45 minutes.
• Lets move away from formal interviews and get the experts involved – that would be the delegates attending of course. Well, the group discussions certainly delivered a lively debate (you could hear the cheers from the lobby!)
• Who needs directories – paperless is the way to go. So that’s exactly what we did and it wasn’t noticed.

Thanks should also go to both the team at the Conrad Algarve, led by the irrepressible Joachim Hartl, who dealt with every crazy demand with a smile and endless patience. And also to Cristina Nugas of Portugal No Limits, who provided the onsite experiences throughout the two days, and especially shone when the wind quite literally blew our event off course on day two! We couldn’t have done it without their support…..

So onto the next programme – we are looking for like-minded people to join us in Abu Dhabi (September) and Beijing (October) – those who want to share their stories with others in the luxury travel market.

If you feel that you have something to say then get in touch. You will not be disappointed.

Peter Conway – Buyer Marketing Manager