Since we sell travel for a living, it only makes sense that we should travel as well in order to understand what our clients experience on their trips. As I’ve said many times before, it is also important to find ways in which to forge strong ties with your preferred suppliers in order to ensure that they provide your luxury clients with the preferred treatment they have come to expect from your agency.

One way to immerse yourself in any given travel product is to participate in its travel agent advisory board. So when those opportunities arise, I jump at them.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to sit on the IHG Luxury & Lifestyle Advisory Board with other travel advisors, where we met at the Kimpton Seafire Resort & Spa on Grand Cayman. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, which brought the boutique concept to the U.S. market, is one of IHG’s 11 brands.

Kimpton properties place a high premium on relaxation and fun—both of which are in high demand with my luxury client base!

During my stay at the Kimpton Seafire Resort & Spa, I was able to spend quality time with key IHG executives, including Yvonne Ruppert-Gordon, who heads up global luxury and lifestyle sales and led some of the presentations.

By participating in the IHG Luxury & Lifestyle Advisory Board, I felt that I could help shape the client experience going forward. That is a powerful feeling—and it illustrates the fact that suppliers do indeed want to hear from us. For all intents and purposes, we are their ears and eyes on the ground. Together, we all get to the place we want to be.

I also spent some quality time with Anneka Greenway, the Grand Cayman property’s spa manager, and she crafted the perfect spa solution for me, which included a deep tissue massage followed by a hydrotherapy facial—treatments that I can now recommend to my clients.

Since my initial stay at the Kimpton Seafire Resort & Spa, I have visited other new Kimpton properties, such as The Journeyman in Milwaukee, which U.S. New & World Report named one of the city’s best hotels.