Throughout my career as a travel journalist and consumer advocate, I’ve been known for upholding the highest standard of honesty and transparency. Now that I have my own website, I want you to know how I work, how my Trusted Travel Experts work, and the steps I’m taking to ensure that all the recommendations you read here are the best possible. That’s why I’m hosting the first Wendy Perrin Global Travel Summit next week in New York City.

At this two-day conference, I’ll be getting together with the Trusted Travel Experts from my WOW List to share information on what today’s sophisticated travelers want and how to give it to them. This summit is one of the ways I ensure that every TTE on my WOW List is living up to your standards.

Maybe you’ve seen The WOW List and wondered how I came up with it. Maybe you assume it’s just like any other “best of” list. Or that I am some kind of travel agent recommending my friends. Or maybe you figured that any travel agent could pay their way onto that list.

If you thought any of those things, you’re dead wrong.

My WOW List is unique and independent. I’m not a travel agent—I’m a journalist—and no one can pay to be included. The trip planners who make the cut each year have gone through rigorous testing—often by me, and always by hundreds of travelers who have sent me their feedback. (You can read reviews of every TTE on the website, and if you’ve traveled with one yourself, I encourage you to share your own review.) I have known—and monitored—most of the TTEs on my list for more than a decade: I know the kinds of trips they plan, their level of taste, what they do best, and their occasional foibles. I know everything about them from their business models to the names of their dogs. I also know that they appreciate what it means to have the Wendy Perrin stamp of approval, and they understand the expectations and trust they need to live up to in order to keep it.

The WP Global Travel Summit is integral to safeguarding that trust. So on January 11 and 12 I’ll gather with my select group of expert travel planners and we will swap ideas, innovations, and best practices about how we can improve your travel experiences in 2016. My team and I will come away with insider destination tips, travel solutions, and trip-planning ideas that we’ll be sharing directly with you. What’s more, the conference is being held at the Dream Downtown hotel in New York City, right across from the beautiful High Line park and historic Chelsea Market, so we’ll be posting insider tips about NYC and one of its coolest hotels too. Stay tuned here at WendyPerrin.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to hear more about what we learn at the WP Global Travel Summit. We can’t wait to find new ways to make your next trips extraordinary!

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.