Over 300 boutique hotel leaders, travel media and industry professionals will gather at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, Santa Monica, for the annual BLLA Leadership Symposium. BLLA is the leading Boutique & Lifestyle Association aimed at connecting independent, upscale hoteliers with fellow industry innovators, discerning travelers and hospitality professionals.
Over the course of three days, more than 70 featured speakers will provide industry insights and highlight upcoming opportunities within the boutique hotel space. Nine presenters, including CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg; Enchantment Group President Mark Grenoble; Commune Hotels + Resorts Executive Vice President of Development Todd Wynn-Parry; and Gettys Vice President Ron Swidler, will lead 12 stimulating and thought-provoking panel discussions and keynotes to address vital topics of tomorrow's boutique and lifestyle segment.
Hoteliers come to BLLA's conference for the content while the main attraction for suppliers is to be directly connected with decision-makers. The dialogs and presentations including such contentious and provocative topics such as the OTA debate (with last week's Expedia/Orbitz merger) and the discussion on AirBnB and the Minimum Wage Act with Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin joining the discussion.
"We created BLLA to bring boutique hotel champions and industry executives together, and we've done just that," commented BLLA Founder and CEO Frances Kiradjian.
Attendees will have a chance to participate in two extreme networking sessions aimed to broker quality relationships within the luxury lifestyle and boutique sector. Also accompanying the event will be two curated workshops, a Gala Awards Dinner and reception. The event is supported by several media partners and sponsors including Microsoft – Global Hospitality Group, Lodging Magazine, Boutique Design, Hotel News Now and Hotel Business Magazine.
