LOS ANGELES—BLLA has announced its collaboration with UCLA Extension in conjunction with this year’s 2016 Annual Leadership Symposium. The three-day conference, to be held at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center in Los Angeles, will feature industry leader speakers alongside hospitality luminaries and education executives. The symposium will also deliver a new hospitality program designed specifically for hotel industry professionals and students interested in the hospitality sphere.
“This pivotal collaboration with UCLA Extension has allowed for BLLA to continue to remain the very best in the field of boutique and lifestyle education. We are able to connect directly with teachers and attendees in a way that will promote learning and growth within the hospitality sphere,” says BLLA founder and CEO Frances Kiradjian. “The venue we have chosen for this year’s symposium is set to open in August and we are proud to be the very first to host a major hospitality conference at the location.”
The strategic relationship with UCLA Extension will allow for executives and students to attend a full extra day of informative learning on Oct. 26 immediately following the Leadership Symposium. The one-day program titled ‘Converting Assets into Boutique Properties’, jointly designed by BLLA and UCLA Extension, will include top-notch educational sessions, presentations and information including hotel concept, designing for a specific community and location, operating standards, sales and marketing, raising capital, the process of conversion and more. Registration for the one-day program will be an add-on item to the BLLA Symposium and may also be purchased separately; participants will earn .6 CEU’s (Continuing Education Units).
Following the event, UCLA Extension in collaboration with BLLA, will create an important new educational program for hospitality executives and professionals in 2017. The collaborative, customized initiative will include a more advanced syllabus for online and on-campus curriculums for both spring and fall 2017.
Plans are also underway to announce a new Board of Advisors for the educational component at the BLLA Symposium. This will include the industry’s top luxury boutique and lifestyle luminaries, professors from several universities and others in the travel and hospitality industries.
