Los Angeles—This October, the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA) will launch the Stay Boutique Leadership Conference, replacing the association’s annual Leadership Symposium. Designed to congregate the leaders and influencers in the community, the new conference will focus on taking the boutique and lifestyle sector to new heights, dissecting the “new boutique mindset,” and forecasting what’s ahead. Hotel pioneers, lifestyle authorities, and hospitality innovators will gather at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center from October 3 to 5 to educate the boutique community and network with the industry’s most influential players.
Keynoting this year on the ‘influence of luxury’ is CEO Bill Walshe of Viceroy Hotel Group, who joins more than 50 speakers, including representatives from Absolut Elyx, Bang & Olufsen, Nighthawk Breakfast Bar, Ace Hotels, Tenants of the Trees, Runyon Group, and other leaders. The lineup will celebrate all things boutique and lifestyle and dive into topics including millennial powerhouses, redefining the retail landscape, the ‘new’ Hollywood, how to treat influencers, the world of boutique F&B, and more.
“We’re excited to launch the new wave of hospitality conferences at this year’s inaugural Stay Boutique Leadership Conference, tied into the launch of BLLA’s brand-new Stay Boutique platform, the world’s first-ever boutique direct booking platform,” says BLLA Founder and CEO, Frances Kiradjian. “As an association, our vision has always been to disrupt the space and we’re eager to learn what’s next for the world of boutique.”
“We’ve noticed a sort of repetition in the hospitality conference world, hoteliers talking about hotels over and over again. Our industry hasn’t been able to think quite outside the box yet in terms of educational events and BLLA is finally changing that,” says BLLA Vice President, Ariela Kiradjian. “We’re creating an experience to inspire boutique-thinkers through innovative ways. Boutique hotels became extremely popular from their unconventional ways, so why hasn’t the hospitality conference space followed? BLLA isn’t afraid to do what’s different, we thrive because of that.”
“As a keen supporter of BLLA I am excited to keynote this year’s ‘Stay Boutique’ conference,” says CEO Bill Walshe of Viceroy Hotel Group.” I look forward to sharing more with attendees about the ideology behind why guests connect more than ever with today’s luxury boutique hotels.”
The October conference ties into the fall launch of BLLAs ‘Stay Boutique’ platform, the world’s first list of boutique and lifestyle hotels with a direct booking platform at no cost to the hotel and no booking fees for customers.
