The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA) held its 2016 Annual Leadership Symposium late last month at the Luskin Conference Center in Los Angeles. The three-day event welcomed hoteliers, vendors, and media partners to network and attend discussions with more than 75 speakers on key industry trends and forecasts for the year ahead.
Topics at this year’s symposium ranged from Airbnb to rising occupancy levels. Attendees focused on Los Angeles, Louisville, and Nashville as three top-expanding markets for 2017. The symposium also debuted a collaborative educational event for the boutique and lifestyle sector with University of California, Los Angeles Extension.
The event featured BLLA’s annual awards gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The AvroKO-designed 1 Hotel Central Park in New York was honored as the Lifestyle Hotel of the Year while the Hotel Vandivort in Springfield, Missouri was named Boutique Hotel of the Year and Compère Lapin at the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery in New Orleans was recognized as the Hotel Restaurant of the Year. Other winners included Henry Kallan, president and owner of the Library Hotel Collection as Hotelier of the Year; Xavier A. Ramirez, owner of Puerto Rico’s Playa El Combate, as Person of the Year; Mark and Amber Natale of brand agency Smarthinking Inc. as BLLA Supplier of the Year; and BLLA co-chair Paula A. Argento of Argento Venture Group as BLLA Board Member of the Year.
