Annual BLLA Leadership Symposium Opens September 17th in Las Vegas at the New SLS Hotel & Casino

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. September 04, 2014

Los Angeles, CA - September 4, 2014 - The hospitality industry's top boutique, lifestyle and luxury brand executives and independent property owners are gathering in Las Vegas September 17-19 at the newly opened SLS Hotel & Casino. The symposium's content is designed to inspire the niche industry sector attendees with panel discussions that are new, inventive concepts and in some cases, groundbreaking ideas that titillate the imagination.

From ultra-luxury design to industry disruptors to the capital markets for boutique hotels, this event takes place in an iconic and historic property, the old Sahara Hotel that has been transformed into the new lifestyle SLS Hotel & Casino Las Vegas who welcomes the BLLA Symposium as the 1st conference to grace their new conference center. The Awards GALA DINNER, who will crown the winners of the 2014 Boutique Lifestyle Hospitality Awards, takes place in the newly designed Congo Ballroom Thursday evening.

New this year, the event includes many topics that are novel and different such as conversation from key executives representing innovative lodgings, floating boutique & luxury liners, lifestyle-designed hostels and authentic experiences such as luxury tents & treehouses who will take the stage to debate best practices for what today's business & leisure travelers are demanding.

Additionally, 6 companies who represent Customer-Facing Technologies will take center stage. BLLA's recent interview with 10 top CEO's concluded with this subject being top of mind for what executives are focusing on over the next 12 months. Also new to the conference, BLLA is inviting the big chains to discuss their boutique brands such as Marriott's Autograph Collection.

Select key executives participating as speakers include:

• Arash Azarbarzin - SBE Hotel Group President
  
• Jeff Ehret - PENTA Building Group President
  
• J.F. Finn - Gensler Principal
  
• Sam Baksantepour - SBE/SLS Hotels President
  
• Drew Patterson - CEO & Co-Founder Room 77
  
• Shirley Tafoya - TravelZoo President
  
• Edie Rodriguez - Crystal Cruises President & COO
  
• Guy Young - Uniworld Boutique River Cruises CEO
  
• Rafat Ali - SKIFT Founder & CEO.

Organized and powered by the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA), the annual event has become known for providing the richest content available for owners and managers in this space who are looking for the next Holy Grail to take their properties to the next level. Frances Kiradjian, BLLA founder and chairwoman, stated, “The 2014 Symposium is going to be extraordinary and the support from fresh, senior staff members who work for some of the world's best boutique brands such as Virgin, Gansevoort, Montage, Hampshire, Commune, sbe/SLS and others who are speaking, is fantastic.”

The private invitation-only hotel owner's session has presentations scheduled from EPIC, Edgewood Partners, Universal Points, Roomer Travel, FoodBuy and NSUI. Owners will have the opportunity to connect with each other and share key issues and solutions of importance to their operational success.

Center-Stage sessions comprise a Keynote from Sam Nazarian, Founder, Chairman & CEO, SBE Group plus panels, vignettes and workshop topics including:

• Owners & Managers Exchange
  
• Big Chains Hotel Room
  
• Training on LinkedIn - Workshop
  
• SLS Dream Team
  
• Industry Disruptors
  
• Customer Facing Technologies
  
• Unique & Boutique - But not a Hotel
  
• Finance Forum
  
• Global Influences of Health & Wellness
  
• The Power of Data Manipulation
  
• Top Gun Executives
  
• Destination Marketing
  
• Gala Awards Dinner
  
• Lifestyle Innovators
  
• Vogue Culinary Developments in Global Markets
  
• Ultra Luxury Designers-Architects

BLLA THANKS the following exhibitors and sponsors confirmed to-date for their support of the 2014 conference: Anstice Communications, BDK America "the Teaching Of Buddha," Clairvoyix, CohnReznick, Compass Group / Foodbuy, Dollar Shave Club, Fabricut Contract, Frontgate Contract, Gilchrist & Soames, Greenberg Traurig, Guest Driven, Innovative Hospitality Concepts, Joya Distributing Inc, Laurastar USA, Kind Traveler, La Bottega, LATHER, Pacific Direct Ltd, Porcelanosa USA, Republic Furniture, Sandra Costa Design Group, Sferra, Status Solutions, Stelle Audio, Suite Plants, Suitelife By Venture, The Penta Building Group, Travel Tripper, Tumi, Inc., Universal Points, Vizergy, Yo!dog Marketing.

For further information: http://bllaevents.com/las-vegas-hospitality-conferences

About The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA)

The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA) is the first and only alliance association dedicated to uniting the world's independent boutique and lifestyle hotels and small brands. Created to be the unifying voice of this distinctive subset within the hospitality industry. BLLA's goal is to unite the world's collection of boutique & lifestyle properties and the suppliers that sustain them, offering them the opportunity to successfully compete on a level playing field with major hotel companies, as well as market themselves to meet the ever-increasing demand from discerning boutique-seeking clients. For more information, or to become a member visit www.blla.org.

Contact:
Frances Kiradjian
Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association
[email protected]
818-883-4363