BLLA's 2nd Annual Boutique Hotel Investment Conference Held in New York Last Week, is a Resounding Success

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. June 11, 2014

New York, NY - June 11, 2014 - The Boutique Hotel Investment Conference, staged here last week by the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA), was a “resounding success,” said Frances Kiradjian, BLLA founder and chairwoman, citing the positive feedback from delegates.

The conference was packed with the movers and shakers of the boutique hotel industry, she said. At the NY Institute of Technology, well over 200 participants learned, networked, and shared the experience. The conference featured instructive panels on Acquisitions, Debt Financing, Growing Boutique Hotel Portfolios and more.

Industry legend Horst Schulze, known for his captivating presentations and currently chairman and CEO of the Capella Hotel Group, was the morning session's keynoter. "The boutique guest expects more heart. They are not looking for sleeping factories,” he stated, as a poignant image appeared on the screen of cookie-cutter bungalows. Later interviews with Ian Schrager, Founder & Chairman of the Ian Schrager Company and with Eric Danziger, President and CEO of Hampshire Hotels provided insights into the industry's past and, more importantly, its future.

Horst Schulze
CEO, Capella Resorts

Ian Schrager
Interview by Hotel Business

Independents vs. Branded Panelists
Richard Millard, Craig Greenberg, Paul James,
John Keeling, Michael Tall

“We are extremely humbled and gratified to hear so many upbeat comments about this conference,” Kiradjian said. “Our team works tirelessly around the clock to deliver the best-of-the-best event for our worldwide members and guests. We are driven by a real love for this great industry sector. To hear several CEO panelists state that they support the BLLA conference over others is astounding.”

In addition, the BLLA Hotel Investment Conference provides exceptional content, leading industry speakers and unsurpassed networking. It is a boutique conference in that it is large enough to be highly relevant, yet intimate enough to allow for high level networking and simply catching up with industry friends and colleagues.

In a crowded landscape of investment, finance and industry conferences, this is the only program fully dedicated to boutique hotels and investments and is, therefore, highly effective, efficient and energetic. Some hotel executives said this was the only hotel investment conference they supported because it is the only one globally that focuses solely on boutique and lifestyle hotel capital and closely related subject matter.

Commenting on the event, Jonathan Falik - CEO of JF Capital Advisors, stated, “I am pleased to have sponsored and been involved with the conference and look forward to an even more inspiring program next year. For real-time information, trends and statistics, in an atmosphere conducive to sharing, the BLLA and its Hotel Investment Conference is simply the only place to be.”

The planning for the 2015 conference, being held in New York on June 3, 2015, is already underway.

BLLA's new conference website, bllaevents.com, provides detailed information on BLLA's 2 upcoming events as well as other select global conferences in the boutique and lifestyle luxury space.

The highest level of sponsorship at this event, DIAMOND, included: Real Hospitality Group, The New York Institute of Technology - School of Hospitality Management, JF Capital Advisors, Richard Sandoval Restaurants, CohnReznick, Greenberg Traurig & Vizergy.

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. This organization was 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 independent 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 blla.org.

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