As we adjust to an ever-changing world, it is imperative that bright minds come together to address pertinent topics in our industry.
On July 28th, 2021, BLLA hosted their first in-person event of the year with a dinner at The Pendry West Hollywood in Los Angeles. This intimate event was the third installment of the StayBoutique Social Club dinner series, designed to encourage meaningful discussions and to propel ideas that will strengthen the global sphere of boutique hospitality. Mews, a BLLA Premier Plus member, was a principal sponsor and collaborator for this special event.
To start the evening, the guests engaged in a lively round of luxury bowling. Spirits were high as each person stepped up to the line and put their bowling skills to the test.
After a few rounds, they made their way back to the main room. Seated at the dinner table were a group of fervent leaders who shared an optimism for the advancement of the boutique segment: Dan Daley, Principal of Ten Five Hospitality and COO of Relevant Group, Megan Schroder, Managing Director at AKA West Hollywood, Philip Bates, Managing Partner at TMC Group & CEO at Bode, Ross Walker, Founder & Managing Partner at Hawkins Way Capital, Cristina Riveroll, Senior Vice President of Operations at AutoCamp, and Carl Lambert, President of Lambert Investments, Inc. & Founder of Venice V Hotel.
A variety of questions were posed to the guests to which they responded sincerely and reflectively. Some questions tackled topics of business, labor, and operations such as: How can hoteliers rethink/optimize hotel spaces to drive the most revenue? With more tech, do we need to rethink jobs in hotels? Will there be fewer permanent roles and more “gig economy” work? Are subscription models the future for successful hotel operations? What types of services can be subscribed to? Other questions honed in on the customer experience such as: How is customer loyalty evolving and changing? What do today’s customers want to come back for? What are the stepping stones to leveraging data and enabling teams to create remarkable guest experiences?
“We loved witnessing the interactions at our small in-person events,” stated Frances Kiradjian, Founder & CEO of BLLA. “It is such a pivotal moment to discuss strategies and challenges in a closed and unrecorded, open forum event that attendees absolutely love.”
BLLA’s COO, Ariela Kiradjian, produced and organized the dinner and stated, “We are so pleased with the success of this event and look forward to future dinners in cities across the U.S. and later, back to Europe and beyond, proving that smaller is more meaningful.”
Philip Bates, Managing Partner at TMC Group & CEO at Bode, expressed that “The BLLA and Mews dinner was a fantastic event to end the ALIS conference. It was a fun and dynamic group with engaging and thought provoking conversation. Clearly the innovation will lie with the boutique segment coming out of the pandemic. This group of leaders is nimble, tech and guest focused and those will be some of the key drivers as the hospitality landscape begins to take shape post-COVID-19.”
All agreed it was a memorable night of in-depth discussion fused with friendship and exquisite food presented by The Pendry West Hollywood. The successful reboot of our invite-only dinner series marks BLLA’s chief role in gathering pioneers who value community, networking, and lifelong learning. The future of hospitality is boutique. Through open collaboration and constant innovation, our beloved community can only go up from here.
