Los Angeles, CA  (July 3, 2012) – The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA) announce the inaugural Boutique & Lifestyle International Leadership Symposium to be held at the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt, a Thompson Hotel, playground of the stars since 1927, October 22-24, 2012.

Independent hotel owners and the industry’s top boutique & lifestyle brand executives as well as industry suppliers will listen and learn from the Symposium’s impressive list of speakers and panelists.  This hospitality segment is so diverse and differentiated and BLLA has worked hard to present key topics that deserve special attention and education for BLLA members and the industry-at-large.

Global hotel owners will have the chance to meet with each other to discuss topics of interest and how their countries handle doing business in an effort to uncover some great opportunities between the group participants in the areas of renovation and development, finance, design, culinary, social media and marketing.

John Russell, CEO of Campus Brands, has been named Symposium Chairman.  Additionally, featured speakers of the Symposium include: Chip Conley, Founder, Joie de Vivre; Stephen Brandman, CEO, Commune (JDV/Thompson); Mike Depatie, CEO, Kimpton Hotels; Larry Broughton, CEO, Broughton Hotels; Richard Millard, CEO, Trust Hospitality; Maya Grinberg, Social Media Manager, Wildfire; Mike Leven, COO Sands Corp.; Jason Brown, Director Development, Yotel; George Scammell, VP, Global Design Wyndham (Dream/Night Hotels); Michael Gross, CEO, Morgans Hotel Group; John deC. Evans, CEO, Opus Hotels, Bill Doak, First Vice President, CIM Group, Russell Munn, Sr. Vice President, Lowe Enterprises Investors.

An example of some of the most interesting panel discussions include: 1) The Lifestyle Difference - Lifestyle evokes a combination and fusion of entertainment, fashion, music, design. What are the new hotel music scenes all about? What does art and fashion have to do with it all? 2) Boutique/Lifestyle Luxury Culinary Difference - Many hotels have in-house restaurants. It is not uncommon for bars to be at the entrance of hotels and, thus, the first thing guests see when walking through the doors. Consumers can now use Yelp reviews or Groupon offers to decide where to dine. 3) A focus on Guest Experience Management - Boutique hotel's competitive advantage stems from exceptional customer service: A focus on Guest Experience Management, and its design and delivery, has become an integral part of creating the lifestyle and luxury boutique hotel mystique.

In addition, attendees will be entertained and enjoy a very special cocktail hour and feast at a Gala Dinner prepared by renowned chef, Laurent Godbout, while BLLA announces the award for “Person of the Year 2012” to one very special individual who has exhibited remarkable feats, a touching life story or amazing results.  Anyone may nominate themselves or someone else and must complete a questionnaire which will be judged by a panel of industry experts.  There isn’t a particular category so hotels, suppliers and virtually anyone within the hospitality or travel & tourism industry can enter this competition. The winner will be announced at the Gala Dinner on October 23, 2012 and have an opportunity to speak to attendees to share their story.  Nominations : www.cvent.com/d/4cqqk7

Founder and Chair of BLLA, Frances Kiradjian, stated “We are ecstatic about how this first Symposium is coming together and excited about fulfilling the requests from our members who have been asking for a conference since the inception of the association. We look forward to a very successful event and seeing many industry professionals in Los Angeles.”

Featured Sponsors: Restoration Hardware Contract, Sferra, Greenberg Traurig, STR, Lodgenet Interactive Corporation, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Northern Feather Canada, LATHER and Media Sponsors: Hotel Business, Boutique Design, Hotel-Online, Hospitalitynet, HOTELS Magazine, HotelNewsNow.  Featured Charity:  Clean the World

For further information:  www.bllaleadershipconference.com

About The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA)
The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA) is the first and only association dedicated to uniting the world’s boutique and lifestyle hotels for the benefit of properties and suppliers as well as travelers. 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.