An Interview with Deborah O’Donnell
The BLLA Events Team sat down with Deborah O’Donnell, Director Strategic Sales, Lodging & Institutions at DIRECTV, as she prepared to participate in the 2023 Boutique Hotel Investment Conference on June 7-8.
Design & Architecture
Lark Hotels Expands Its Lark Independent Portfolio Into the Southeast With Four Hotels
Lark announces the debut of four new Lark Independents along North Carolina’s southern shore: The Beach House and The Starlite Inn in Carolina Beach, and The Admiral’s Quarters Motel and The Sand Dunes in Kure Beach. The independently-owned boutique hotels will now be managed and operated by Lark, growing its portfolio of Lark Independents to 18 hotel properties throughout the United States.
BLLA Interview with Marissa Ballan, Vice President, Global Investment Management at citizenM
The BLLA Events Team sits down with Marissa Ballan, Vice President, Global Investment Management at citizenM Hotels, as she prepares to participate in the 2023 Boutique Hotel Investment Conference on June 7-8.
An Interview with Richard Roderick
The BLLA Events Team sits down with Richard Roderick, Partner & Executive Vice President at Lockton, as he prepares to attend the 2023 Boutique Hotel Investment Conference on June 7-8.
An Interview with Curtis Crimmins
CC: I’m a lifelong hotelier who got my first taste of the business by following my mom to work while she was a hotel housekeeper. Though these visits sparked my love of hotels, the reason my mom brought me to work has darker roots, it was to keep me safe from her abusive partner.
Design: The imaginative fusion of an ancient “resting hotels” with a “Space Oddity,” concept draws a symbiotic connection to the majestic Dead Sea and the Judean Desert
Bar Orian Architects in collaboration with Lambs & Lions Studio today officially announces a new luxury resort planned for Israel’s Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea, scheduled to open in 2025. The 109 room-and-suite property will be built on a plot of land with an area of about 20 dunams (nearly five acres) in the Judean Desert overlooking the serene landscape of the Dead Sea. The imaginative fusion of an ancient “resting hotels” with a “Space Oddity,” concept draws a symbiotic connection to the majestic Dead Sea and Judean Desert.
An Interview with Frank Wolfe
The BLLA Events Team sits down with Frank Wolfe, CEO of HFTP, as he prepares to participate in the 2023 Boutique Hotel Investment Conference on June 7-8.
Preview Seoul Fashion Week with K-Pop’s ENHYPEN at Dongdaemun Design Plaza now on Airbnb
Get your light sticks ready! ENHYPEN is set to kick off Seoul Fashion Week in September 2023 with the world’s first overnight stay at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), the soul of style in Seoul.
Pyramid Global Hospitality Announces Addition to Management Portfolio
Pyramid Global Hospitality – the powerhouse hospitality company behind inspired collections like Benchmark Pyramid Luxury & Lifestyle and Hamilton Pyramid Europe – is pleased to announce the Wayfinder Newport hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, as the latest addition to the company’s distinguished management portfolio. Continuing a longtime partnership with Dovetail + Co, owner of the Wayfinder Newport, Pyramid Global has assumed management of the 197-room hotel with immediate plans underway to rebuild and revitalize the property.
SB Architects Completes Design of Landmark Project in Frisco, Texas
International architecture firm, SB Architects, part of Egis Group, known for creating spaces that capture the history, culture, and context of each location, is thrilled to celebrate the opening of the new Omni PGA Frisco Resort, a mixed-use development in Frisco, Texas, which opened on May 2.
Radisson Hotel Group and PPHE Hotel Group accelerate global growth of the premium lifestyle art’otel brand
Radisson Hotel Group expands its portfolio of bold, art and design-inspired hotels with the inclusion of art’otel in the Radisson Hotel Group’s brand portfolio, growing to ten distinct brands under one overarching umbrella. Across the brand spectrum, the Group offers inspiration through travel with authentic and engaging cultural experiences that allow travelers to feel part of each local art and design community.
Introducing Eight New Members of Design Hotels
From historically renovated structures dating back to the 12th, 18th, and 19th centuries in Italy, Spain, and Montenegro to modern architectural masterpieces in Greece and Indonesia, the newest members of Design Hotels share a common goal: to honor and preserve their surrounding landscapes and cultures. Each of the following eight properties reflect this ethos through distinctly contemporary lenses, creating unique destinations that foster individual experiences as well as intimate feelings of community.
Avi Brosh’s Palisociety Introduces “Le Petit Pali” With Two Signature Carmel-by-the-sea Destinations
A bespoke new bed & breakfast concept brings forth Palisociety’s vision of a traditional small inn experience, layered with an upscale interpretation of the brand’s revered charm and personal approach to travel and hospitality
Ennismore’s Gaurav Bhushan: “We proved lifestyle is the future”
Ennismore’s combination of entrepreneurialism and individuality has arguably become the envy of the hotel world. Valued at more than US$2.2 billion, Ennismore is not just s a ‘hotel group’. Instead, it is a “lifestyle collective”. There are more than 15 individual brands, each challenging what hospitality can be. The London-born business has grown from operating only The Hoxton brand to a global force, backed by the world’s wealthiest governments.
By Gaurav Bhushan, Co-CEO, Ennismore
[Podcast] How a hotel can use its physical spaces to elevate staff and guest wellbeing
In this episode, we talk with Scott Lamont, CEO of EDSA, an organization that specializes in urban design, landscape architecture, and design planning for the hotel and other global industries. We explore why hotels aren’t maximizing their use of physical space in this post-pandemic world, and then break down why it’s so important to re-think the use of places such as staff offices and public areas in order to improve staff and guest wellbeing. Scott provides some expert advice as to what hotels can do right now to maximize their physical spaces and improve the wellbeing of staff and guests.
EDG Design Unveils Their Latest Lifestyle Hospitality Destination: The Pullman Singapore Orchard
Award-winning strategy, branding and interior design firm EDG Design has launched its latest hospitality project for the newly opened Pullman Singapore Orchard. An ambitious undertaking from day one, the entire project from initial concept through construction and opening took less than 18 months end-to-end, which included fully re-zoning the majority of the public spaces left over from the previous Grand Park Orchard hotel.
The Artisans: Chris Cline
The BLLA Team sits down with Chris Cline, General Manager of The Hotel Santa Barbara, as he delves into his experience as a boutique hotelier.
[Podcast] How hoteliers can use a design mindset to improve hotel operations and elevate staff and guest experiences
In this episode, we have a chat with Cheryl Durst, CEO of the International Interior Design Association. First, we discuss a few practical ways in which hoteliers can use design strategies to improve staff and guest experiences. We then learn about the power of having purpose when making design choices for team spaces and guest rooms; investment strategies a hotel might use when considering a design update; and the impacts – some surprising – that a design choice may have on a hotel, including in staff operations. We finish off our conversation on the topic of how hoteliers can benefit from using a “design mindset” when seeking to improve hotel operations and elevate the overall staff and guest experience.
Hyatt to Further Strengthen Position in Luxury with Plans to Acquire Mr & Mrs Smith
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and Mr & Mrs Smith today announced an agreement for a Hyatt affiliate to acquire London-based Mr & Mrs Smith, a platform offering direct booking access to a carefully curated and growing collection of over 1,500 boutique and luxury properties in some of the world’s most desirable locations. Hyatt will acquire 100 percent of the asset-light Mr & Mrs Smith platform for an enterprise value of £53.0 million in cash consideration.
Hyatt and Mr & Mrs Smith
The Artisans: Michelle Barnet
The BLLA Team sits down with Michelle Barnet, Founder & Chief Pineapple Officer of Staypineapple, as she delves into her experience as a boutique hotelier.