With the pandemic over, everyone has been clamoring to get out and explore the world once more. In fact, we’d argue, in a take-a-candy-from-a-baby-then-it-cries sort of way, people are even more enthused about travel than they were in 2019, and we foresee this mindset persisting well into the decade ahead.
The BLLA Team sits down with Nile Tuzun, Founder & Chief Creative Storyteller at Studio Nilebrand and BLLA Board Member of the Year!
The Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA) celebrated the 13th annual hospitality awards on October 25th during the organization’s Boutique Hotel Owners Conference, which was held in the Los Angeles suburbs at the stunning Westlake Village Inn. The Awards recognize global leaders, innovators, and icons in every corner of the boutique, lifestyle, and luxury world.
Marriott Bonvoy® – Marriott International’s extraordinary portfolio of 30 hotel brands, award-winning loyalty program, and endless experiences – today announced the launch of Travel by Design, an integrated content platform showcasing never-before-told design stories that inspired some of the world’s most extraordinary hotels. Marriott Bonvoy is collaborating with Samsung to create the first-ever exclusive branded destination within Samsung’s free, ad-supported streaming service, Samsung TV Plus. Starting November 1, 2022, Samsung TV Plus viewers can simply select a tile on the service home screen to explore the on-demand library to immerse themselves in a curated collection of travel video content.
On October 18th, industry thought leaders, designers, architects, and real estate moguls gathered at the members-only Classic Car Club Manhattan for the 16th Annual Radical Innovation award ceremony and dinner. Eran Chen, Founding Principal and Executive Director of ODA Architecture and Design led the evening as the Master of Ceremonies, alongside Founder, John Hardy, and the esteemed jury.
Members of Design Hotels around the world are known for their interior visions, some of which are created by up-and-coming designers and others by industry heavyweights. Be it the former or the latter, our properties excel in establishing visionary interior design concepts. The signature aesthetic languages found at these eight hotels—from New York City to an Italian village to a Maldivian atoll—are particularly worth highlighting.
Key elements of Moon World Resorts Inc.’s unique Destination Resort project, MOON, will be sustainability and net zero carbon emissions, deliverable on day one! Multiple leading edge Environmental programs throughout MOON will be overseen by industry expert, David N. Oswald, FRCGS, and his team at Canadian based DE Design + Environment Inc., a globally recognized leader in environmental design practice. MOON will expand the environmental boundaries well beyond current aspirations with an acute focus on demonstrating precisely how and why “it’s not too late for planet Earth.”
The PXNEL start-up has won the Hospitality UPGRADE Award 2022 at 196+ hotelforum. The award was presented for the fifth time, together with Hospitality Pioneers (Gastgewerbe Magazin), to young innovative companies, and was accompanied by GNERATOR powered by GIRA as a mentor from the industry for the third time.
Cloudbeds, the hospitality management platform powering more reservations and happier guests for lodging businesses around the globe, revealed its top 10 revenue-generating distribution channels for lodging businesses in the U.S. The company found that the leading demand channels, Booking.com and Expedia, performed the highest for U.S. lodging businesses with Airbnb climbing the list to no. 3. Airbnb continues to perform as it rises in popularity with more traditional hotel businesses adopting the channel in recent years, signifying the continued convergence of the hotel and short-term rental industries.
For years, several vintage Orient Express train carriages lay, forgotten, at a small railway station on the border between Poland and Belarus called Malaszwewicze.One day in 2015, French railway fan Arthur Mettetal spotted the distinctive blue carriages in a YouTube video, kickstarting a journey across Europe to track down the lost trains.Hospitality group Accor purchased the rediscovered carriages and enlisted Parisian architect Maxime d'Angeac to meticulously restore them, ready for operation on a Paris to Istanbul rail route that's set to operate from 2024.The first glimpse of the renovated interiors suggest a glamorous travel experience combining Art Deco glamor with modern luxury.
With four new properties in its 2022 pipeline, citizenM is taking its ‘affordable luxury’ lifestyle brand and signature style to new cities and locations spanning the USA from coast to coast. Here’s what we know…
140 years ago, Georges Nagelmackers turned his dream into reality by launching the first luxury Orient Express trains. Today, the legend continues with the unveiling of the future Orient Express train. Completely re-imagined, the old historic carriages, disappeared, forgotten, and then found again, are back in service. Prior to its launch in 2025, Orient Express reveals its never-before-seen décors revealed in Paris in an immersive exhibition.
To appreciate the amazing work that architects put into the beautifully designed buildings that can be found in every corner of the globe, World Architecture Day is celebrated every first Monday of October (which is 3 October in 2022). With 41%* of global travelers planning to pick a destination for their next trip based on the unique accommodation options available, and in honor of World Architecture Day, we delved into our more than 28 million reported listings across over 158,000 destinations around the world to share a selection of six inspiring architectural stays.
James Bermingham is responsible for delivering Virgin Hotels’ global growth, operational excellence, multi-award-winning customer experience, and unique culture. But where did he get his start? Well, James began his career in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland, followed by ten years in London, England, including executive roles with ITT Sheraton Corporation and the Luxury Collection.
Whether it's a blast into suborbital space or a hotel stay among the stars, space tourism entrepreneurs believe one day we'll all be opting for out-of-this-world vacations.The team behind Moon World Resorts reckon so too -- sort of.They want to build a series of gigantic dome-like hotels resembling the moon, sitting here on planet Earth.
Choice Hotels EMEA, the region’s leading franchisor, has revealed the refresh concept for its Quality brand as part of its EMEA brand portfolio re-energisation strategy.
Sofitel Hotels & Resorts, the first international luxury hotel brand to originate from France and a celebrated ambassador of French culture around the world, is delighted to announce an unprecedented global partnership with Vogue. Over the next three years, Sofitel and Vogue will share their secrets and savoir-faire through immersive festivals, creative activations, fashion collabs and beauty inspired programs – all designed around the theme of mastering Art de Vivre.
At the newest properties to join Design Hotels, guests can enjoy Michelin-starred cuisine in the foothills of the Alps, bask in the Mediterranean sun surrounded by contemporary Cycladic architecture, or hang out in Lisbon’s coolest quarter and get inked downstairs, among much more.
Radisson Collection - Radisson Hotel Group’s luxury lifestyle collection of iconic properties - is proud to announce their third brand ambassador as part of their global Art Series program. This week sees the launch of surrealist photographer Minh T’s exhibition with the exceptional backdrop of Radisson Collection Hotel, Palazzo Nani Venice during the city’s key artistic moment of the year: La Biennale.
The Founder & President of Kirkwood Collection speaks his truth on boutique hospitality. Why is it important for boutique hotel owners to gather in person annually? “It’s important to get together with other hoteliers to have an enlightening exchange of ideas on the advancement of the industry. We’re in the business of building community, so we can’t neglect our own. Gathering gives us the opportunity to discuss shared struggles, celebrate obstacles we’ve overcome, and refresh and inspire each other. These events often act as the catalyst that sparks our creativity and solves our challenges.”