BLLA publishes the Boutique Hotel Owners Conference programme
The Boutique and Luxury Lodging Association has published the full programme for the 2026 Boutique Hotel Owners Conference. The conference runs 19 and 20 October at the Westlake Village Inn in Southern California, at 31943 Agoura Road in Westlake Village. The announcement is dated 1 October.
The theme is The Age of Wonder. BLLA frames the event around what it calls the biggest threat facing independent hotels: that guests can no longer tell them apart. The organiser points to rising costs, brand-driven design trends and algorithm-shaped travel as forces that have pushed much of the boutique sector toward a look-alike middle. BLLA states that wonder and awe can be designed, budgeted and measured like any other part of the business.
The format, in BLLA's framing
Ariela Kiradjian is partner and chief operating officer of BLLA. She frames the event as a social club. "What you notice becomes what you build," Kiradjian said. "We built BHOC like a social club because that's how owners actually learn from each other, over dinner, in the hallway, late at night at the bar. Our speakers are community members, sitting in the room with everyone else. You leave with answers to the problems keeping you up at night, and with people you'll call when the next one comes."
The organiser describes the conference as intentionally small. The format blends a working conference with the feel of an executive social club. Owners, operators, investors and creatives meet through shared interests. Speakers stay for both days to answer questions, join workshops and trade notes.
Six programme blocks for owners
The programme carries six blocks of owner-facing material. A hands-on AI workshop gives a practical approach built for boutique hotel owners and operators, and the founder of the AI Hospitality Alliance delivers a session of its own. A session on the Amanvari fallout covers narrative control and crisis response. A capital markets session covers how to position a rare asset so investors compete for it. A membership clubs session covers the private club model. An art and content session covers how art and storytelling build a brand people follow. A retail session covers revenue sitting in the lobby.
Five featured sessions carry the programme. What It Costs to Build a Feeling covers the economics behind memorable guest experiences. The Restaurant That Makes the Hotel covers food and beverage as the reason guests book. The Retail Opportunity Hotels Keep Missing covers untapped revenue in the lobby. Where Wonder Comes From is an opening ceremony led by Ariela Kiradjian. The Nightstand Test is a conversation on hoteliers' lifestyles.
The two-day grid
Day one is Monday 19 October. Registration, coffee and light bites run from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the Lobby and Louie's. Ariela Kiradjian opens the ceremony for The Age of Wonder from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in Provence. A session on the issues owners face runs from 10:30 a.m. to 11:10 a.m., a capital markets session from 11:10 a.m. to 11:40 a.m., and a Connect with Strangers session from 11:40 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lakeside lunch runs from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
The afternoon carries an AI session from 1:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., a session on protecting the hotel an owner has built from 2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., and a session on the language of luxury travel from 2:45 p.m. to 3:10 p.m. A case study with the Life and Times partners runs from 4 p.m. to 4:25 p.m., a session with the chief executive of San Vicente Clubs from 4:25 p.m. to 4:50 p.m., and View From the Top from 4:50 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. The evening carries an hour at Louie's from 6:30 p.m. and dinner with a game night from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Day two is Tuesday 20 October. A community meetup runs from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and breakfast from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The morning sessions run from 9:30 a.m. on the restaurant that makes the hotel, on running the room, on the retail opportunity and on the boutique market data that HVS tracks. Lunch runs from 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The afternoon carries The Nightstand Test from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., a masterclass on luxury from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., a second Connect with Strangers round from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a closing ritual from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Farewell cocktails run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the Provence patio.
The headliners
The announcement lists headliners from independent hospitality. Tony Greenberg co-founded SingleThread Farms. Jess Wilner leads San Vicente Clubs. Maya Mallick owns The Culver Hotel and directs its creative work. Sky Mitchell leads Basecamp Resorts and Everwild Nordic Spas. Matt and Mike French run Life and Times, the team behind the Pioneertown Motel. Kama Carter leads Southall Farm and Inn, whose restaurant January holds a Michelin Green Star. Daniel Langer leads Equite. Ed Scheetz is chief executive and chairman of Ventoux CCM Acquisition Corp.
The closing line and the sponsors
Frances Kiradjian is chief executive of BLLA. "Too many conferences recycle platitudes about growth and scale," Kiradjian said. "This conversation is about scarcity, identity, and alignment, the real drivers of value."
BLLA states that the conference is built for the people who own and operate independent hotels and decide what gets built, bought and renovated. A select number of sponsorship packages remain. The sponsor list includes Arch RoamRight, Capital One Travel, Cvent, Greenberg Traurig, Nespresso, Pacific Advisors, Petra Risk Solutions, ThinkReservations and SiteMinder.