Attendees were exclusively invited to partake in the Awards Celebration on the 1st night of the official opening of the conference, which included a 2-hour cocktail party at The Cave on the hotel grounds, followed by an exquisite full-course dinner. The festivities kicked off by announcing the first set of winners and runners-up for half of the awards. Frances Kiradjian, Founder & CEO of BLLA, announced the winners and runners-up, and the recipients were called to the stage to accept their official trophy or certificate from Ariela Kiradjian, COO of BLLA.
Frances stated, “This year’s awards celebration was particularly exciting as it was the first time we were all together since 2019 to honor the winners. You could completely understand the emotions as the room was abuzz with people connecting with each other on a very personal, heartfelt level.”
“We are so proud of all the winners of this year's program, and we are grateful for all of the warm acceptance speeches,” stated Ariela Kiradjian, Partner & COO, who oversaw this year’s Awards program. “The love for our association was felt throughout the evening, and for that, we are humbled and grateful.”
First place Winners of the Awards included:
- Boutique Business of the Year 2022 - THIERRY LASRY in New York, NY
- Boutique Hotel Design of the Year 2022: Guest Room - Bluebird Dennisport in Dennis Port, MA
- Boutique Hotel Design of the Year 2022: Restaurant - PRIME in Chandler, AZ
- Boutique Hotel Design of the Year 2022: Branding & Visual Identity - L’Ermitage Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, CA
- Boutique Hospitality Partner of the Year 2022 - CIIC PR in New York, NY
- 2022 Fearless Woman Award by TIEWN - Caryl Helsel, Founder & CEO, Dragonfly Strategists
- Diamond Award BLLA Partner Member of the Year 2022 - Solonis in San Diego, CA
- BLLA Board Member of the Year 2022 - Nile Tuzun, Founder & Chief Creative Storyteller, Studio Nilebrand
- Boutique Hotel General Manager of the Year 2022 - Anton Moore, General Manager, Gansevoort Meatpacking
- Boutique Hotel Owner of the Year 2022 - Rob Blood, Founder, Lark Hotels
- Boutique Hotel of the Year 2022: Asia - Lihim Resorts in Palawan, Philippines
- Boutique Hotel of the Year 2022: North America (TIE) - Marram Montauk in Montauk, NY
- Boutique Hotel of the Year 2022: North America (TIE) - Castle Hot Springs in Morristown, AZ
- Diamond Award BLLA Hotel Member of the Year 2022 - The Aster in Hollywood, CA
Runners-up
- Boutique Hotel General Manager of the Year 2022 - Justin Grimes, Regional Managing Director, EOS Hospitality
- Boutique Hotel Owner of the Year 2022 - Rami Zeidan, Founder & CEO, Life House
- Boutique Hotel of the Year 2022: North America - The Madrona in Healdsburg, CA
This year’s Judges were:
- Anita Chan, CEO, Compass Edge
- Cara Federici, CEO, The Madison Melle Agency & tech theory group
- Jessica Kramer, CEO, Lodgistics
- Nile Tuzun, Founder & Chief Creative Storyteller, Studio Nilebrand
- Peter Gamez, CEO, bisit Oakland
- Stacy Small, Founder & CEO, Elite Travel Club
This year’s Sponsors: Headline Sponsors included Greenberg Traurig, Lutron Electronics, Nestle Premium Waters, Selfbook, Lockton, Virdee, Mews, Englander, StayBoutique, and Boutique Money Group. Boutique Sponsors included Solonis, Orana Software, Chicago Marketing Consultancy, and Dragonfly Strategists. Lifestyle Sponsors included Salesforce, Hireology, Lightspeed, Cloud5 Communications, Marsh McLennan Agency, Studio Nilebrand, Vaask, World Cinema, ThinkReservations, Kickfin, and TakeUp.
The BLLA Awards were created as a platform to celebrate daring and brilliant efforts in the global boutique hospitality industry. All awards come with global recognition through BLLA’s reach into the boutique lifestyle community. BLLA Events is the in-person gathering community of BLLA. It is a safe haven for independent boutique hoteliers, their teams, and the companies that support them. It is for trailblazers who dare to think differently, who dare to evoke the spirit of originality, and who dare to break the status quo.
