Founder and CEO, Boutique & Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA), Co-founder Stay Boutique, the world’s only association and alliance focused on the boutique world.

Frances, a 25+ year hospitality and travel industry seasoned professional, created BLLA to give a voice to independent, upscale hotel properties as well as small brands around the world, offering them the opportunity and the means to compete on a level playing field with major hotel companies. BLLA serves hundreds of worldwide members including hotels, small brands and the vendor suppliers that sustain them.

Recently, BLLA & Stay Boutique added businesses that fall under the boutique category including restaurants, bars, nightlife, wellness, retail and more, making our community inclusive on a grand scale globally.

Ms. Kiradjian’s travel experience cuts across various areas of the industry, but always with a razor-sharp focus on the hospitality and lifestyle sector.  As founder and CEO of CCRA (travel agency consortia), Kiradjian created and developed the first travel agent centric hotel booking portal which combined multiple hotel inventories and allowed for mark-ups of a net rate which continues to serve as an important business model for travel-related technology companies. She lead the company over 15 years and sold her shares in 2005 after locating a buyer and served as CEO of the newly formed combined company until her departure at the end of 2006.

Kiradjian began her career in the travel industry as a national accounts manager at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, where she managed top global accounts like Baxter Healthcare, Toyota and Disney.  Kiradjian is a graduate of the University of Southern California, (USC) from the highly respected Marshall School of Business.

Frances also lead many associations over the years. She held the position of President for HSMAI (Hospitality Sales & Marketing), SMEI (Sales & Marketing Executives International), founder & President of the Los Angeles Professional Women in Travel and in 2008 founded a new female empowerment group that is now more than 10,600 women globally, past member of the CEO organization VISTAGE, past Board Member of LABTA (Los Angeles Business Travel Association), Advisory Board Member of Kind Traveler, Board Member Whole World Water, past Board Member Boutique Design New York, past Board Member HEDNA (Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association), past member of SKAL and PROST (industry clubs).

Kiradjian has spoken on dozens of hospitality and travel panels at major conferences, keynoted and moderated and also was invited several times to speak at UCLA, USC, Cal Poly Pomona’s Hospitality School and Purdue Universities. She was invited to keynote at World Hotels Singapore annual conference. Frances has held discussions at global events such as World Travel Market in London, ITB in Berlin and IHIF in Berlin.

Kiradjian has also been featured in many magazine articles and on the covers of Today’s Hotelier, Hotel Business, Business Travel Magazine and Carlson Travel’s Hall of Fame in Minneapolis (including a video interview sent globally to all offices).

Ariela was born and raised in The Valley of Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter and prodigy of Frances Kiradjian, one of the greatest female entrepreneurs in the travel and hospitality worlds. She grew up traveling the world at 6 months old and began attending conferences as young as 5 years old. She graduated from Oaks Christian High School in 2013 and then ventured to London and Heidelberg to study international business.

Two years into college, she decided the most comprehensive and advantageous education she could get was from her mother, and in 2015 she became a full-time partner at The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association. In 2017, Ariela and Frances Founded Stay Boutique, the brand that represents the Boutique Community through events, media, membership and travel guides.

On June 6, 2018 Ariela introduced what is considered the world’s newest Industry, The Boutique Industry, where she concentrated the boutique niches of various industries to create one home for them. That same year, she led a group of Boutique Hotel Developers around Scotland to consult on building new Boutique Hotels and she led the first Social Club Dinner Party in partnership with The Hoxton. In October she was selected by Rebecca Minkoff to be a part of her organization supporting women-owned companies, The Female Founders Collective.

Ariela has been featured in numerous publications including Inc. Magazine, Hospitality Business, LODGING Magazine, The Hedonist Magazine, The Ringer, Travel Dew and Vue NJ. She has been the Editor-in-Chief of all BLLA and Stay Boutique Magazines: 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Ariela has been selected by great organizations to speak on stage as a thought-leader including the Wall Street Journal, Hospitality Experience, Top Hotel Projects and the Information Management She and her mother are the leaders of the boutique movement, aiming to create the most inclusive industry in the world.

Atit Jariwala, CEO, Bridgeton Holdings, is a hospitality and real estate enthusiast who operates, owns and invests in a multitude of business types and asset classes, as well as in technology ventures that intersect with the physical world.

With a national portfolio, currently valued near $1 billion, Atit has owned and operated over fifty hotels, dozens of office buildings, industrial parks, and residential buildings.

With an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, Atit has founded numerous startups and is an active venture capitalist, investing in many technology start-ups. Atit is an honored board member of one of New York’s largest nonprofits, the Henry Street Settlement. He received his MBA from Stanford University and his BA from Yale University.

Carolyn Schneider grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from New York University. After working in New York City nightlife and restaurants, she quickly fell in love with hotels and began managing Events at Ace Hotel New York. From there, she joined the team at Vikram Chatwal Collection (management company of Dream Hotels), leading Sales and Marketing for their properties in Times Square. When Ace Hotel Group decided to open in Downtown Los Angeles, they recruited Carolyn to move back to the West Coast to join the pre-opening team, where she built accounts from the ground up in a culturally emerging area of Los Angeles. Proper Hospitality, created by the owners of the Viceroy brand, then recruited her as Director of Sales and Marketing for their luxury high rise, designed by Kelly Wearstler in the heart of Hollywood. Next, excited to work with a historic building again, Carolyn jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Sydell Group to open The NoMad Hotel Los Angeles, formerly a bank built in the1920’s, where she served as Director of Guest Experience. In addition, Carolyn co-founded a consulting company, where she helped emerging hospitality companies build their brand, and developed comprehensive service training programs for employees. Carolyn joined Casetta Group with a passion for hospitality, management and service, and a specific interest in revitalizing small boutique properties.

Samantha Ahuja focuses her practice on hotel acquisitions, operations, development and finance, hotel management agreements, licensing agreements, and commercial real estate acquisition and sale.

She advises domestic and international clients on the acquisition and disposition of hotels and other commercial property, hotel management and operations, franchising, licensing and branding, restaurant management agreements, lease negotiations, and casino agreements. She regularly prepares and negotiates purchase and sale agreements, financing and development agreements, and other documents related to the acquisition, financing, development, leasing, management, and disposition of real and personal property with a focus on hotels and resorts.

Samantha regularly works on complex transactions involving a combination of hotels, resorts, condominiums, food and beverage facilities, and other shared access amenities. She also advises her clients on traditional and investor financing, joint ventures and capital and legal structures for complex transactions. She works regularly with her clients on piecing together the various aspects of a deal while taking into balancing the business and legal objectives of the client.

Samantha works closely with her clients to address operational issues that arise over the course of ownership. Most recently, she counsels clients on a wide range of blockchain related matters, from anti-money laundering and know-your-customer best practices for cryptocurrency transactions to legal issues associated with novel uses of blockchain within the hospitality industry.

Samantha also serves as pro bono counsel to many affordable housing cooperatives and tenant associations with the District of Columbia. She works with her clients to find alternative financing, investors or other government grants to maintain long-term housing affordability.

David has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in numerous hotels in the United Kingdom, Australia and at the corporate level in the U.S.

David started his ground up career working for Hilton and Marriott in the U.K. before taking his first General Manager position in 2001 for Thistle Hotels. David went on to work for Ian Schrager Hotels as General Manager of St Martins Lane in London, and later as Regional Vice President for Europe, overseeing both Sanderson and St Martins Lane where he successfully worked on repositioning Sanderson as a market leader.

David’s successful work in London led to his promotion to Senior Vice President of Operations at the corporate offices in New York. In this position he oversaw the day-to-day operations for 11 Morgans Hotel Group properties compromising of 3073 rooms. In 2009 David assumed the role of Managing Director at The Ian Schrager Company.

Working directly with Ian, David developed the operational structure for two new brand concepts and oversaw the sale and handover of the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York.

Most recently David was the Chief Operating Officer for André Balazs Properties, where he oversaw the management of nine uniquely positioned hotels including the Standard brand, the Mercer in New York, Chateau Marmont in Hollywood and opened the highly acclaimed Chiltern Firehouse in London.

In 2011 the foundations for Salt Hotels were laid with the development of its flagship property Salt House Inn in Provincetown. The further evolution of Salt Hotels has been under David’s guidance and direction and now operates four properties.

David sits on the Board of Garden State Equality and The Garden State Film Festival and on the advisory board of Provincetown Film Festival and is an active member of the Boutique Strong Council for BLLA.

Nile Tuzun, a highly accomplished hospitality design and development executive, an award winning photographer, creative director, art advocate, and citizen of the world, has developed a solid reputation for uncompromising excellence in the world of international hospitality design. Her work over the past 22 years has influenced and raised the bar for the hospitality experience worldwide with her lifestyle and interior design company Studio Nilebrand as Founder and Chief Creative Storyteller.

Nile brings a design-focused background to her work, typified by in- depth collaboration with valuable ownership groups, distinguished guests, global divisional team members, internal cross divisional team members and operational team members providing hospitality design and management and operational consulting services. Nile maintains close working relationships with the world’s leading architects and designers as she strives to realize design standards unique to each project. With a very confident philosophy regarding hotel, mixed-use residential, creative office space, spa and restaurant design and operations, Nile has and continues to support the future of design by participating as an expert panelist for seminars, design forums, charity events and guest academic lectures and critiques at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and Academy of Art University. Her strategic implementation of design and her understanding of the global marketplace, drive her to realize her goals with conviction and with the utmost professionalism.

Nile is also part of The Young Society Leaders (YSL) which is a program that convenes a select, diverse group of the American-Turkish community’s most outstanding young leaders, in their 30s and 40s. Nile recently became a board member at The Travel Industry Executive Women’s Network (TIEWN), a global networking association with over 10,000 members. 

Nile, born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey holds a Masters of Architecture. Nile is working towards her executive degree in Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP) at Harvard University to be completed in 2022 and she will also attend Yale School of Management, Women’s Leadership Program to be completed in November 2021.

Hotelier and Creative Director Maya Mallick is responsible for bringing the historic Culver Hotel in Los Angeles back to life, transforming it into a beacon for the community and one of the most sought-after luxury boutique hotels in the city. Under Mallick’s stewardship, the Culver Hotel swiftly became an iconic gathering place for in-the-know Angelenos, playing an integral part in the revival of Culver City, and earning the property many accolades, including being named one of the “Best Hotels in Los Angeles” by Travel + Leisure. In 2017, Mallick was the recipient of the Chamber’s “Trailblazer Award” acknowledging her extraordinary contribution in revitalizing Culver City and The Culver Hotel as a premiere destination.

An artist at heart, Mallick began her career in fashion, developing and manufacturing her own clothing label with her sisters which kick-started her career in creative entrepreneurship. As the daughter of a pioneering female hotelier and restaurateur, she came across the neglected hotel in 2007, and was inspired to revive its energy as a storied architectural jewel and National Landmark of the area. A designer with a soft spot for historic buildings and authentic craftsmanship, Mallick meticulously restored the 46-room flatiron with a fresh and relevant palate, scoured markets for antiques, hand-selected fabrics, and custom-made pieces to stay true to the integrity of the property. Drawing from her passion for design and experiential curation, Mallick was able to bring back the classic elegance and nostalgia of the 1920’s, and reimagine the property through an artistic and modern lens – not just as a hotel, but a creative venue for exclusive events, musical programming, memorable culinary experiences and local collaborations. Her vision was to create an artful and lively destination with a European ambiance that could provide people happiness, beauty and a part in its history. Mallick has always been drawn to the world of boutique hotels because they are creative platforms that bring together design and community and allow us to create experiences unique to a property’s story, character and neighborhood. She truly embraces the Art of Hospitality and is dedicated to continuing her journey towards mastering it.

A luxury-lifestyle entrepreneur, brand creator and Chief Executive Officer, Cara Federici, and her  firm, The Madison Melle Agency, are responsible for ideating and bringing to life some of the most  forward-thinking hospitality, real estate, media, and technology brands. With robust creative acumen  and extensive design, marketing, technology and leadership expertise, Federici’s proven track record  of success is derived from collaborating with a multitude of the world’s most notable names in their  respective industries, including Fast Company, Standard Hotels, Palisociety, InterContinental Hotels  Group, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and Proper Hospitality. At the forefront of innovation, Federici  launched Tech Theory Group in 2020, a high-performance technology advisory firm, designing and  delivering best in class managed information technology solutions and infrastructure services. The  Madison Melle Agency and Tech Theory Group are published regularly in national and industry  press publications and are honored to work with a stunning portfolio of clients who have been  featured in Forbes, Travel & Leisure’s It List, Business Insider, New York Times, Condé Nast  Traveler, The Washington Post, Vogue, and more.

Maxwell Waitt is an entrepreneur based in the San Diego and Los Angeles areas. Max’s attention to detail marks his nuanced approach to hospitality — from destination travel to boutique real estate to custom development. Born in Sioux City, Iowa and raised in Southern California, Max spent his younger years traveling the world and staying at unique hospitality properties which shaped his view for what the discerning traveler is truly looking for.

These experiences have culminated in the creation of his very own boutique hospitality brand, Orli, which Max co-founded with his sister, Hailey. The brand launched in October of 2022, debuting its first location in La Jolla, a historical Irving Gill property, that fuses century old architecture with an effortlessly modern guest experience. 

Prior to Orli, Max graduated with honors from the University of Southern California in 2020 with a degree in business administration and a focus on real estate finance. He also previously worked at Relevant Group, a hotel development company in Hollywood, that developed hotels under the Dream, Thompson, and Tommie brands.

Mallory Studer is the Founder of Oyster Bay Boutique Hotel located in Pensacola, Florida, and currently serves as General Manager for the property. In her role, she oversees day-to-day operations and leads strategic growth initiatives for the boutique brand. Mallory is a mindful creator and an intentional curator. 

Before entering hospitality, Mallory spent 12 years in healthcare consulting, working for a boutique firm. The work focused on maximizing experience and quality outcomes for hospital employees and the patients and communities they serve. During her tenure, she led the idea innovation team, and they implemented well over 1000 cost-savings and revenue-increasing ideas, leading to a positive financial impact well into the millions. The consulting company, Studer Group, was ultimately acquired by Huron in 2015, leaving her to leap into the next chapter of her education and career.

When the opportunity came to purchase a bed and breakfast in August 2020, she embarked on the journey. She quickly realized her expertise in employee engagement and patient quality experience in healthcare could easily be applied to the hospitality setting. 

The outcome is a highly engaged hotel team capable of delivering extraordinary guest service, which has led to near-perfect guest feedback ratings. Mallory feels blessed to work in such a rewarding industry and feels like she is just getting started and excited about the possibilities. 

Mallory has earned both a BSBA and MBA in Business and Marketing.

Mandy Murry Is A Force In Strategy, Branding, Communication, Story-Telling, And Breaking Up With Fear.  

She Is A Three-Time Cancer Survivor And Instills Her Passion For Travel And Experience Into Everyone She Meets.

She has been there and experienced it – creating the dream and story-book lifestyle of hospitality and travel and inspiring others to live theirs.

• Owner of Hospitality, Real Estate, and Health and Wellness Marketing and Consulting Company
• Director of Travel Logistics for VIP Guest of the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay
• Sales & Marketing Director for a Private Island Development in the Caribbean
• James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour Dinner Asheville, NC 2014
• Author of Cloudsurfing: Abuse, Cancer, and Fear Took My Voice, Now I Soar
• TEDxBountiful License Holder, Organizer & Host 2012
• TEDxRiverton License Holder, Organizer & Host 2018, 2019
• Food Critic and Travel Writer with accolades in The Huffington Post, Bella Grace, and Forbes. Named the Best Travel Writer in 2018, 2019, and 2022 by Lux Magazine
• Owner, General Manager, and Executive Chef at a mountain boutique resort, Snowbird Mountain Lodge

Her passions for food, travel, and business building have led her to consult with independent and noteworthy hospitality businesses across the globe. She has a proven track record of increasing revenue and taking boutique properties to the next level to stay in demand online and offline.

She now teaches online and in-app master classes, provides one-on-one coaching and consulting, and runs luxury retreats for hospitality professionals and boutique hotels, and runs Good Epicurean, an exclusive culinary dinner event series that gives back to local communities.

Larry Spelts, President of Lodging & Lifestyle Adventures for the Indigo Road Hospitality Group, has built his career developing and managing hotels, restaurants, spas, co-work, and social & fitness clubs. His thirty-year career has led him from Relais & Chateaux in Charleston, SC to Rosewood Hotels in New York City. At Indigo Road, he guides the development or acquisition process for both hotel assets and hotel management contracts, conducts market analyses, creation of brand identities, and business strategies. As of 2023, he has conducted development and management deals for over sixty hospitality and other projects including growing Charlestowne Hotels from 12 to 50 hotels while leading development there 2009-2017.

After departing Charlestowne, Spelts led the programming of a $750 Million, 500,000 s.f. mixed-use development project in Dallas, TX and built a new hospitality management company, Village Hospitality, for Phoenix Property Co., an affiliate of Lincoln Property Co. The project included the development and implementation of 18 F&B concepts from fine dining to a food hall, a boutique hotel, co-work, health & beauty spa, hair salon, barber shop, boutique grocery market, retail, fitness club, and private social and swim club.

In late 2019, Spelts was invited by Indigo Road, exclusively a restaurant company until that time, to create and build a hotel management company, and in January, 2020 Spelts and Indigo Road founder, Steve Palmer, launched a Lodging and Lifestyle Hospitality collaboration for Indigo Road. They acquired Skyline Lodge in Highlands, NC in December 2020 which was renovated and re-opened in 2021. Since then, Indigo Road has added three other hotels and has six hotels in development, three of which are opening in 2023.

Spelts enjoys hospitality concept and brand development, strategically synthesizing business performance and market data, thinking creatively and strategically about concept market positioning, and providing effective leadership for cross-functional teams. The skills he has gained through his work experiences are complemented by an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business.

David Goldstone has served in various executive management positions within the industry for over 20 years. He is one of only five recipients of the prestigious AH&LA’s John Whitaker Award for his dedication and commitment to the hotel industry.

He is an experienced executive with a demonstrated history of business and relationship skills working across all segments the hospitality industry. Goldstone has a certificate of CHMS, Master Hotel Supplier from AH&LA. Skilled in Marketing Management, Negotiation, Business Planning, Operations and Sales Management. A motivated leader who loves mentoring staff and helping them achieve their goals.

Goldstone serves on the boards of The International Luxury Hotel Association  (ILHA) and on the program planning and technology committees for The Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA). Goldstone is also a member of the WCI executive team responsible for setting the direction of the company.

As Founder & CEO, Helsel brings over 30 years of experience to her leadership at Dragonfly Strategists. Previous executive roles include directing revenue strategy, distribution, sales & marketing, guest loyalty &relations and IT at Journal Hotels, Heritage Hotels & Resorts, TravelClick, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, ARAMARK Parks & Destinations and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. In various roles at hotel and technology companies, Helsel was responsible for topline revenue departments including revenue management, distribution, sales, marketing and contact center services, as well as guest loyalty and guest relations. Additionally, she has led IT strategy for small hotel companies. After changing roles from revenue and distribution to vice president of guests at Kimpton Hotels, Helsel launched the first loyalty program, Kimpton InTouch (later rebranded Kimpton Karma) with extreme focus on facilitating guest recognition and delivering customized guest experiences.

For six years, she was the co-founder and partner in the successful consulting firm, Inspire Resources, the predecessor to Dragonfly. While at Inspire Resources, she co- authored two best-selling revenue management publications for the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). These publications serve as the foundation of the HSMAI Certified Revenue Management Executive (CRME) industry certification and are used by many universities as the basis of their revenue management curriculum.

Active in the industry, she is a past president of HEDNA (the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association), served on the 2016 and 2017 Americas Board of HSMAI and was selected as one of Travel Agent Magazine’s Top Women in Travel. Helsel also serves on the Digital & Innovation Advisory Council for ALSAC, the fundraising arm of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She has spoken at many events including HSMAI Revenue Optimization Conference, ResExpo, HEDNA, HITEC and Hillsong. She resides with her husband, son and two dogs in Brooklyn, New York.

Former 20th Century Fox Marketing Executive turned Real Estate Entrepreneur, Alex Kirkwood is the Founder and creative force behind boutique hotel brand, Kirkwood Collection. Pioneering the convergence of traditional hotels and modern vacation rental models, Alex capitalizes on the meteoric rise of Airbnb paired with the services and amenities expected of boutique hospitality to deliver a true “home away from home” experience. 

When Alex Kirkwood was 14 years old, he lay out a business plan stating that by the time he was 30, his goal was to have worked at a major Hollywood studio before crossing over into hospitality and real estate, which ended up proving accurate. Eclipsing 30, he co-owned a hotel and two vacation-rental properties, and left his job as a Marketing Executive at 20th Century Fox to pursue his lifelong passion for hotel development.

Alex went on to create Kirkwood Collection, a family-owned and operated luxury hotel brand offering a portfolio of intimate boutique hotels in iconic California destinations. Currently in Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Bay, six unique properties blend “old world” charm with “new world” accoutrements.  

With his immediate family as his founding investors, he proposed that they each raise $10,000 with the intent of acquiring real estate. Kirkwood says, “It has taken far more than $10,000 to arrive at the $20,000,000 in assets under management, but that dinner table meeting was the vision, spark, and engine that landed us here today.”  

Alex sources and develops projects with value-add conversion potential, focused on hospitality use and oversees all aspects from conception to completion, including design direction, development execution and operational strategies. Drawing from his prior experience of achieving over $2.7 billion in domestic box office success, Alex applies Fortune 100 marketing strategies and creative thinking to the hospitality industry, maximizing comp-set ADR and occupancy. 

Kirkwood Collection is currently seeking to expand into additional locations including its legacy roots of Seattle. 

Suzi DeAngelis brings extensive experience leading innovative sales and marketing programs for established and emerging brands in the luxury boutique hospitality space – including Public Hotels, by Ian Schrager, Gansevoort Hotel Group, the Bryant Park Hotel, and Interstate Hotels and Resorts. As a leader, she possesses a strong passion for developing and championing top-performing sales talent.

With over 20 years of experience in hotel sales and marketing, she has been at the forefront of multiple brand revitalizations, expansions, and re-launches, and established numerous relationships with key partners in fashion, entertainment, and luxury retail. She brings experience selling high-end leisure properties in top destinations and highly competitive markets.

Suzi is currently engaged as the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Walker Hotels.