HFTP CEO to Speak on AI’s Impact at BLLA Boutique Hotel Owners Conference

HFTP’s AI Collective continues its commitment to educating the hospitality industry. Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) announced that CEO Frank Wolfe will speak at the upcoming 17th Annual Boutique Hotel Owners Conference later this month. Wolfe will host small group discussions on the power of AI and its transformative impact on the hospitality industry. […]

In an Age of Sameness, BHOC 2026 Bets on Wonder

The Boutique Hotel Owners Conference returns October 19–20 at the Westlake Village Inn as an intimate executive social club for independent hotel owners, with limited seats and sponsorships remaining WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — The Boutique & Luxury Lodging Association (BLLA) today announced the full program for the 2026 Boutique Hotel Owners Conference (BHOC), taking place […]

What Sauna Culture Is Teaching Boutique Hospitality — and Why We’re Watching 

Written by: Joe LeVine, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Mercer Street Partners Fifteen minutes in a sauna — 160, 180, sometimes 195 degrees, until you’re sweating and starting to question your decisions. Then, immediately, a cold plunge. Submerge to the neck in low-40’s water for one to three minutes, while everything in you says get out. […]

BLLA Declares Hospitality Has Entered the Age of Wonder

The 17th Annual Boutique Hotel Owners Conference Returns to LA this Fall LOS ANGELES, CA — The Boutique & Luxury Lodging Association (BLLA) has entered a new era of storytelling for the boutique hotel industry, declaring 2026 the Age of Wonder. The theme anchors this year’s Boutique Hotel Owners Conference (BHOC), the 17th edition of […]

The New Capital Stack Has a Living Room

What three experts on branded residences said about deal structure, buyer motivation, and why this is no longer just a game for the major flags. From the Boutique Hotel Investment Conference, June 3, 2026 — Branded Residences Branded residential used to be a footnote in the hotel development conversation. It is now, in many cases, […]

If You’re Not Designing for the Ear, You’re Already Behind

What the minds behind Public Records and Stylus said about sound, obsession, and what happens when you treat acoustics as architecture. From the Boutique Hotel Investment Conference, June 3, 2026 — High Fidelity: Sound as a Hospitality Vertical The session description for this panel made a claim worth sitting with: a beautiful room used to […]

The Restaurant Is the Hotel Now

What three F&B operators said about culture, concept, and the economics of making people want to come back. From the Boutique Hotel Investment Conference, June 3, 2026 — The Other Side of Hospitality: Food & Beverage There’s a version of hotel food and beverage that everyone in this industry recognizes: the restaurant designed for hotel […]

The Best Opportunities Rarely Announce Themselves

On emerging markets, community as infrastructure, and why the geography of boutique hotel investment has quietly shifted. From the Boutique Hotel Investment Conference, June 3, 2026 — Emerging Markets and Opportunities The panel description for this session opened with a provocation: the investors waiting for calm may be waiting a long time. The ones paying […]

Capital Is Moving. Do You Know Where?

What the investors, lenders, and operators on our capital markets panel actually said about where boutique hotel deals get done right now. From the Boutique Hotel Investment Conference, June 3, 2026 — Capital Market Trends The panel description for this session ended with a question: capital is moving. Do you know where? Thirty minutes later, […]

The Currency You Can’t Buy

What three cultural operators taught a room full of investors about the only asset that actually earns loyalty. From the Boutique Hotel Investment Conference, June 3, 2026 — Cultural Capital: The Currency You Can’t Buy Pierre Bourdieu argued that society runs on more than money. It runs on taste, knowledge, and the kind of fluency […]