With global tourism predicted to reach 80% to 95% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023, registrations and the speaker roster for March 2 & 3, Women in Travel & Hospitality (TIEWN) Conference at the Westlake Village Inn in Los Angeles County both reflect that vibrancy.   The agenda of the two-day, interactive event will address the reality that women represent 54% of the workforce in the tourism sector and yet only 4% of the C-Suite positions in tourism are held by women. With a theme of “Finding Your Circle of Influence,” agenda topics will cover technology, business and personal financial wellbeing, mentorship, raising capital, self-growth and tools for mentoring one another along the career path.   “The breadth and depth of wisdom reflected in our roster of speakers this year embodies the sharing mentality that our members embrace, explains Frances Kiradjian, CEO and Founder of both TIEWN and the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association. Today Frances runs the organizations’ five divisions with her daughter, Ariela Kiradjian, who is especially interested in the recent dynamic growth in wellness offerings in the tourism and hospitality industries.   “Wellness goes a lot deeper than yoga mats,” said Ariela. “Mental health is a big part of wellness and so is how you’re treating your staff and yourself so we will be covering those topics as well.”   Speaker highlights from the two-day conference include the ones below. Please visit BLLAEvents.com for a full list of our facilitators (we call our speakers “facilitators” because they engage with all attendees).  

• Marissa Hermer – Former star of Bravo’s Ladies of London, Hermer will be sharing her insights from a career as restauranteur, entrepreneur and author. Hermer’s experience working alongside Ian Schrager to open the Grammercy Park Hotel as well as partnering with her husband to open the popular Draycott restaurant in Caruso’s Palisades Village and two celebrity haunts in West Hollywood, Olivetta and Issima, should be of particular interest to the group.

 

• Aradhana Khowala – London based travel, diversity & equality expert who is CEO of Aptamind Partners, offers strategic consultancy in sustainable tourism development. She is recognized as a leader in the industry, named as one of the 100 most powerful in hospitality and 25 most influential women. Aradhana is a speaker on diversity, gender equality, and femtech, highlighting the lack of representation in executive tourism and health research.

 

• Chef Oliver English – Having grown up in his family’s restaurant business, Oliver is the Co-Founder & CEO of Common Table Creative (CTC), an impact-driven production & hospitality company specializing in advancing global food, sustainability and social justice issues. CTC creates films and experiences that bring people together and tell stories about the power of food. He created and is currently producing CTC’s signature documentary, Feeding Tomorrow (FT).

 

• Tammy Pahel – VP of Spa & Wellness at Carillion Miami Wellness Resort and co-founder of Alchemy Wellness Resorts. Pahel has opened 15 different spa properties and exceeds at reading trends, creating strategic alliances with other wellness brands and making hotel spa wellness offerings not just popular but profitable. She will be sharing her story of creating the country’s first Touchless Spa Therapy Circuit during the pandemic, while exceeding revenue expectations.

 

• Jersey Banks – Founder of boutique hotel and lifestyle brand, Urban Cowboy Hotels shares her dynamic and unlikely origin story about how she and her partner evolved their brand – with 4 + hotels under their umbrella in Brooklyn, Nashville, the Catskills and soon Denver – into a community of travelers and artists.

 

• Diana Stobo – Celebrity chef, best-selling author, health and wellness life coach and founder and owner of The Retreat Costa Rica and a soon-to-open Ayurvedic Healing Center and Spa in Costa Rica. She is also the creator of Truth Bar, an innovative prebiotic and probiotic gut health bar. Stobo speaks on a host of subjects, including digestive health, food as a modality for change, hormone balancing, sex, aging well, weight management & wellness travel.

 

• Dr. Marcus Coplin – Medical director for The Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs, CO and Murrieta Hot Springs Resort in Murrieta, California where he advises on science-based usage of thermal mineral hot spring water for health. Dr. Coplin writes and teaches extensively on the re-emergence of Health Resort culture and programming in the 21st century health care field and wellness tourism sector.

  TIEWN is grateful for the support of its current Headline sponsors which include: DIRECTV HOSPITALITY, Nestle Premium Waters, Dragonfly Strategists, Lockton, and Greenberg Traurig, as well as its Lifestyle sponsors which include: Roomza and Studio Nilebrand.   Women in various sectors within the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries attend the event, including travel advisors, general managers, owners & entrepreneurs, hospitality developers, marketing & sales executives, tour operators, tourism offices, corporate travel managers, cruise line executives, travel and hospitality technology, premium service & solution providers to travel and hospitality, and students   For tickets to the conference, please visit https://registration.socio.events/e/2023tiewn

  BLLA: What is your company’s mission statement?   CC: We Make an Impact on Communities by Stimulating Growth, Creating Jobs and Honoring History.   BLLA: How did you enter the hospitality industry?   CC: I began at age 13 washing pots and dishes for a family friend’s catering company. From there I learned to cook and was catering for parties of up to 200+ guests by age 17. This led to my choice to attend UNLV for “Hotel School”.

   

BLLA: What does “boutique” mean to you?   CC: Boutique sets an expectation that a guest is going have an experience that is more personal, intimate, curated and thoughtful than an experience in a larger hotel. I love having the opportunity to provide that level of service to guests each and every day.   BLLA: How are you an artisan?   CC: For me, being an artisan means creating experiences that are inspiring and memorable. We do this through our high-level of personalized service and by collaborating with local craftsmen, tastemakers, and artisans to give our guests interactive experiences they can only find at Hotel Santa Barbara. It could be wine education and tastings, chef-driven dinners or gatherings where guests can spend time with the artisan and their creations personally.   BLLA: Why do you celebrate the path of independence?   CC: For me its just an organic choice and a place where I’m more comfortable. An independent and boutique environment allows me to be authentic which eliminates barriers to creating real connection with team members and guests.

   

BLLA: What advice would you give to first-time hoteliers?   CC: Hospitality is about serving others. Find or create an environment where this is most important. Challenge yourself to invest in creating opportunities to serve team members, guests, and the community.   BLLA: What would you say to hotel lenders & investors reading this?   CC: An understandable focus of lenders and investors is financial performance. Boutique hotels are a good investment! I’d hope success is defined both in terms of financial performance and the success of supporting the good, hardworking people delivering those performance results. So often success is reliant on a dedicated and caring person, selflessly serving another.   BLLA: What’s next for you?   CC: Our focus is the re-imagining and renovation of Hotel Santa Barbara in a way that celebrates its rich history and appeals to the modern traveler.