At its Boutique Hotel Investment Conference in early June, the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA), an association partner of BDNY and BDwest, announced its name change to the Boutique & Lifestyle Leaders Assn.

The conference, which attracted more than 350 hoteliers, lifestyle executives, fashion icons and other attendees to Manhattan’s The Times Center on June 6, highlighted the common philosophy between boutique hospitality and the fashion, retail, wellness and technology industries.

Panelists and attendees conducted lively discussions about entrepreneurship, the next generation of boutique money and how the concept of boutique is shifting beyond hospitality.

“We noticed that the word ‘lodging’ didn’t describe our organization anymore,” said Ariela Kiradjian, chief operating officer of the nine-year-old trade group. “What we realized is that our association gathered all of the fantastic global minds of boutique.”

BLLA also announced that Stay-Boutique.com, the world’s first and only direct booking platform for boutique and lifestyle hotels, will officially re-launch this fall. For more information, visit globalboutiquedomination.com or blla.org.