Founder of the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA), Frances Kiradjian, a 25-year hospitality and travel industry seasoned professional, created BLLA to give a voice to independent 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 more than 500 members including hotels and the vendor suppliers that sustain them. Ms. Kiradjian’s travel experience cuts across various areas of the industry, but always with a razor-sharp focus on the hospitality sector. 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. Kiradjian began her career in the travel industry as a national accounts manager at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, where she managed their California corporate and leisure offices and consulted with top 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.