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Benchmark Hospitality International Announces Agreement with Virginia Tech
to Operate The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center




The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, December 8, 2010
Benchmark Hospitality International, a leading US-based hospitality management company, has signed a management agreement with Virginia Tech to operation the university’s Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center.  The agreement, which commences January 1st, 2011, was announced by both Benchmark Hospitality and Virginia Tech today.  The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center are located in Blacksburg, Virginia.

“Benchmark is delighted to be the management partner for The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center,” said Burt Cabañas, chairman and CEO of Benchmark Hospitality International.  “The property is an outstanding university-based meetings and events facility, supported by an expert team of hospitality professionals and a leading school for hospitality and tourism education.”  Cabañas added, “As a leader in the meetings and hospitality industries for 30 years and a founding member of the International Association of Conference Centers, we look forward to working with the existing staff to further develop the property’s business, bringing The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center to new heights of service and success.” 

The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center is a vital expression of Virginia Tech’s commitment to sharing knowledge through outreach,” Virginia Tech Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs John E. Dooley said. “Not only is the inn well known for its comfort, hospitality, and inspirational beauty, but it has also developed a legacy as a place of shared engagement and learning. We are delighted with our new partnership with Benchmark Hospitality International.”

In the five years since opening, The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center has proven to be an economic boost to the Blacksburg area, drawing visitors to its guestrooms and conference facilities, indicated Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations. “While we have appreciated the five-year partnership with Hilton,” stated Hincker, “we believe Benchmark Hospitality International, with its international expertise in conferencing, will serve us well in the future.”

The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center
The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center opened in July 2005, offering a Virginia Tech-themed restaurant, private dining rooms, lounge, and conference rooms. Preston’s, the fine-dining restaurant is named for Col. William Ballard Preston, born at the nearby Smithfield Plantation in 1805. Preston, a Virginia senator and secretary of the Navy under President Zachary Taylor, lent his name to the school that preceded the university.

The theme is carried throughout. The Continental Divide lounge, next to Preston's, recalls Blacksburg's location on the Eastern Continental Divide, while the 1872 Salon commemorates Virginia Tech's 1872 founding as a land-grant college. The Huckleberry is a conference room named for the railroad train that brought generations of students to the Huckleberry Station in Blacksburg.
 
The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center, in addition to offering traditional lodging in 147 guest rooms, is also a popular site of conferences, seminars, short classes, workshops, and sporting events. Its 23,705 square feet of flexible meeting space includes three suites and three executive suites ideal for V.I.P. or special-event speakers. Situated on 25 acres at the intersection of West Campus Drive and Prices Fork Road in Blacksburg, the property features Alleghany Mountains and golf-course views, and is clad with Virginia Tech’s signature material--Hokie Stone.  The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center employs approximately 260 people.

Benchmark Hospitality International brings three decades of experience operating properties within the Virginias.  The company also manages Stonewall Resort near Weston, West Virginia; The Founders Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia, near Washington, DC.
 
About Virginia Tech
Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech is the most comprehensive university in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is among the top research universities in the nation. Today, Virginia Tech’s nine colleges are dedicated to quality, innovation, and results through teaching, research, and outreach activities. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Southside, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.

About Benchmark Hospitality International
Benchmark Hospitality International is a leader in the management and marketing of resorts, conference centers, hotels, and Personal Luxury Hotels™.  The independent company, launched in 1980, is a founding member of the International Association of Conference Centers.  Benchmark Hospitality is a worldwide organization operating properties in major metropolitan and resort destinations.  Benchmark's international headquarters is located in The Woodlands, Texas, near Houston.  The company’s northeast regional office is in New Jersey, with international offices in Tokyo, Japan, and Santiago, Chile. For the location of Benchmark’s properties and additional information, visit www.benchmarkhospitality.com.

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Contact: 

Ken Ellens
Ken Ellens Communications 
201-758-2864 / 201-758-2865-Fax
[email protected]
 

Also See: Benchmark Hospitality International Adds World of Whirlpool, Chicago, to Management Portfolio; Private Day Conference Center to Create Next Generation Insperience Studio / December 2010

Benchmark Hospitality International Names Recipient of the First Annual Bob Zappatelli Award for Culinary Excellence; Beverlie Terra, Executive Chef at Chaminade Resort & Spa, Santa Cruz / December 2010

Benchmark Hospitality Names Taylor Amara as First Recipient of the Bob Zappatelli Culinary Arts Scholarship In Partnership with The James Beard Foundation, New York / December 2010

Benchmark Hospitality International's Steve Kander Receives Prestigious Certified Specialist of Wine Certification from The Society of Wine Educators; Mentored by Benchmarks Chief Sommelier, Mary Watson-DeLauder / December 2010

Benchmark Hospitality International Named A 2010 “Top Work Place” by The Houston Chronicle; Places in the Top 50 / November 2010

Benchmark Hospitality International’s Hawaii Resorts Achieve Travel + Leisure’s “2010 World’s Best Awards” List as “Top 25 Resorts in Hawaii” / August 2010

Benchmark's Turtle Bay Resort A Top 25 Hotel in Hawaii for 2008 According to Travel + Leisure Magazine / July 2008
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