April 18, 2011 (Denver) - Sage Hospitality recently held its annual Leadership Conference at the Ogden Marriott in Ogden, Utah, honoring properties and employees whose performances have pegged them as models of excellence within the national hospitality leader's portfolio.  Representatives from Sage Hospitality's 54 hotels were in attendance for a weekend of strategy sessions, addresses, awards, work, volunteering and even a skiing adventure from March 6 to 8.

"The Sage Leadership conference was a great opportunity to recognize some of our outstanding associates in the Sage family," said Walter Isenberg, CEO of Sage Hospitality. "It was great to have time to interact, volunteer and even ski together."

Noteworthy honorees were Hotel of the Year to Residence Inn - Denver City Center for their achievements in guest satisfaction, associate experience, commitment to quality and their focus on raising funds for Sage's charity program, Dollars for Dreams.  Associate of the Year was awarded to Fred Traverny at Homewood Suites San Francisco Airport North .  Traverny was selected as a leader out of more than 6,000 Sage employees across the country for his positive attitude.  As Breakfast Host, Traverny raised the breakfast guest customer service scores to above the brand average and had a large number of positive guest reviews.

The Leadership Conference wasn't all business, however.  Attendees spent a day volunteering with local Ogden organizations, including helping out at the Washington Terrace school, job search mentoring at Hill Air Force Base and serving food at St. Anne's Center.

The list of honorees at the 2011 Leadership Conference includes:

• Property of the Year: Residence Inn - Denver City Center
• Leader of the Year: Damen Kompanowski, Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites
• Manager of the Year: Kim Greene, Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel
• Sage Passion Award: Dani Stern, Westin Westminster
• Rookie of the Year: Eric Paul, Courtyard Portland City Center
• Mentor of the Year: Robert Walker, Sage Restaurant Group, Denver Area
• Sales Team of the Year - Select Service: Hawthorn Suites Seattle South/Kent
• Sales Team of the Year - Full Service: the Nines Hotel in Portland, Oregon
• Spirit of Innovation: Meaghan Goedde, The Original Restaurant in Portland

Community Service Award: Hilton College Station in College Station, Texas

About Sage Hospitality
Founded in 1984, Sage Hospitality has strategically grown into one of the largest privately held hotel management and development companies in the nation operating a variety of large, full-service hotels and extended stay and select-service properties. Sage Hospitality's comprehensive management portfolio includes major international brands for Marriott, Starwood, Hilton and IHG as well as the independent boutique hotels. Sage Hospitality has further differentiated with the creation of the Sage Restaurant Group, which has created and is managing 10 unique restaurant concepts including the acclaimed Mercat a la Planxa restaurant in Chicago. For more information, please visit www.sagehospitality.com.