News for the Hospitality Executive |
InterContinental Hotels Group Expands Career Development
Program by
Giving Latin America Hotel Employees the Opportunity
to Attend
The Panama International Hotel School
MIAMI - July 22, 2008 - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has recently announced that as part of its career development program, it has spearheaded a plan to give employees from Latin America the opportunity to attend The Panama International Hotel School, which opened this past April. The educational patronage includes covering all expenditures for the selected employees� travel expenses, tuition, room and board while attending the school. All costs will be covered by IHG and shared with the employee�s respective hotel. Additionally, IHG announced that two scholarships to the school were also awarded to Panamanian citizens. �It�s important to us to show our employees that we appreciate all of their hard work. We�re very proud to support our employees in their goals to become the hotel leaders of tomorrow, while giving them the opportunity to attend the first hotel school in Panama,� says Tom Murray, COO, the Americas, IHG. This initiative will accelerate the hospitality careers of nine IHG employees, who will travel from various hotels across Latin America to attend The Panama International Hotel School. The students and their respective hotels are:
In addition to selecting nine of its employees to attend the school,
IHG presented the new educational institution with two one-year scholarships
for Panamanian National students to attend The Panama International Hotel
School. At the launch event for the school and the Holiday Inn City of
Knowledge at Panama Canal, IHG executives Tom Murray, COO, the Americas,
and Alvaro Diago, Area President for Latin America, presented the two scholarships
to Herman Bern, President of Empresas Bern and the developer of both projects.
Martin Torrijos Espino, the President of Panama, was also in attendance
at the memorable event.
Tom Murray, COO, IHG, Americas, Herman Bern, President of Empresas Bern, Alvaro Diago, Area President, IHG, Latin America at the launch of the Panama International Hotel & School. �We are very proud to be offering these scholarships to these aspiring hoteliers. We are certain the education they�ll receive at this fine school will help them become extremely successful within our industry,� said Alvaro Diago, Area President of IHG Latin America. �We are also delighted to be supporting this prestigious educational institution, run by Herman Bern, one of our long-standing franchisees.� The new international hotel school will be an integral part of the future of the hospitality industry, not only in Panama, but in all of Latin America. The school will build upon the heritage of its location in the City of Knowledge, an international complex for education, research and innovation. The city�s mission is to not only educate, but also to inspire, create and expand business opportunities, as well as to promote personal excellence. The school combines a wealth of academic and industry experience, providing students with the right balance of practical skills and theoretical knowledge needed to excel in the hotel industry. The campus features state-of-the-art facilities, a computer lab, demonstration kitchen and bar, and a fully equipped auditorium. �We have always had tremendous success working together with IHG, and we look forward to making our relationship even stronger by building solid synergies between the new Holiday Inn and The Panama International Hotel School,� added Herman Bern, President of Empresas Bern. �We are honored to have one of the world�s largest hotel companies support our school with these scholarships. For these reasons and more, we are also proud to be unveiling that our impressive culinary theatre has been named, the �InterContinental Hotels Group Theatre�. We look forward to creating fine world-renowned chefs in the classroom and educating the next generation of industry leaders.� Next to the school is IHG�s new Holiday Inn City of Knowledge at the Panama Canal, which features room service, a business center, five meeting rooms to accommodate up to 250 people, on-site parking, Bookends lobby bar, and the Canal View Café, offering a variety of international cuisines and an amazing view of the famous Panama Canal. IHG has more than 160 hotels in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean, and has been serving Latin America for over 60 years. IHG is one of the world�s largest hotel groups by number of rooms, and has hotels situated in nearly every key market throughout the Latin America territory. |
Contact:
Veronica Villegas
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