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Embassy Suites Social Media Web Site Adds Expert
 Bloggers, Switches from Flash to HTML




MEMPHIS, Tenn.-June 3, 2009- Today, Embassy Suites Hotels announced the redesign of its popular site BusinessBalance.com — a website designed specifically with the needs of business travelers in mind. Taking direction from the fast-paced world in which guests receive and send information, BusinessBalance.com will continue to offer sage advice on a variety of topics including fitness, food and work/life balance, with new experts – and now in blog form. Experts will blog on a continuous basis, giving site visitors the nuggets of knowledge they need to survive and succeed in today’s business environment.

“We received terrific customer feedback on our BusinessBalance.com web site, including requests to make the site faster, easier to navigate and more interactive," said John Lee, VP, Brand Marketing & Communications, Embassy Suites Hotels. "We were happy to accommodate our site visitors with improved functionality, a fresh blog format and a new line-up of popular bloggers that will add real value to business travelers seeking balance on the road."

In addition to new bloggers and the switch from traditional website to a blog structure, BusinessBalance.com plays host to a number of new features, including a shift from Flash to HTML form to allow for more efficient and easy-to-use navigation – especially for those business travelers frequenting the site via handheld devices. The site also includes new RSS functionality so that business travelers can receive regular alerts when new content is posted, as well as a Flickr stream to help readers better visualize how a balanced business life looks while on the road.

About the Experts:

Jane and Michael Stern, Roadfood.com – Food

Jane and Michael Stern travel the back roads of America searching for good, regional restaurants. After meeting at Yale University in the 1970s, the Sterns married and began a collaboration that has yielded more than thirty books, including the culinary guide, Roadfood, cookbooks Square Meals and American Gourmet, and non-culinary best-sellers Elvis World, The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste, and Way Out West. In her New York Times book review of their recently published memoir, Two for the Road, Nora Ephron wrote, "Jane and Michael Stern deserve a room of their own in the Smithsonian Institution, right next to Julia Child's Cambridge kitchen."

The Sterns are contributing editors at Gourmet magazine, where they write a monthly column titled "Roadfood," taking readers to down home restaurants in small towns and cities all around the U.S. Their website, www.roadfood.com, averages over four million page views and a half million unique visitors each month and has won awards for best Internet food site from PC Magazine, Forbes and Yahoo.com. Each week, Jane and Michael contribute a "Two for the Road" segment to "The Splendid Table" on Public Radio.

Every year from 1995 to 1999, and again in 2004, the Sterns' Gourmet column was nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Magazine Writing, an award they won in 1997 and 1999. In 1992, Jane and Michael received the Perrier Jouet Award for lifetime achievement and were inducted into the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America.

Erin Whitehead and Jenn Walters, FitBottomedGirls.com – Fitness

Erin Whitehead and Jenn Walters make up the Fit Bottomed Girls dynamic duo. Jenn has several fitness credentials under her belt: she is a certified personal trainer, a lifestyle and weight management consultant, and a group exercise instructor. Erin has years of workout experience and is well-versed in fitness news and trends. Even with their expertise, the Fit Bottomed Girls pride themselves on being real girls—not gladiators. They understand that health and fitness should be about enjoyable activities and the occasional treat, not about torturous workouts and deprivation.

Erin and Jenn launched FitBottomedGirls.com in May 2008. The website features weekday posts with fresh fitness content for real women (and even guys) interested in improving their health through physical activity and sensible eating. They offer workout reviews, fitness news, product and food information and, most importantly, personal accounts of their exercise endeavors and fitness humor.

Erin Kane and Kristin Brandt, ManicMommies.com – Work/Life Balance

Erin Martin Kane is a professional freelance publicist who makes a living promoting media projects out of her home office. She specializes in public television programs and Web sites. When she’s not working, blogging or podcasting she’s chasing around her two little boys in a suburb of Boston. Erin produces the weekly podcast “Manic Mommies,” which she co-hosts with her neighbor, Kristin Brandt. It was through podcasting that Erin developed a genuine interest in technology, and today she’s constantly on the hunt for products and platforms that simplify her work and help her manage her household.

In addition to co-hosting “Manic Mommies,” Kristin Brandt is a full-time account executive and project supervisor with a marketing and advertising agency outside Boston. She is credited with coming up with the name “Manic Mommies,” a term many American moms now use to describe themselves! The mother of two small children, Kristin is the more “computer-savvy” of the Manic Mommies and is responsible for editing the podcast and maintaining the Web site. Kristin is fascinated by any new, shiny gadget and often jokes that her daughter is doomed to inherit a pile of junk jewelry and old technology.

Embassy Suites continues to give guests more reasons to stay with its signature two-room suites, complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast, state-of-the-art PRECOR® fitness centers at all locations, and nightly Manager’s Reception*.

About Embassy Suites Hotels

Founded in 1984, Embassy Suites Hotels defines the upscale, all-suite segment and today has 196 hotels, with an additional 70 in the pipeline. With spacious two-room suites, engaging team members and an inviting atrium environment, guests are allowed to put their feet up and feel right at home. To learn more, visit www.embassysuites.com.

Hilton Hotels Corporation is the leading global hospitality company, with more than 3,300 hotels and 550,000 rooms in 77 countries and territories, including 130,000 team members worldwide. The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel portfolio of some of the best known and highly regarded brands, including Hilton®, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations™, Homewood Suites by Hilton®, Home2 Suites by Hilton™ and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection™.

*Service of alcohol is subject to state and local laws. Must be of legal drinking age.

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Contact:

Embassy Suites Hotels
Dawn Ray
901-374-5954
[email protected]
http://www.hiltonworldwide.com

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Also See: Embassy Suites Opens 200th Property, Minneapolis - Brooklyn Center Featuring Milestone Design Option III Prototype & Flying Spoons / April 2009

Ten Embassy Suites' General Managers in the Inaugural Circle of Leadership Training Program / February 2009

Embassy Suites to Open 62 Hotels in Next Three Years; Development Pipeline Fueled Design Option III Prototype and Flying Spoons / August 2008
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