January 26, 2011 (Denver) – Sage Hospitality  is partnering with Metropolitan State College of Denver to create a Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC) in the heart of downtown Denver that will help meet the needs of Colorado’s tourism industry by educating the next generation of hotel professionals to the industry’s highest standards.
 
The first of its kind in the Rocky Mountain West, the HLC will feature a 150-room SpringHillSuites by Marriott, a 28,000-square-foot Hospitality Learning Center and 5,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. The combination of classroom instruction and interactive laboratories will provide an experiential curriculum for Metro State’s diverse undergraduate student population as well current professionals seeking continuing education.
 
The groundbreaking for the HLC will be held March 31, 2011, with an expected opening date in fall 2012.

Sage Hospitality is donating time and resources to this new center, assisting with fundraising and partnering with designers to help integrate the College’s Hospitality, Tourism and Events Program with the hotel. Sage Hospitality is also supporting the development of a highly skilled and diverse workforce for the hotel and the hospitality program overall.
 
A special purpose corporation (SPC) was formed for the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center and provides for its financing, construction, operation and management. In November 2010, bonds were issued for this project at a 4.34 percent interest rate. The operating proceeds will flow to the Metro State Foundation for scholarships and academic program support.
 
Currently, The Curtis, a Sage-managed hotel, provides 875 square feet of on-site classroom space for students to use as a learning tool, providing a proof of concept for the planned Hospitality Learning Center. Regular classes offered in the classroom at the Curtis include: Applied Hotel and Restaurant Operations, Hotel Housekeeping, Meeting and Event Management, and Hospitality Service Systems.
 
“We’ve always believed that interactive and collaborative instruction is the best way to educate hotel professionals,” says Walter Isenberg, president and CEO of Sage Hospitality. “The partnership with Metro State furthers Sage Hospitality’s commitment to educating a generation of highly skilled hospitality personnel, as well as its dedication to Denver.”

“This project will be the only educational facility of its type in Colorado and one of only 10 in the United States,” says Metro State President Stephen Jordan. “Once completed this facility will take Metro State’s Hospitality Tourism and Events Department to a new level of recognition in the Rocky Mountain Region and nationally.”
 
“I’m very excited that our more than 500 declared Hospitality Tourism and Events majors will now have additional opportunities to implement academic theory from the classroom in a real-world hotel and learning laboratory,” says Chad Gruhl, chair of the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center and Assistant Professor of Hotel Administration in the Hospitality Tourism and Events Program. “We feel this project will help the College potentially double its program enrollment in the next decade.”
 
For more information on the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center and a full list of project supporters, please visit Metro State is Rising.
 
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 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 in Chicago. For more information, please visit Sage Hospitality.

About Metropolitan State College of Denver
With more than 24,000 students, Metro State is Colorado’s leader in educating undergraduate Coloradans. Starting in the fall of 2010, the College is offering master’s degrees in accounting and teacher education, will offer a master’s in social work starting fall 2011. The College enrolls the highest number of students of color among four-year colleges in the state. It boasts 67,500 alumni, the bulk of whom remain in Colorado after graduation.