ORLANDO, Florida, March 2012—High school hospitality students from around the world will gather in Orlando March 29-30 to compete for the international title in the ninth annual American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute International Lodging Management Program (LMP) Competition. The two-day event at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort challenges students with events based on real-world job scenarios.  The competition is organized by EI, via funding provided by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF).

Twelve teams, representing schools in Arkansas, the Bahamas, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Wyoming will compete for thousands of dollars in college scholarships provided by leading hospitality management schools, including Widener University,  Niagara University, San Diego State University, Newbury  College, Sullivan University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.   While students are competing, their instructors and state hospitality association education directors will have the opportunity to preview EI’s new high school hospitality curriculum, Hospitality and Tourism Management, which will be introduced for fall classes.
 
Teams of students will display their proficiency while competing in three contests:

Hotel Operations: Students apply their knowledge in a three-part challenge: room inspections, in which students have 10 minutes to find 10 housekeeping cleaning errors in a typical guestroom using an executive housekeeping checklist; night audit, in which teams perform financial calculations and manually post front desk accounting information; and case studies in food and beverage and sales and marketing, in which students have 15 minutes to prepare solutions to case study scenarios.
 
The Hospitality Project: Teams demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities in event planning. They are given a scenario that includes budget parameters, invitation design, banquet event order, menu, and floor plan.

The Knowledge Bowl: Teams demonstrate their knowledge through a multi-round, question-and-answer Jeopardy-style quiz.

LMP is an educational program for high school juniors and seniors. Topics covered in the program include lodging management, front office and housekeeping management, leadership skills, marketing and sales, and food and beverage service.  Through internships arranged as part of their LMP class, students can explore the variety of job opportunities open to them in the hotel industry.

Event sponsors include AH&LEF, HCareers, and Heartland Payment Systems.

For more information about the Lodging Management Program and the competition, contact Lee Ann Lonsdale, manager, high school programs, at (407) 999-8115 or [email protected], or Shelly Weir, senior director, state education & training programs, at (407) 999-8166 or [email protected].
 
About the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute
Established in 1953 as a nonprofit educational foundation of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Educational Institute’s mission is to continue being the preferred provider to the lodging industry, hospitality schools, and related hospitality industries by developing and providing quality resources to train, educate, and certify hospitality professionals worldwide.