The employee awards - Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year, Outstanding Manager of the Year, and Outstanding General Manager of the Year - are presented in three categories of small, medium, and large properties.  The AH&LA Achievement Awards are given for exceptional lodging programs in the areas of community service, enviro-management, guest relations, one-time only and ongoing special events, and hotels of promise.  Introduced last year, the hotels of promise award is given to properties that have pledged their time and resources to fulfilling America's Promise's commitment to enhance the future of America's youth.  There are separate AH&LA Achievement Award categories for small and large properties.

Winning individuals and properties receive engraved plaques during the AH&LA Annual Conference & Leadership Forum/The Lodging Expo, April 3-4, 2002, in Philadelphia.  In addition, the three Outstanding Lodging Employees of the Year receive complimentary airfare and accommodations to attend the conference.

All programs and employees will be judged for work done in 2001, and there is no charge to enter.  Lodging properties should contact their AH&LA member state association to obtain deadline information.  Properties located in states that do not sponsor an awards competition should send entries by January 4, 2002, to AH&LA Stars of the Industry, 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC  20005.  Winners and honorable mentions will be notified no later than February 1, 2002.

For information, or to receive an entry form, call AH&LA's fax-on-demand line at (800) 701-7725, document #340; visit AH&LA's Web site at www.ahla.com; or call (202) 289-3130.  

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), is a 91-year-old federation of state lodging associations throughout the United States with some 12,000 property members worldwide, representing more than 1.7 million guest rooms.  AH&LA provides its members with assistance in operations, education, and communications, and lobbies on Capitol Hill to provide a business climate in which the industry can continue to prosper.  Individual state associations provide representation at the state level and offer many additional cost-saving benefits.