ALIS was launched in February 2002 at the new Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California and attracted about 1,400 of the world�s top hotel industry leaders. According to ALIS Chairman Jim Burba, vice president and worldwide director of advisory services for architecture firm Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo, ALIS delegates and sponsors were polled after the conference regarding a variety of items including where the next ALIS should be held. �While we received a number of different opinions and some great input, the consensus was to keep ALIS in Los Angeles for now� Burba stated. �The management and owners of the Century Plaza submitted a very strong proposal and their enthusiasm to host ALIS in 2003 was contagious! The Century Plaza Hotel & Spa and St. Regis Hotel offers a large block of sleeping rooms, great meeting space, and the improvements made to the site make it an ideal venue,� added Burba.
 

Upon hearing that the Century Plaza Hotel, a Starwood managed property, was chosen as the host, Francis Najafi of the Pivotal Group, owner of the hotel, stated �The Century Plaza is delighted to have been selected by ALIS. We view this as an ultimate compliment by our industry peers following our major renovation and repositioning as a premier West Coast urban resort�. Bill Hall, General Manager of the Century Plaza Hotel added, �As a veteran hotel general manager, it is a great pleasure to welcome the hospitality industry to our hotel. It is an honor to have this conference at the new Century Plaza Hotel�.

ALIS is hosted and organized by Burba Hotel Network (BHN) and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). A major portion of the ALIS proceeds goes to the Educational Institute (EI) of AH&LA to help fund scholarships and educational programs. 

AH&LA is a 92-year-old federation of state lodging associations throughout the United States with some 13,000 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.

BHN is the co-organizer of some of the world�s largest and most prominent hotel investment conferences, including the annual International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, Germany, the annual Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference, and Asia Pacific�s annual Hotel Investment Conference in Hong Kong.