ORLANDO, Florida, April 2013—The tenth annual Lodging Management Program International Competition presented by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) features new competitors, judges, and sponsors, as well as a peek at the Institute’s new high school curriculum.  The event, scheduled for April 10-12 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).

Thirteen teams, representing schools in the Bahamas (Andros Island and New Providence), California, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Wyoming will compete for thousands of dollars in college scholarships provided by leading hospitality management schools, including Johnson & Wales, Widener University,  San Diego State University, Sullivan University, and Florida International University. While students are competing, their instructors and state hospitality association education directors will have the opportunity to preview Year 2 of EI’s new high school hospitality curriculum, the Hospitality and Tourism Management Program (HTMP), which will be available for fall classes. The competition’s award ceremony will be held this year at Disney’s Epcot Center for the first time, incorporating the Disney experience into the event for the students.

“We’re excited to welcome first-time competitors from California, Ohio, and Andros Island in the Bahamas,” said Shelly Weir, EI’s senior director, state relations & educational programs. “Both our high school program and the annual competition continue to grow. I think our judges and sponsors will be impressed by the knowledge and poise our student teams display. We are also excited to welcome some of the top names in the industry as judges for this year’s event. I know the students are looking forward to networking with these leading hospitality industry executives and educators.”

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, sales and marketing, and guest service  (new this year) in which students have 20 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 quiz. This event will include information from both the Lodging Management Program, EI’s current high school curriculum, and Year 1 of the Hospitality and Tourism Management Program, which several schools began using last fall.

Event sponsors include AH&LEF, HCareers, Heartland Payment Systems, Best Western International, Hersha Hospitality, Pearson, the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, and Orlando Tech.

For more information about the competition and EI’s high school hospitality curriculum, contact 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. Please visit http://www.ahlei.org