2012-12-11 — /travelprnews.com/ — Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., (NYSE: HST) (Host) contributed $10,000 to the AH&LEF 2012 Annual Giving Campaign, which supports key research and workforce development initiatives for the hospitality industry. This is Host’s first donation at the Leadership Gift level. Host has made an annual donation of $5,000 to AH&LEF for the previous six years.
The Annual Giving Campaign is the Foundation’s key yearly fundraiser that supports its core missions, including providing scholarships to hospitality management students, funding important research in areas such as room tax, energy management, and ADA requirements, as well as promoting hospitality as a career of choice and workforce development initiatives.
Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., is an S&P 500 and Fortune 500 company and is the largest lodging real estate investment trust and one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The Company currently owns 104 properties in the United States and 16 properties internationally, totaling approximately 65,000 rooms. The Company also holds non-controlling interests in a joint venture in Europe that owns 14 hotels with approximately 4,400 rooms and a joint venture in Asia that owns one hotel with approximately 300 rooms in Australia and a minority interest in seven hotels with approximately 1,750 rooms in India, two of which recently opened in Bangalore and five that are in various stages of development in two cities. Guided by a disciplined approach to capital allocation and aggressive asset management, the Company partners with premium brands in the operation of properties in over 50 major markets worldwide.
AH&LEF is the not-for-profit affiliate of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and is funded solely by charitable donations from progressive hospitality leaders and companies within the industry. In 2011, AH&LEF disbursed $886,000 to prepare promising college students for a career in hospitality, to attract and retain talented industry professionals, and to fund valuable research for the industry. Since the Foundation’s inception, more than $15 million has been distributed through its scholarship, education, outreach, and research programs.
All contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. For more information about donating, contact Michelle Poinelli, senior vice president of foundation programs at (202) 289-3181 or mpoinelli@ahlef.org, or visit www.ahlef.org. For more information about Host, please visit www.hosthotels.com.
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AH&LEF is the charitable fund-raising and endowed fund-management subsidiary of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Founded in 1953, AH&LEF is the premier organization for scholarships as well as funding for hospitality industry research. For more information, visit www.ahlef.org.
Serving the hospitality industry for more than a century, AH&LA is the sole national association representing all sectors and stakeholders in the lodging industry, including individual hotel property members, hotel companies, student and faculty members, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AH&LA provides members with national advocacy on Capitol Hill, public relations and image management, education, research and information, and other value-added services to provide bottom line savings and ensure a positive business climate for the lodging industry. Partner state associations provide local representation and additional cost-saving benefits to members.