White Lodging Development And Operations Excellence Recognized By Marriott International

Merrillville, IN - White Lodging Services was recognized by Marriott International at the Marriott Select Service/Extended Stay Owner's Conference with three prestigious awards highlighting the company's accomplishments in the past year. The Partnership Circle Award, Design and Construction Excellence and Developer of the Year were presented to the company at the recent conference held at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Golf Resort in California.

"To be recognized by the world's leading hotel company year after year with these awards speaks volumes about the level of commitment and dedication the entire White Lodging team brings to their individual roles each and every day," stated White Lodging Chairman & CEO Bruce White. "We have achieved these results as a company, but we recognize they have been accomplished by many individual efforts that have enabled us to sharpen our focus and continuously drive our vision."

The Partnership Circle Award, received by White Lodging for the twelfth time, is the highest honor recognizing owner and franchise companies that embody Marriott's vision of hospitality excellence. The award encompasses excellence in hospitality, development, guest satisfaction, associate satisfaction and quality assurance, and criteria for the award includes ranking in the top ten for each respective brand's guest satisfaction tracking. Long known as a company of "firsts," White Lodging Services received their first Partnership Circle Award in 1995, was the first to receive the award for the select service category, and shortly thereafter, was the first to be recognized in both the select and full-service categories.

"I want to thank you for your tremendous commitment to Marriott over the last seventeen years," stated President and COO of Marriott International William Shaw. "We have come a long way since you opened the very first franchised Fairfield Inn in Merrillville, Indiana. You and your management team demonstrate true partnership starting right at the top."

Additionally, White Lodging was honored for the second time with the Design and Construction Excellence Award for the opening of the SpringHill Suites Fishers hotel in Indianapolis, IN. This award is given out to recognize outstanding projects, those that go beyond the minimum requirements and exemplify "innovations" within their own markets as well as demonstrate a strong level of cooperation and partnership with the Marriott construction team. While in the construction phase of the hotel, White Lodging incorporated a key element of the new Gen 4 design into all guestrooms, an early adopter of brand innovations. White Lodging is an active advocate of this brand, with ten in the management portfolio and an additional seven hotels in the pipeline.

Finally, White Lodging was recognized for the fourth time with the Developer of the Year award. The criteria for this award is having the proven ability to grow by having at least six deals approved or open by June 2007, having at least 3 active deals and having multiple state developments.

For their efforts, White Lodging was also recently recognized at Marriott's full service conference, MINA with four additional awards. The company received their 11th Partnership Award for the full service category as well as the Food & Beverage Excellence Award for the efforts at the Renaissance Boulder Suites at Flatiron and two Service Excellence Awards for both the Marriott and Renaissance brand hotels.

SOURCE: White Lodging Services