MIAMI, FL, July 22, 2008. IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has recently announced that as part of its career development program, it has spearheaded a plan to give employees from Latin America the opportunity to attend The Panama International Hotel School, which opened this past April. The educational patronage includes covering all expenditures for the selected employees’ travel expenses, tuition, room and board while attending the school. All costs will be covered by IHG and shared with the employee’s respective hotel. Additionally, IHG announced that two scholarships to the school were also awarded to Panamanian citizens.

“It’s important to us to show our employees that we appreciate all of their hard work. We’re very proud to support our employees in their goals to become the hotel leaders of tomorrow, while giving them the opportunity to attend the first hotel school in Panama,” says Tom Murray, COO, the Americas, IHG.

This initiative will accelerate the hospitality careers of nine IHG employees, who will travel from various hotels across Latin America to attend The Panama International Hotel School. The students and their respective hotels are:
---- Jorge Ignacio Torres from the InterContinental Medellin in Medellin, Colombia, who has headed the Security department for three years, will expand his hotel operation knowledge by attending the Specialization in Front Office program at the hotel school.
---- Fernando Alessandrelli, from the InterContinental in Buenos Aires, is the Club Floor Supervisor. With his attendance in the Specialization in Front Office program, he aims to broaden his responsibility within the Rooms Division area at the hotel.
---- Carmen G. Marin V., a receptionist at the Crowne Plaza Santiago in Santiago, Chile, has been at the hotel for three years. Upon completion of her curriculum at the school, Marin will be able to apply for a Front Office Supervisor position.
---- Yalta B. Rodriguez, who has been at the InterContinental V Centenario Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for 15 years, will pursue the Operations Hospitality Certificate. She is currently the Sales & Banquet Manager at the hotel.
---- Yuri Adames, who has been with the InterContinental in Santo Domingo for three years, is an Accounts Payable Manager whose aim is to reach the Assistant Controller position after she completes the in-depth Front Office program at the school.
---- Chester A. Fuentes M. from the Crowne Plaza Managua in Managua, Nicaragua, is a Night Manager. He has been with the hotel for two years and plans to use this educational opportunity to meet his goal of becoming the hotel’s Front Office Manager.
---- Jose E. de Souza, a Room Service Manager at the InterContinental Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has been working at the property for 12 years and intends to become the Restaurant Manager at the hotel in the future. He will attend the specialized Food and Beverage program at the hotel school.
---- Daniel E. Botelho, a Front Desk Supervisor for the night shift at the Holiday Inn Parque Anhembi located in Sao Paulo, Brazil, will attend the school’s dedicated Front Office program.

These employees have been specially selected by their hotels’ Executive Committees and the IHG Latin America corporate office to attend the hotel school in Panama. The selection criteria were based on their length of service, job performance, and eagerness to grow within the company.

In addition to selecting nine of its employees to attend the school, IHG presented the new educational institution with two one-year scholarships for Panamanian National students to attend The Panama International Hotel School. At the launch event for the school and the Holiday Inn City of Knowledge at Panama Canal, IHG executives Tom Murray, COO, the Americas, and Alvaro Diago, Area President for Latin America, presented the two scholarships to Herman Bern, President of Empresas Bern and the developer of both projects. Martin Torrijos Espino, the President of Panama, was also in attendance at the memorable event.

“We are very proud to be offering these scholarships to these aspiring hoteliers. We are certain the education they’ll receive at this fine school will help them become extremely successful within our industry,” said Alvaro Diago, Area President of IHG Latin America. “We are also delighted to be supporting this prestigious educational institution, run by Herman Bern, one of our long-standing franchisees.”

The new international hotel school will be an integral part of the future of the hospitality industry, not only in Panama, but in all of Latin America. The school will build upon the heritage of its location in the City of Knowledge, an international complex for education, research and innovation. The city’s mission is to not only educate, but also to inspire, create and expand business opportunities, as well as to promote personal excellence. The school combines a wealth of academic and industry experience, providing students with the right balance of practical skills and theoretical knowledge needed to excel in the hotel industry. The campus features state-of-the-art facilities, a computer lab, demonstration kitchen and bar, and a fully equipped auditorium.

“We have always had tremendous success working together with IHG, and we look forward to making our relationship even stronger by building solid synergies between the new Holiday Inn and The Panama International Hotel School,” added Herman Bern, President of Empresas Bern. “We are honored to have one of the world’s largest hotel companies support our school with these scholarships. For these reasons and more, we are also proud to be unveiling that our impressive culinary theatre has been named, the ‘InterContinental Hotels Group Theatre’. We look forward to creating fine world-renowned chefs in the classroom and educating the next generation of industry leaders.”

Next to the school is IHG’s new Holiday Inn City of Knowledge at the Panama Canal, which features room service, a business center, five meeting rooms to accommodate up to 250 people, on-site parking, Bookends lobby bar, and the Canal View Café, offering a variety of international cuisines and an amazing view of the famous Panama Canal.