Interval Continues Support of Florida Schools of Hospitality Management

Commitment to education includes scholarship sponsorships in the Caribbean

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. October 14, 2008

MIAMI, FL, November 15, 2006. Interval International, a leading global vacation exchange company and operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (Nasdaq: IACI), reinforced its ongoing commitment to education by hosting hospitality and tourism management students from Florida universities at the Eighth Annual Vacation Ownership Investment Conference held at The Peabody Orlando.

During the conference, fifteen undergraduates had the opportunity to attend interactive roundtables, mobile workshops, and panel discussions led by experts from the best-known companies in hospitality, vacation ownership, and resort development.

In addition, Interval sponsored its inaugural Hospitality Student Forum, during which Jay Wilson, Interval's assistant vice president of resort sales and service, gave a presentation about the vacation ownership industry, Interval's history, and how exchange companies work. He spoke with the students about the exciting future that lies ahead for the industry, as well as about employment opportunities in the areas of both operations and sales and service. Wilson is also a guest lecturer at University of Central Florida's hospitality school on the topic of vacation ownership. Howard Nusbaum, president and chief executive officer of the American Resort and Development Association (ARDA), gave the students an overview of ARDA and ARDA International Foundation (AIF), which is devoted to meeting the industry's research and education needs.

Interval supports hospitality education in a number of ways, such as offering both financial and personnel resources to ensure that students are educated in vacation ownership - a growing field that offers employment opportunities to students interested in pursuing a career in hospitality. In 1999, the company endowed a scholarship awarded each year to a Florida International University (FIU) student pursuing a degree in this area of study. Each fall and spring semester, members of Interval's management team conduct a lecture and tour of the Miami-based Member-Services Center as part of the course work. Interval also facilitates a stay in vacation ownership units located in Orlando and participation in "mobile workshops," or tours of area resorts.

"Hands-on experience is priceless in any industry, and these particular students have the advantage of being close to Orlando, which has the highest concentration of vacation ownership resorts in the world," said Wilson.

Outside of the U.S., Interval made a three-year commitment to the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) education foundation to sponsor a new scholarship fund for Caribbean students to pursue hospitality and tourism studies. The Interval International Hospitality and Tourism Scholarship will be endowed with $15,000 annually. And, earlier this year, Interval and resorts affiliated with its exchange network also made a $20,000 donation to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Education Foundation.