NEWS RELEASE

Contact:          Malini Perumal

Vice President, Sales & Revenue Management

(505) 831-4200

BEST WESTERN PLUS EXECUTIVE SUITES RECEIVES DIRECTOR’S AWARD FOR QUALITY

Albuquerque, N.M. – September 30, 2016 – The BEST WESTERN PLUS EXECUTIVE SUITES in Albuquerque, New Mexico has received the Best Western Director’s Award for outstanding quality standards.  The Director’s Award recognizes Best Western Hotels scoring in the top 20 percent of more than 2,100 North American properties in cleanliness and maintenance.  Hotels must also meet Best Western’s requirements for design and high customer service scores to qualify for the distinction.

“The Director’s Award is an important symbol of success”, says General Manager Yahima Hernandez.  “This award confirms the BEST WESTERN PLUS EXECUTIVE SUITES commitment to providing quality accommodations for our guests.  Our housekeeping and maintenance departments have worked hard to achieve this level of excellence.”

Located at 4630 Pan American Freeway, NE, the BEST WESTERN PLUS EXECUTIVE SUITES features 89 suites, all rooms are spacious two room suites with microwave oven and mini-fridge, complimentary WiFi and a wonderful complimentary breakfast each morning.

The BEST WESTERN PLUS EXECUTIVE SUITES participates in the brand’s worldwide, toll-free reservations system, as well as centralized advertising, marketing, purchasing, quality assurance standards, training, and interior design services.  Reservations may be booked by calling Best Western International’s 24-hour, toll-free reservation number at (800) WESTERN.  Reservations are also available from Best Western International’s Web site at www.bestwestern.com.

About Best Western Hotels & Resorts:

Best Western® Hotels & Resorts headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., is a privately held hotel brand with a global network of 4,100* hotels in more than 100* countries and territories worldwide. Best Western offers seven hotel brands to suit the needs of developers and guests in every market: Best Western®, Best Western Plus®, Best Western Premier®, Executive Residency by Best Western℠, Vīb®, BW Premier Collection® and GLōSM. Now celebrating 70 years of hospitality, Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales and marketing support, and online and mobile booking capabilities. More than 26 million travelers are members of the brand’s award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards®, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western hotel worldwide. The brand’s partnerships with AAA/CAA, Minor League Baseball, and Harley-Davidson® provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Best Western continues to set industry records regarding awards and accolades, including Business Travel News naming Best Western as the best midscale hotel brand in 2014 and Best Western Plus as the best upper mid-price hotel brand in 2014 and 2015, four consecutive Compuware Best of the Web gold awards for best hotel website, and seven consecutive AAA/CAA Hotel Partner of the Year awards. Nearly sixty percent of Best Western branded hotels earned a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award in 2015.

* Numbers are approximate, may fluctuate, and include hotels currently in the development pipeline.

Hilton Honors Top Franchise Owners in the Americas

MCLEAN, Va. – Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced honors for its top annual development awards in the Americas. Awards are presented in five categories across the company’s portfolio of hotels, including: Developer of the Year, Best Conversion, Deal of the Year, Outstanding Achievement and Lifetime Achievement. Recipients are awarded based on criteria ranging from total number and quality of hotels developed to impact on community during the course of 2015.

“We owe much of Hilton’s success to the efforts of our owner partners, and we are proud to honor them with this well-deserved recognition,” said Bill Fortier, senior vice president – development, Americas, Hilton. “Thanks to these owner relationships, we are consistently expanding our brands globally through our organic growth strategy. With the support of our partners, we look forward to continue leading the way in innovation and service in the hospitality industry.”

The Developer of the Year award for 2015 goes to:

• Hilton Garden Inn: Carmen Sam and Greg Fenton, Landmark Holdings
• Homewood Suites by Hilton: Jim Karam, First Bristol
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts: Steve Gupta, Easton’s Group of Hotels, Inc.
• DoubleTree by Hilton: Sam Chang, McSam Hotels
• Embassy Suites by Hilton: David Patel, Indus Hotels
• Curio – A Collection by Hilton: Stephen Miller, The Thornhill Companies
• Canopy by Hilton: Monty Hoffman, PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette Companies
• Dual Brand: Robert G. Schaedle III, Chartwell Hospitality
• Multi Brand: David Hogg, Springwood Hospitality

The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Robert G. Schaedle III, of Chartwell Hospitality.

In 2015, Robert G. Schaedle III and Chartwell Hospitality exemplified their commitment to Hilton with a number of noteworthy developments all of which were in high barrier to entry markets.

“Robert G. Schaedle III of Chartwell Hospitality has been a long-time and fervent supporter of Hilton and he and his staff are very deserving of this Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Fortier. “Robert’s experience in developing and managing high-quality, Hilton brands that continue to perform well make him a cherished partner and we congratulate him on this achievement.”

Franchisees honored in additional categories include:

Best Conversion 

• Hampton by Hilton: Don Schappacher, American Hospitality Management, Inc.
• Hilton Garden Inn: Gary Holmes, CSM Phoenix Downtown, LLC
• Hilton Garden Inn: Al Patel, Baywood Hotels
• Home2 Suites by Hilton: Prakash Sundaram, 1660 University, LLC
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts:  Salim Manji, Barney River Investments
• DoubleTree by Hilton: Ricardo Cajiao, Fideiscomiso Insignia
• Curio – A Collection by Hilton: George Aquino, Amway Hotel Corporation
• Dual Brand: Sanjay Rateja, Morguard Hotels Limited

Deal of the Year 

• Hampton by Hilton: Jay Singh, Mint Development, L.P.
• Hilton Garden Inn: Stanley Rattner, Grupo Leumi
• Home2 Suites by Hilton: David and Leigh Willis, BBS Corporation
• Homewood Suites by Hilton: Bill Hamrick, TMH Hotels
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts: Eva Wassermann, GEM Realty Capital
• DoubleTree by Hilton: Mike Patel, T2 Hospitality
• Embassy Suites by Hilton: Michael Whalen, Heart of America
• Curio – A Collection by Hilton: Eric Habermann, Host Hotels & Resorts
• Canopy by Hilton: Michael Beatty, Beatty Development
• Canopy by Hilton: Alan Naul, The Javelin Group
• Dual Brand: Parag & Vinay Patel, SREE Inc.

Outstanding Achievement 

• Hampton by Hilton: Mike Daood and Jim Friend, LodgeWorks Partners, L.P./Friend Development Group
• Hampton by Hilton: John Murphy, Murphy Development Group, LLC
• Hilton Garden Inn: Carlos Lecueder, Shopping Centers (Uruguay) S.A.

• Hilton Garden Inn:  Al Patel, Baywood Hotels
• Homewood Suites by Hilton: Edurado Cordero, Edco Turismo Bajío SA de CV and Ing Eduardo Cordero Staufert
• Homewood Suites by Hilton: Al Patel, Baywood Hotels
• Home2 Suites by Hilton: Hemant H. Patel, Visions Hotels
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts: Juan Pablo Garcia, Inmobiliaria Canel’s S.A. de C.V.
• DoubleTree by Hilton: Andrea Phillips, Executive House Ltd
• Embassy Suites by Hilton: Bo Aughtry III, River Street Lodging, LLC
• Curio – A Collection by Hilton: Jose Herrerra, Aventura Hotel Properties LLC
• Canopy by Hilton: Dave Pollin, The Buccini/Pollin Group
• Dual Brand: Bhulesh Lodhia and Chuck Lodhia, JM Hospitality
• Multi Brand: Dr. Atul Patel, HTS Hospitality LLC, HTS Yukon LLC

For more information about Hilton’s Development Awards, visit www.hiltonworldwide.com.

Contact:
Lana Petruzzo
Hilton
+1.703.883.6065
lana.sieg@hilton.com

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Hilton Garden Inn in Gallup, NM partnered with Project Search to allow interns to work side-by-side with its employees to learn about day to day tasks in the hospitality field.  The interns completed this program for the 2015-2016 school year and two were hired on as full-time employees.

The Project SEARCH High School Transition Program is a unique, business led, one year school-to-work program that takes place entirely at the workplace. Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training through worksite rotations.

We are inspired and motivated by these examples of young people finding fulfillment, learning new skills, and getting good jobs; new programs starting up; and awards received for innovative approaches and excellent outcomes.

Guests are even noticing the hotels’ commitment to teaching these young individuals.

A recent guest commented in Trip Advisor:

The program is now searching for interns for the 2016/2017 school year.  Hilton Garden and its owners are excited to help these talented young individuals and hope that they will find a career in the hospitality industry.

Courtesy of Albuquerque Business First

Apr 19, 2016, 1:16pm MDT

Stephanie Guzman

Reporter

Albuquerque Business First

After shedding more than two-thirds of its assets during the recession, the Albuquerque-based hotel company Total Management Systems is in growth mode again.

The company spent $14.2 million last year to acquire two hotels near Gibson Boulevard. And along with the principals of Allen Sigmon Real Estate Group, the company finally completed the 123-room Home2 Suites by Hilton last year, located near the Big I.

Now, TMS is set to add two more hotels to its portfolio.

One hotel is in Albuquerque, located on a vacant site on the northeast corner of Paseo Del Norte and I-25 that’s next door to the recently opened Car Crafters.

Malini Perumal , Senior vice president of sales and marketing with TMS, said the company bought the 1.8-acre property 10 years ago — recognizing that the Paseo corridor was a growing area. But when the recession hit and construction started on the Paseo and I-25 interchange, the development was put on hold.

Perumal said now that the interchange is complete, work on the site is moving forward. The plan is for a 92-room hotel, to be branded SpringHill Suites by Marriott. The project cost is $12 million.

“We like the site because it’s in a great location, has great visibility and is in a growing area that has a lot of businesses, but not a lot of hotels that cater to corporate clients,” Perumal said.

The company will break ground on the hotel in the fall, and is expected to open in 2017.

TMS is also developing a 120-unit hotel in Las Cruces, on the campus of New Mexico State University just west of the Convention Center. The company was awarded the project through a request for proposals (RFP) about two years ago, which will cost between $16 million and $18 million.

Perumal said it’s the company’s first public-private partnership, and its first project in Las Cruces. The development is a partnership between TMS, NMSU’s Aggie Development and Allen Sigmon. Perumal said the company partnered with Allen Sigmon again because of their experience in development, and ability to attract investors.

“[Allen Sigmon] brings good ideas to the table. With their work in the community and in the real estate sector, they’re able to bring a good relationship with investors to the table,” Perumal said. “[The investors] are mostly local individuals that want to invest into hotels because they see it as a growing sector.”

The firm plans to break ground on the 2.7-acre site early next year.

Once the two hotels are completed, the TMS portfolio will total 10 hotels in the state. And they plan to invest even more into hotel development.

“The New Mexico tourism market here has always been good to us. And we’re from here and we want to invest in our state, to create more jobs and better the workforce,” Perumal said.

Click here to view news story

On February 25, the Best Western Plus Executive Suites won the Hotel of the Year Award.  This hotel was selected among all of our hotels due exceeded all metrics, including Guest Satisfaction Scores.  The GM, Brad Merrill, was awarded this signature award and was proud to display this at the hotel.

Travel Trends Jan 2016 Circular FINAL

Our hotels celebrated International Housekeeping Week in September by celebrating our team members.  Our company recognizes that our housekeepers work hard every day to keep the rooms looking spotless for our guests so we spent International Housekeeping Week celebrating that.  Each hotel celebrated in a different way with games, food, and fun.

Home2Suites

Barcelona Suites

Best Western Plus Executive Suites