Rosemont hotel employees dominate at State and Regional Hospitality Industry Awards
CHICAGO - At its annual Stars of the Industry regional awards luncheon in December, the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association (IHLA) honored the best of Illinois' 35,000 hospitality workers and organizations. Rosemont hospitality employees once again dominated the suburban category by capturing two statewide awards and two regional awards.
Rosemont hospitality employees took home the following awards:
• Hyatt Regency O'Hare Sales Administrative Assistant Sarah Devries won the statewide title of Administrative Employee of the Year;
• Greg Clark, Courtesy Van Driver at the Holiday Inn and Suites Rosemont, took home the statewide award for Bellstaff Employee of the Year;
• Hilton Rosemont's Steward Eduardo Mendoza was presented Regional Food and Beverage (Back of the House) Employee of the Year; and
• Barista Maria Garcia of the Westin O'Hare received Regional Food and Beverage (Front of the House) Employee of the Year award.
IHLA President and CEO Marc J. Gordon said that because of employees such as the Rosemont winners, Illinois tourism is booming: In 2012 (the latest available figures), Illinois welcomed more than 101 million visitors, up 12 percent over 2011.
More than 99 million domestic visitors and 2 million international visitors chose to spend time in Illinois, spending about $85 million a day with Illinois businesses. Visitors' spending saves an average Illinois household over $1100 in taxes each year and directly supports 298,700 jobs in the state. One in 10 jobs in Illinois is directly or indirectly supported by travel expenditures.
The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association comprises more than 400 hotels throughout the state of Illinois. The Association represents hotels, motels, and other lodging facilities that employ thousands of associates throughout the state. IHLA member hotels provide good-paying jobs with great benefits to their associates, and IHLA has several programs to help recognize the contributions of those employees and to provide them with training programs to assist in their career advancement opportunities.