Schaumburg Hotel Employees Capture three 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, and Schaumburg hospitality employees came out on top with one statewide award and two regional awards.

Schaumburg hospitality employees took home the following awards:

• Hyatt Regency Schaumburg Lobby Attendant Maria Roman won the statewide title of Housekeeping Employee of the Year;

• Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel's Engineer Paul Kramarski was presented Maintenance Employee of the Year; and

• Front Desk Ambassador Paola Lorch of the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel received Regional Guest Services Employee of the Year award.

IHLA President and CEO Marc J. Gordon said that because of employees such as the Schaumburg 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.