Carlson Hotels Worldwide Hosts Students As Part Of Groundhog Job Shadow Day 2006

Carlson Hotels Worldwide today announced that it will again host high school students as part of Groundhog Job Shadow Day. On February 21, students will work alongside corporate executives of Carlson Hotels and Carlson Companies, Inc. in Minnetonka, Minn., and at participating Twin Cities' area hotels. The national youth mentoring campaign enables students to get an up-close look at the many career opportunities available to them in the hospitality industry. This is the seventh consecutive year Carlson has participated in this national event.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to provide young people with a real-life workplace experience to go along with what they are learning in the classroom," said Carmen Baker, vice president of Diversity, Carlson Hotels Worldwide. "The job shadowing experience provides them with an inside look into the various aspects of the hospitality business and helps them plan for their futures." At Carlson headquarters, local students from Washburn High School in Minneapolis and Maple Grove Senior High School with interests in business, marketing, hospitality and tourism will spend the day learning about careers in these fields. At the Country Inns & Suites By Carlson in Bloomington, Minn., 15 students from Harding High School in St. Paul, Minn., will be visiting that hotel to learn first-hand about the daily operations of a mid-tier hotel. "This is the fifth year Harding students have job shadowed at our property," said Karla Reinan, assistant general manager, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson-Bloomington. "Not only does it give students an opportunity to experience a variety of industry career opportunities, it gives our staff a chance to show what they do best every day. The students will spend time in our executive offices learning about Sales and Human Resources, and then work with our housekeepers, engineers and front office staff. Our hope is that if they are interested in working in the hotel industry, their experience here will help them make a better career choice in the future." "As part of our Job Shadow Career Exploration program, we determine the careers that interest the students, and then arrange for them to personally experience the work associated with those fields," said Delphine Breyfogle, coordinator of the School-to-Career Job Shadowing Program, Harding High School. "We're preparing students for working in the community, and the community is responding by welcoming them into their businesses. It's the ultimate classroom." In addition to hosting students in Minnesota, Carlson provided students with shadowing opportunities at 54 of its hotel properties in 25 states and at the Carlson Hospitality Worldwide Reservation Center on Feb. 2. Participating hotel brands included Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson. At the company's reservations center in Omaha, students took part in a day-long schedule that included a tour of the facility; a career workshop with discussions about appropriate college coursework for hospitality industry careers; job shadowing opportunities in customer service, hotel voice reservations, resource planning and cruise line reservations; and tours of a local Country Inns & Suites hotel and T.G.I. Friday's restaurant.

The Radisson Hotel at Waterfront Place in Morgantown, W. Va., partnered with a local high school to host two culinary students for the day. Students Amanda McKinney and Brittany Floyd shadowed Executive Chef James B. Spoonhoward III in the hotel's restaurant and banquet kitchen, utilizing their beginning culinary skills to prepare a breakfast buffet for guests. "They worked hard and seemed to enjoy their time in our kitchen and restaurant," said Joe Duperre, general manager, Radisson Hotel at Waterfront Place. "As mementos of their day, we gave them their own Radisson name tags, t-shirts, mugs and tote bags. We had fun mentoring these students, and hope they return someday to work as associates in our hotel." National Job Shadowing is a coordinated effort sponsored by a consortium of hospitality industry organizations, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association, America's Promise Alliance for Youth, Junior Achievement, the U.S. Department of Labor, and participating hotel brands of Carlson Hotels Worldwide.

According to www.jobshadow.org, nationwide one million students and 100,000 businesses participated in the program on Feb. 2. Minneapolis-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide includes five hotel brands, totaling 922 hotels in 69 countries. These brands include Regent International Hotels, one of the most respected brands in the luxury segment of the lodging industry; Radisson Hotels & Resorts�, one of the world's leading full-service hotel companies; Park Plaza� Hotels & Resorts, positioned in the mid-scale segment of the full-service hotel category that is globally and known for its great value and customer-focused service culture; Country Inns & Suites By Carlson�, one of the fastest growing, mid-tier lodging chains offering excellent value with upgraded services and amenities; and Park Inn�, a unique emerging hotel brand offering a relaxed environment in the economy category and poised for aggressive global growth. For more information, visit online at www.carlsonhotels.com.

Carlson Hotels Worldwide is a division of Carlson Companies, a global leader in the marketing, travel, and hospitality industries. Ranked among the largest privately held corporations in the United States, Carlson-related brands and services employ about 190,000 people in more than 140 countries. Additional information on the company can be found at www.carlson.com.

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