CHICAGO and ROME, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Officials of the International Hotel Conference today announced that Hans W.R. Kennedie, president and CEO of the Golden Tulip Hospitality Group, will be named the recipient of the first ever International Hotelier Global Citizen award. Kennedie, a citizen of the Netherlands, is receiving the award based on the impact of his more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, and his equally significant humanitarian contributions to elder care and the European food-service market.

Kennedie will be honored at the fifth International Hotel Conference to be held 17-19 October 2007 at the Cavaleri Hilton in Rome, Italy. A grant of euro 5,000 will be donated to Vrijwilligers Palliatieve Terminale Zorg, a Dutch hospice organization and Kennedie's preferred charity.

"This award is the first to global hotelier honor that recognizes both individual industry achievements and contributions to society," said Mary Lou Koys and Morris E. Lasky, conference co-chairpersons. "As the hospitality industry continues to become more integrated on an international basis, we are making it a priority to recognize the industry's responsibility to the global community. The Global Citizen award is designed to laud savvy business practices and humanitarianism, as both are the foundation of the hospitality. Hans has exemplified both of these things throughout his career.

"We were gratified at the number of nominations and votes we received for this award in its inaugural year. We're taking it as a demonstration that hoteliers' understand the dynamism of the industry's global role, and the importance of a corresponding award."

Kennedie has been with the Golden Tulip Hospitality Group for 24 years and has been president and CEO since 2002. During his tenure, he initiated the management buy-out and converted Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns & Resorts to a successful international brand company. He was the company's director of sales and marketing in the United States from 1986 to 1991, where he guided the transition to electronic central reservations and global distribution systems. A constant innovator, Kennedie recently partnered Golden Tulip with IKEA to provide all hotel accommodations for the IKEA Concept Center in Delft, The Netherlands.

Kennedie serves on the advisory boards of the We Care Foundation, a charity focused on increasing social responsibility in The Netherlands, and the European Food Services Network, a group that supports European food distributors. In 2005, Kennedie conducted research at the request of the Dutch secretary of health to assess the quality of care in Dutch nursing homes and provide improvement strategies based on models used by the hospitality industry. He is currently nominated for the International Entrepreneur of the Year, an award given by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, to be announced this Oct. 2.

Kennedie graduated from the Hotel School at The Hague.

The International Hotel Conference is the premier annual gathering of senior level hospitality executives, including owners, operators, brands, leading institutions, bankers, architects/designers, attorneys, brokers and other members of the hotel and related communities.

Additional information about the event, registration, sponsorships and related activities can be found at the event's Web site http://www.internationalhotelconference.com/, or by contacting the conference organizer, Morris Lasky at mlasky@aol.com.

Contact: Jerry Daly or Chris Daly

001 703 435 6293

CONTACT: Jerry Daly or Chris Daly, both for International Hotel
Conference, 001 703 435 6293

Web site: http://www.internationalhotelconference.com/