Today's hospitality industry is looking for people who enjoy variety, challenge, and above all people. EI's Lodging Management Program (LMP) provides 11th and 12th grade students with the classroom learning and real-life work experiences needed to take advantage of the boundless opportunities in lodging.

I volunteered my property to serve as a training ground for the students in the START program. After working in each of the departments-front office, housekeeping, maintenance, breakfast bar, back office-they had a good understanding of how everything you do in a hotel works together. I'm developing other hotels, and I know that these students have all the skills I'm going to be looking for in prospective employees. As an employer, it's invaluable to me to know that there is a trained workforce ready to fill the openings I'll have.