Marilyn Nelson to Receive Award at Berlin Hotel Investment Conference

The hosts of the upcoming 5th Annual International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) have announced that Marilyn Nelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Carlson Companies, Inc., will receive the prestigious IHIF Lifetime Achievement Award at the event to be held March 19-21, 2002 at the Inter-Continental in Berlin, Germany. The award is given annually to a hotel industry leader who has demonstrated remarkable leadership, and it is voted by an advisory board to the IHIF. Previous winners include Lord Forte, Gerard Pellison, Paul Dubrule, Gabriel Escarrer and George Rafael.

Nelson is responsible for both the future and the daily operations of Carlson Companies, one of the largest privately held companies in the world. It is the parent corporation of a global group of integrated consumer service and corporate solution firms. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, the company operates travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, cruises and marketing services. More than 190,000 people are employed under Carlson brands in more than 140 nations.

About the selection of Nelson to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, co-host Jonathan Worsley stated, “Marilyn Carlson Nelson is very deserving of this award due to her tireless efforts on behalf of the hotel industry. Since the events of September 11, she has been one of the drivers to get the industry moving again, and she is using her position as chairman of the Carlson group to lobby the United States Congress. Worsley added, “Marilyn is a figurehead within the hotel industry. The philosophy of Carlson is summed up in the company's credo: ‘Whatever you do, do it with integrity; wherever you go, go as a leader; whomever you serve, serve with caring; whenever you dream, dream with your all and never give up’ sums up the character of Marilyn and Carlson Companies.”

Upon hearing that she had been chosen to receive the IHIF Lifetime Achievement Award, Nelson stated, “It is truly an honor to be personally recognized by my colleagues in the hospitality industry, but I can only accept this on behalf of the tens of thousands of Carlson hospitality team members across the globe who continue to build and operate our industry’s most exciting brands.”

The IHIF is hosted by BHN, Insignia Hotel Partners and Hotel & Motel Management. BHN brings together nearly two decades of experience in developing the world’s most prominent gatherings of the hotel and tourism investment community, including the recently held Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference in Hong Kong and the upcoming Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles, California and Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference in Puerto Rico. Insignia Hotel Partners, a premier hotel real estate advisory company, specializes in individual hotel and portfolio brokerage, capital advisory services and asset management. Hotel and Motel Management is the preferred advertising vehicle for hospitality industry suppliers, service providers, franchise companies and management companies around the world.