Leading Hotels of the World Selects eCornell for Hospitality Training

The world’s preeminent luxury hospitality organization will deploy Ivy League e-learning as a global training solution.

ITHACA, NEW YORK, August 17, 2011 -- Leading Hotels of the World, Inc. (LHW), the largest luxury hospitality organization in the world, has selected eCornell’s online learning programs to provide professional development opportunities for staff at member properties and for LHW corporate employees. The four-year agreement positions eCornell’s e-learning courses at the center of professional development programming for LHW’s Leading Learning Institute.

eCornell designed a comprehensive hospitality leadership curriculum in partnership with Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, the Johnson Graduate School of Management and Cornell’s College of Engineering.

"LHW members rightly seek collaboration for training needs with programs of similar excellence. As the acknowledged foremost hospitality university in the world, the Cornell School of Hotel Administration (SHA) was the obvious choice for this partnership," said Ted Teng, LHW president and CEO, and SHA alumnus.

With more than 450 member hotels in 80 countries, LHW’s global workforce can now access training and earn an Ivy League credential, with courses covering hotel revenue management, leadership, strategic management and marketing. eCornell’s collaborative social learning platform also enables LHW to better develop core competencies and consistent values among member hotels across the globe.

eCornell’s unique approach to e-learning combines the most effective elements of an Ivy League classroom with the flexibility of an online learning environment. eCornell courses—while self-paced and 100% online—are “instructor-facilitated” to help guide a cohort of 20 to 30 participants through challenging, real-world exercises with practical application on the job. Built-in collaboration features enable learners to share experiences, best practices and discuss on-the-job application attempts while immersed in learning that fosters collaboration, interaction and networking amongst the cohort.

About The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.
The Leading Hotels of the World is the largest luxury hospitality organization in the world, representing over 450 of the finest hotels, resorts and spas in over 80 countries. Its mission is to curate and champion an exclusive collection of independent properties, including grand palaces and intimate city hideaways, luxury tent enclaves, and expansive self-contained resorts. Headquartered in New York City, the company maintains a network of 22 regional offices in key cities around the world. For more information visit www.lhw.com

About eCornell
eCornell, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cornell University, provides many of the world’s leading organizations with online professional and executive development in the areas of leadership and management, human resources, financial management, healthcare and hospitality management. eCornell’s proven course development model and asynchronous instructor-led course delivery provide for engaging, rigorous and interactive learning. The company has delivered over 120,000 courses to more than 35,000 students in almost 200 countries. For more information visit www.ecornell.com/enterprise (enterprise buyers) or www.ecornell.com (small groups and individual students).

Media Contact:
Will Hipwell, VP Marketing
(607) 330-3399
whipwell@ecornell.com