FIRST URBAN & STUDENT RUN HOTEL OPENS IN DENVER

New 150-suite SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown is Part of Metropolitan State University

DENVER, CO – August 10, 2012 – Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Denver, the new 150-suite SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State is now open. The $45 million hotel is a part of the Metropolitan State University (MSU) of Denver campus and a short walk from many Denver attractions, including the Pepsi Center, the Colorado Convention Center, Larimer Square and the 16th Street Mall. The hotel is adjacent to MSU Denver’s new Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC), a 28,000-square-foot educational facility that combines classrooms with interactive laboratories to provide an experiential curriculum for the university’s 635 Hospitality, Tourism and Events students. State-of-the-art classrooms include a Sensory Analysis Laboratory for wine and food tastings and a Cellar Management Laboratory, which boasts a 3,100+ bottle wine storage cellar.  The ribbon cutting on the new SpringHill Suites Denver on August 8, 2012.    PHOTO CREDIT: Springhill Suites Denver   MSU students will work in the hotel each semester and supply up to 80 percent of the hotel’s workforce.  Hotel General Manager Scott Perry and Director of Sales & Marketing Anne Frye will both teach classes in the HLC.  There are only 10 other universities in the United States with an operating hotel attached to their hospitality program, none of them in a downtown urban setting. “Tourism is the second largest industry in both Denver and Colorado supporting more than 137,000 jobs in the state, so we are thrilled that MSU Denver is the first urban setting to have an student operated hotel attached to their hospitality school,” states Richard Scharf, president & CEO of VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Through this school and hotel, we are going to be able to bring new leaders into our hospitality industry, and at the same time we have added a beautiful new property and 150 new rooms just a short walk from the Colorado Convention Center,” Scharf said. The SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State features 150 spacious and stylish guest suites, each with a flexible work space with a well-lit desk and ergonomic chair, as well as a separate sleeping area. Each suite also offers a microwave, mini-fridge, a seating area with pull-out sofa bed and a spa-like bathroom. Hotel amenities include complimentary hot breakfast served daily, a Market, a fitness center and complimentary wireless Internet. The hotel and HLC also features more than 650 stunning pieces of innovative and original artwork, all created by students, faculty and alumni of MSU Denver. The SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State expects to receive Silver Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Green features include the use of only high efficiency plumbing fixtures and low VOC paints and flooring, plus preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles. The hotel features secure bicycle storage plus lockers and changing rooms to encourage employees to use alternative transportation. Over 90 percent of the hotel’s regularly occupied areas offer natural day lighting reducing the need for artificial lighting. In addition, more than 75 percent of material waste from the hotel’s construction was recycled. The Spring Hill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State offers 5,000 square feet of meeting and event space and can accommodate groups of up to 250 people. The hotel’s J. Willard & Alice S. Marriott Conference Center features a 2,174 square foot ballroom, which can be divided into three sections, plus 2,617 square feet of pre-function space with a stunning glass wall offering exceptional views of the downtown Denver skyline. This fall, Red Robin Burger Works will open at the hotel, a fast casual restaurant serving gourmet burgers and sandwiches, fresh salads and classic sides. Red Robin is headquartered in Denver. The SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown is located at 1190 Auraria Parkway in Denver. For more information or to make a reservation, please visit springhillsuitesdenver.com or call 303-705-7300. # # # Pictured left to right are:  Adam Sherer, SpringHill Suites by Marriott Callette Nielsen, Vice President and Global Brand Manager, Springhill Suites by Marriott Tye Turman – Senior Vice President of Development for the Western Region, Marriott International Janice Sinden, Chief of Staff, City of Denver Dr. Stephen Jordan, President, Metropolitan State University of Denver Walter Isenberg – Co-Founder, CEO and President, Sage Hospitality Rachel Benedick, Vice President, VISIT DENVER Beth Korsos, Vice President, Marriott Franchise Services Scott Perry – General Manager, SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State University Monica Kennedy – Membership Account Executive, Denver Chamber of Commerce Anne Frye – Director of Sales and Marketing, SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State University # # # About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau Celebrating more than 100 years of promoting The Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Tourism is the second largest industry in Denver, generating $3.3 billion in annual spending in 2011, while supporting nearly 50,000 jobs. Learn more about Denver on the VISITDENVER website and at TOURISMPAYSDENVER, on Twitter @iknowdenver and the VISIT DENVER Facebook page, or by phone at 800 2 DENVER.