The National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association announced a partnership for the largest foodservice trade association in the world to acquire the training business assets and products of the American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute. Currently owned by the AH&LA, AHLEI is recognized as the training and certifying body for the hospitality industry.
The AH&LA will retain the certification business, and the NRA will assume day-to-day responsibility for AHLEI’s training program business. Under the intended agreement, NRA will purchase the AHLEI portfolio of 180 training products and assets, as well as the Lansing, Mich., building owned by AHLEI.
“We are grateful that AHLEI business has found a home with the National Restaurant Association. It's a natural and logical evolution that combines two outstanding teams committed to excellence in the restaurant, foodservice, and hospitality industries,” said Dawn Sweeney, president & CEO, National Restaurant Association. “By adding the AHLEI assets and business lines to our offerings, we will increase our reach and enhance our credibility as the acknowledged leader in industry training and certification – while extending our expertise to the hotel and lodging industry.”
“AHLA’s core mission is to provide employees with the best career opportunities through training and development. Recognizing important partnerships that help us achieve our goals has been and continues to be critical to the industry’s success,” said Katherine Lugar, president & CEO of the AH&LA. “This new partnership gives us the opportunity to focus on what we do best, providing the training and resources necessary to offer pathways to upward mobility for our talent and the future generation of hospitality leaders by maintaining the certifications program. We are very excited about this collaboration and are confident that the NRA will continue to grow and enhance training offerings for our industry.”
AHLEI will be run as a separate business under the NRA’s Training & Certification division. The acquisition is slated to be completed by the end of this year.