HEI Hotels & Resorts Receives "Fit Friendly" Award from the American Heart Association

NORWALK, Conn., June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- HEI Hotels & Resorts, a socially responsible investor and employer in the hospitality industry, was recently honored by the American Heart Association as a Gold Recipient of the Fit Friendly Award for 2011/2012. The award recognizes HEI Hotels & Resorts for their wellness efforts, including offering associates physical activity support, increasing healthy eating options at work, promoting a wellness culture, and implementing physical, nutrition and cultural activities. HEI Hotels & Resorts was the only hotel company honored with this award.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120112/NY34250LOGO )

"Nothing is more important than our associates' health and well-being," said HEI Hotels & Resorts CEO Gary Mendell. "A healthy workforce is essential to our collective success and happiness."

HEI Hotels & Resorts strives to make associate wellness a pillar of its operations. Recently, HEI Hotels & Resorts launched a wellness initiative that offered several wellness programs free of charge to its associates. In conjunction with this, HEI asked its associates to make a voluntary commitment to action for their own health and wellness. As of today 1,627 of the 5,500 HEI associates made their own commitment – from losing weight, to exercising more, to quitting smoking. Associates also recently competed in a company-wide walking challenge in record numbers, and associates are taking wellness into their own hands, by organizing healthy activities.

About HEI
HEI Hotels & Resorts, headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut with 42 properties in 16 states, creates socially responsible investment and employment opportunities through real estate portfolios of hotels and resorts throughout the United States under such well-known brand names as Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Embassy Suites, and Hilton. HEI takes a holistic approach to creating value for its investors and employees by setting the highest standards across all aspects of hotel management and operation and focusing on the central principles of excellence and continuous improvement. HEI prides itself on some of the highest employee satisfaction scores in the hospitality industry, fuels local economic prosperity by investing in communities and is committed to environmental stewardship and sustainability. For more information about HEI, visit the company's website, www.heihotels.com.

SOURCE HEI Hotels & Resorts