CHICAGO The Pritzker family was honored in its own backyard on the evening of April 4, receiving the third annual Hospitality Heritage Award from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) during a gala dinner at the Chicago Hilton & Towers, where AH&LA held its annual conference and trade expo through Friday, April 6.
The tribute, emceed by Ramada president/CEO Steven Belmonte and Strategic Hotel Capital, LLC s CEO Laurence Geller, recognized the broad contributions of the philanthropic family, which founded the now global Hyatt Hotel chain in 1957, when Jay Pritzker opened the first hotel in Los Angeles.
“The Pritzkers are icons in Chicago and the hotel industry,” said Belmonte, a native Chicagoan who started his own career with Hyatt.
Accepting the award, which depicts a sculpted eagle in flight, were Nicholas and Tom Pritzker.
“We ve had quite a run,” said Tom Pritzker. “Three generations of Pritzkers dedicated to this industry and enjoying it every step of the way.”
The dinner was held as a benefit to advance the research and educational needs of the American Hotel & Lodging Foundation (AH&LF), a subsidiary of AH&LA.
Past recipients of the award include Jack Vaughn of Opryland Lodging Group and Barron Hilton of Hilton Hotels.
(4/5/01) Stefani C. O Connor