Orlando, The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) and the FreemanGroup have partnered to create three new line-level training packages for front desk agents, guestroom attendants, and restaurant servers. Known as TRAC (Train, Retain, Assess, and Certify), each program includes a trainer’s guide, five employee reference guides, a training DVD, and five line-level certification exams. The TRAC program is the first product to result from the collaboration between EI and the FreemanGroup that was formed in November 2008.

Each TRAC trainer’s guide provides tools for systematic and detailed training of employees in that job area. It includes step-by-step instruction for successful skills training, detailed job descriptions with suggestions on how to use them for recruitment and training, knowledge and skills for all employees of a hospitality organization, and knowledge and skills for that particular job, with detailed step-by-step task breakdowns and specific trainer actions for delivering training.

The employee reference guide serves as a follow-up to training. Employees can use it as a handy reference guide that improves training retention. The guide includes the step-by-step task breakdowns of the knowledge and skills needed for employees to perform their jobs along with follow-up questions to help them review what they have learned. Employees can also use the reference guide as a resource for preparing for line-level certification.

“In today’s competitive business environment, it is important to keep good employees and provide them with the tools they need to succeed and advance in their careers,” said Robert Steele III, EI’s president and COO. “TRAC helps employers to offer necessary training and then enables them to reward successful employees with professional certification, providing the first step in a hospitality career ladder. The program incorporates the strengths of both EI and the FreemanGroup and leverages those strengths to create a much-needed program for our industry.”

“The three new line-level training packages announced today for front desk agents, guestroom attendants, and restaurant servers are truly unique and exclusive tools for the hospitality industry,” said Bill Freeman, FreemanGroup’s founder and CEO. “TRAC is innovative in its concept, design, and most importantly, in its practical adaptability to ongoing daily training in the workplace. There is no other product available to the industry that contains such extensive content, together with an instructional guide, that is as effective as this one; each package even contains five certification line-level exams. For our first collaborative industry product offering, it was important to set the bar high. TRAC does that and I am extremely proud that we at FreemanGroup are able to put our name on it in conjunction with the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute. I look forward to our ongoing partnership and to the completion of the other product offerings we are working on at present. “

Each TRAC training and certification package is $475.00; AH&LA members pay $350.00 For more information or to order, visit , or call 800-752-4567 or 517-372-8800. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 407-999-8100.

Established in 1953 as a nonprofit educational foundation of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Educational Institute’s mission is to support AH&LA by becoming the preferred provider to the lodging industry, hospitality schools, and related hospitality industries both domestically and internationally by developing and providing quality resources to train, educate, and certify hospitality professionals.

FreemanGroup offers an entirely integrated consulting service, a comprehensive range of service solutions and exceptional quality support to the hospitality and travel industry worldwide. The firm's clients include major hotels and resorts, restaurants, casinos, destinations and ports of entry worldwide. FreemanGroup services are comprised of hospitality management and line level training, mystery shopping, guest/employee feedback, customization of standards of performance/job description templates, and new property openings. Founded in 1985 by Bill Freeman, FreemanGroup is based in Dallas, Texas. The firm also has offices in London and Costa Rica. For more information, contact the Dallas office at 972-479-1345 or visit .

Elizabeth Johnson
Marketing and Communications Manager
517-318-2359
Educational Institute