GAYLORD HOTELS AND LA PETITE ACADEMY JOIN FORCES TO MAKE GAYLORD HOTELS A GREAT FAMILY DESTINATION
Kids can attend space camp; discovery programs while mom and dad attend meetings.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Gaylord Hotels, a leader in providing innovative services to the meetings, convention, exhibition and incentive travel industries and La Petite Academy, the nation’s largest privately held early childhood education company, have joined forces to offer on-site day care and convention childcare services to Gaylord Hotel guests.
According to Colin Reed, president and chief executive officer of Gaylord Hotels, La Petite Academy will operate a fully staffed La Petite Kid’s Station at Gaylord hotels in Nashville, Tenn., Kissimmee, Fla. and Grapevine, Texas. The Florida and Texas properties – the first Gaylord hotels outside of Nashville -- are under construction and on schedule to open in 2002 and 2004, respectively.
In addition to managing daycare facilities, the educational staff at La Petite will develop custom-designed programs that match the needs, ages and interests of children of meeting group attendees. According to Reed, programs can be shaped to fit the hotel’s regional theme and/or the interests of meeting groups.
“This partnership takes us beyond the concept of hotel-based children’s activity programs and gives Gaylord Hotels the ability to offer the industry’s most comprehensive menu of services to families, “ Reed said. “Moreover, it guarantees our customers that they can enjoy a family-friendly and worry-free meeting or vacation experience at any Gaylord Hotel.”
For example, parents attending meetings at Gaylord Palms™ – opening Feb. 2, 2002 – can send their children to space camp, on an animal safari, to a cooking camp, a super sports camp or on a natural wonders safari that lets them explore the diversity of Florida flora and fauna from backyard to beach to wetlands environments.
Short-term care will be provided at the hotel’s 4,000-square-foot La Petite Academy Kid’s Station, where youngsters can enjoy supervised activities in interactive play areas called “construction station,” “creation station,” “imagination station,” “relaxation station,” “kidz space” and a “soft play zone,” where indoor wall-climbing is allowed. Programs are open to kids from ages three to 14 on a drop-in, hourly basis.
According to Reed, the two companies have worked together since 1986, when Gaylord Entertainment Company pioneered the Gaylord Child Development Center for its employees in Nashville, Tenn. That facility, managed by La Petite Academy, is now the largest workplace child-care center in Tennessee, and one of the largest in the nation. Recently, it opened its doors to Gaylord Hotel guests and announced plans for a hotel-based Kid’s Station, a summer camp program and convention child-care services.
“Gaylord was a pioneer in offering onsite child care for its employees 15 years ago,” said Jeb Blount, vice president of corporate services of La Petite Academy. “Now the two companies are taking the relationship to the next level. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with one of the few hotel companies to offer professional child care and child development programs across the brand.”
“As specialists in early childhood education, the educational staff at La Petite have the ability to develop innovative programming that is tailored to the specific learning and developmental needs of children of all age groups – from primary, to intermediate to adolescent,” Reed said. “Each Gaylord Hotel will be equipped with outstanding childcare facilities and services, managed by a company that we know and trust. It is sure to become the new standard for family service in our industry.”
La Petite Academy has prepared children for a lifetime of learning for more than 30 years. It is headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., and is the largest privately held early childhood education company in America. Under the La Petite Academy umbrella, the Montessori Unlimited preschool represents the largest, most consistent chain of schools offering the Montessori approach to learning. In 1998, the company announced an investment by J.P. Morgan Partners (JPMP), formerly Chase Capital Partners, a global partnership with over $24 billion under management.
Gaylord Hotels is a division of Gaylord Entertainment Company, a diversified entertainment company operating in two business segments: hospitality and attractions, and music, media and entertainment. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: GET).
