Grand Canyon University, City of Phoenix, and Private Sector Uniting to Inspire the Next Cohort of Hospitality Professionals
As two brand-new hotels at Park Central near completion, the hotel’s development and operating team is readying to launch an innovative new workforce training program on site.
Grand Canyon University (GCU); the City of Phoenix; the developers of Park Central, Plaza Companies, Holualoa Companies; and hotel operator Fayth Hospitality are joining together to initiate the Park Central Hospitality Training program. The innovative new workforce training program is bringing together a public-private-university partnership to train workers in the hospitality industry.
The program begins this fall when construction is complete and the two new hotels — Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton at Park Central — celebrate their grand opening in October.
GCU’s renowned Hospitality Management program and Fayth Hospitality designed an eight-week cross-departmental rotation training program. This initiative will equip aspiring hospitality professionals with essential skills, including technology, guest service, marketing, community ambassadorship, and collaboration with local partners. The work experience for the Hospitality Training Program will occur at the dual-branded hotels.
“I am pleased to see this new workforce development program bring valuable opportunities to our community, teaching essential hospitality skills and creating on-the-job work experience,” said City of Phoenix Community and Economic Development Director Christine Mackay. “This partnership between Fayth Hospitality, Park Central, GCU, and the City of Phoenix will help further economic growth and create new employment opportunities in the central city.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to help develop the next generation of hospitality workers, create new jobs, and continue to elevate our community,” said Greg Fay, Managing Partner of Fayth Hospitality. “We extend our gratitude to Grand Canyon University for their support and invaluable partnership, enabling us to bring this vision to fruition.”
The Park Central hotels will support individuals traveling to the PHOENIX MEDICAL QUARTER for treatment and services at Barrow Neurological Institute, Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, as well as a place for family and friends of Creighton University Health Sciences Campus students and faculty. The hotels will add 207 total guest rooms, spanning five stories and covering 105,000 square feet.
Upon completing the program, participants will gain invaluable firsthand work experience and benefit from job placement assistance.
“I am truly grateful to all of the stakeholders involved in this workforce initiative to develop an intern program to train future leaders in the hospitality industry. Our students will have the unique opportunity to gain real-world experience in multiple departments and roles within hotel operations under the guidance of an exceptional leadership team,” said Jennifer Elfenbein, Ph.D., CHE, Chair of Hospitality Management, Colangelo College of Business at Grand Canyon University.
“We are proud to work with our partners to expand workforce training opportunities and incorporate hospitality training at the new hotels at Park Central,” said Sharon Harper, Chairman and CEO of Plaza Companies spearheading the Park Central revitalization alongside Holualoa Companies. “Park Central is a hub for jobs and economic growth, and these new hotels will be invaluable assets, catering to Creighton University medical students, faculty, families, business travelers, patients, and families traveling for treatment in the PHOENIX MEDICAL QUARTER while enhancing our community’s employment prospects.”
The construction, leisure, and hospitality industries are in the top five of the fastest growing industries in Arizona and will see over 20% increase in employment by 20312. The Park Central Hospitality Training program follows the pilot of the construction training program that was in partnership with South Mountain Community College and Layton Construction.
Plaza Companies and Tucson’s Holualoa Companies have teamed up to redevelop Park Central, once the city’s first large-scale shopping mall, into a vibrant nearly 500,000-square-foot bustling community destination ideal for playing, working, congregating, and celebrating the arts.
The new, dual-branded hotels will combine features and perks from both brands. Home2 Suites is a pet-friendly, extended-stay hotel offering complimentary breakfast, in-suite kitchens, and other extended stay amenities. Tru by Hilton, meanwhile, provides an interactive game room, multimedia areas, and a 24/7 market where guests can grab snacks, coffee, and other beverages and light bites. The hotels will share a rooftop pool and ground-floor fitness center.
About Plaza Companies
With offices in Peoria, Scottsdale and Tucson, Plaza Companies is a full-service real estate firm specializing in the management, leasing and development of medical office and commercial office properties, technology and bioscience facilities, mixed-use properties and senior housing communities. Since 1982, Plaza Companies has established a proud track record as a competitive, connected and conscientious real estate firm with partnerships throughout the industries it serves. For more information, visit www.theplazaco.com.
About Holualoa Companies
Holualoa Companies is a real estate investment firm focused on the successful development, acquisition, repositioning and disposition of real estate assets. Holualoa actively seeks opportunities that improve neighborhoods, create jobs, and enhance communities. The company is a driving force behind a number of award-winning projects. Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, with offices in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Hawaii and Paris, France, its investments span the United States and Europe and include, multifamily, hotel, office, retail, industrial and self-storage, properties. For more information visit www.holualoa.com.
About Fayth Hospitality
Helmed by Greg Fay and his partner, Randy Churchey, Fayth Hospitality Group launched in 2018 as a hotel investment company focused on select and compact full-service hotels in popular and emerging markets. In addition to the new Home2 Suites/Tru by Hilton hotel in Phoenix, the company opened a dual-brand Hampton Inn/Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in downtown Tucson in August 2021.
About Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona’s premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers 312 academic programs, emphases and certificates for both traditional undergraduate students and working professionals. The University’s curriculum emphasizes interaction with classmates, both in-person and online, and individual attention from instructors while fusing academic rigor with Christian values to help students find their purpose and become skilled, caring professionals.
About Phoenix
As the 5th largest city in the country and the capital of Arizona, Phoenix is home to 1.7 million residents and is at the top in the market for a well-trained and educated workforce. Phoenix has led the nation in new population growth over the decade and has become a global center of advanced manufacturing, bio, and life sciences, technology, and business and financial services. Phoenix has a modern and expanding transportation and infrastructure network which easily connects businesses and the workforce to a broad range of amenities and quality-of-life options. Ranked in the top 10 for the best city to start a business, companies thrive in Phoenix because of its friendly business environment, and it’s a great place to live. Within the 517 square miles of the city, renowned mountain trails, and three of the largest city parks in the country, Phoenix attracts visitors worldwide. Downtown Phoenix continues to draw major events such as the 2023 Super Bowl, the 2024 NCAA Final Four, and music and food festivals. For more information, visit investinphoenix.com.
About South Mountain Community College
South Mountain Community College (SMCC) is a comprehensive community college offering general education, transfer options and a range of programs and certificates that address workforce, occupational and educational needs. The demographics of the college reflect the diversity of the surrounding community – a rich mix of rural, urban, and suburban neighborhoods. Students arrive from Phoenix, Laveen, Tempe, Guadalupe and other surrounding areas in our community, to attend classes at the main campus in Phoenix or the satellite campus in Guadalupe. Approximately 4,000 students are enrolled at SMCC; 70 percent are first-generation college students; and 48 percent intend to transfer to a university to further their education. With more than 82 percent of these students identifying as minority, SMCC has been federally designated as both a Minority- and Hispanic-Serving Institution.
2 Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity