Hotelier Gifts $10 Mil to UCF for New Hospitality School

ORLANDO- Harris Rosen, Florida’s largest and most controversial independent hotelier, is making good on a pledge he gave to this community two years ago. Rosen is giving the 40,000-student University of Central Florida $10 million in cash and 20 acres to build the Rosen School of Hospitality Management, probably next to his planned 1,500-room resort near the Orange County Convention Center.

Undecided is where Rosen’s newest hotel will be built. However, hospitality consultants familiar with the developer’s plans, tell GlobeSt.com the site will likely be on Universal Orlando land. Rosen is negotiating to buy a portion of the 2,000 acres Universal acquired from Lockheed Martin in 1998. Rosen’s six active hotels in Orlando’s prime tourist corridor comprise 6,000 rooms, all at or near 100% occupancy.

Rosen critics say the hotelier’s plans for a UCF hospitality school is self-serving because he will probably get first choice on selecting and hiring the brightest graduates. “What’s wrong with that?” Rosen tells GlobeSt.com.