Customer Service and Hospitality

1. Customer Service and Hospitality Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau and Visitor Center

2. Introductions • Kinsay Sand Destination Guru Meetings and Conventions Asheville Convention and Visitor Bureau

3. Introductions • Jess Kryzenske Program Coordinator Workforce Development & Public Policy Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce

4. Introductions Your Turn! • Name • Grade • Work Experience/Hobby • Aspirations

5. Why do people visit Asheville?

6. Visitation • mountains/natural beauty • recreation/outdoor sports • attractions • arts/ crafts • Culinary scene • Music • Relocation/retiring • Meetings and conventions • Weddings • Architecture/history

7. Hospitality as a Career

8. Career Pathways • Restaurant management • Hotel/resort/club/golf management • Culinary • Cruises • Meeting planning/event planning • Destination marketing/sales

9. Hospitality as a Career • Getting Started with Education and Experience

10. Convention & Visitors Bureau • Departments • Marketing • Motorcoach& Group Travel • Meeting and Conventions • Visitor Services – the face of Asheville

11. Marketing & PR • Advertisement Campaigns • Branding • target leisure travel • target “Drive Market” • Atlanta, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina • pitches

12. Marketing & PR Sample Ads

13. Marketing & PR

14. 21 Places We're Going in 2011 (Photos) Asheville: Sample Arty Appalachian Culture 1 of 21 Award-winning microbreweries are sprinkled throughout Asheville, North Carolina Why Go Now: Get a taste of Asheville while it still feels local and before it goes global. On the edge of the alluring Smoky Mountains, the food and drink scene of the recently dubbed "Beer City USA" is the perfect compliment to the scenery. You'll find over 30 galleries and 20 music venues devoted to everything from folk pieces to modern mash-ups. Where to Stay: The Inn on Biltmore Estate, a gilded-age resort set on an 800-acre Vanderbilt estate, even tempts day trippers to stay overnight. For something more modern (and compact), the Hotel Indigo opened a 100-room boutique property downtown just over a year ago. With a colorful interior and artsy details, it's also within walking distance of the new Pack Square Park. Insider Tip: Check out Live Wire before you go to plan your nightly entertainment. When to Go: Late September to early November for fall foliage. Plan Your Trip: Fodor's The North Carolina Mountains Travel Guide

15. Motorcoach & Group Travel • educate travel office like AAA • work with tour operators • devise packaging • create visitor guide • uphold Asheville Brand

16. Meetings & Conventions • support Asheville Area partners • serve as a liaison to meeting planners • customer service • Asheville accommodation & attraction knowledge • research • participate in associations • uphold Asheville brand

17. Meetings & Conventions • clients and visitors

18. Visitors Center • 200,000 visitors per year in visitor center • 20% looking to relocate to the area • international visitors • gift shop • open almost year round • run by volunteers and 4 staff members • trolleys • concierge

19. Questions?

20. What have you learned?

21. Takeaways • Asheville’s Tourism Industry • Tourism and Hospitality has many different and varied career options • Networking • Friends, family, teachers, employers • Getting experience now • Your education gives you options • You live in a world renowned location

22. Tour!