The Greater Morgantown CVB was named hospitality sponsor for the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo, held on June 3rd at the new Morgantown Event Center. The GMCVB encouraged local businesses to host their regional and national association meetings in Greater Morgantown and distributed promotional materials on the area’s “green meetings.”
GMCVB Executive Director Peggy Myers-Smith was recently appointed to the Sister Cities Commission for a three year term. Morgantown is a member of Sister Cities International, a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and communicates. The two communities share a significant history of exchange programs by West Virginia University and the University of Guanajuato.
In December of 2009, eight community leaders from the City of Morgantown and WVU (including Myers-Smith) visited the central Mexico city with the goal of expanding tourism, economic development, culture and youth exchange opportunities. They joined a host of other international cities as part of the first sister cities festival and formal signing of the partnership between Morgantown and Guanajuato.
Ben Huffman, GMCVB Conference Sales Manager, attended the Society of Government Meeting Planners Annual Education Conference May 19th - 22nd in Kansas City. Huffman shared exhibit space with Waterfront Place Hotel, distributing Greater Morgantown Visitors’ Guides and promotional materials to meeting planners and suppliers. While at the conference, Huffman attended training seminars on effectively speaking to government planners and the regulations involved in soliciting government meeting business.
The Greater Morgantown CVB organized a visit to Preston County by WV Tourism Commissioner Betty Carver and WV Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission representatives Sheila Coleman Castell and Connie Rice on April 20th. The group toured Cannon Hill for its significance in the Civil War. After a tour of the Rowlesburg World War II Museum and the B&O Bridge exhibit (on loan from the Smithsonian), the commissioners met with the Rowlesburg Revitalization Committee and Historical Society. The Greater Morgantown CVB, Preston County Chamber of Commerce and Preston County Economic Development Authority hosted a dinner at the Preston County Inn and were joined by representatives of the Preston County Commission to discuss tourism opportunities in Preston County.
Pictured: Justin Gaull, Division of Tourism; Commissioner Betty Carver, Division of Tourism; Sheila Coleman-Cantells; Tim Weaver
The GMCVB is sponsoring a hospitality training workshop September 15th and 16th. The workshop facilitator, Rita Suiter, owns Five Star Customer Service, and conducts training sessions at Southeast Tourism Society’s Marketing College. She says, “Regardless of your product, service or image, the one central ingredient that will set your company apart is a well-trained staff dedicated to exceeding your customers’ expectations.”
Registration information will be available August 1st at www.tourmorganton.com/hospitality-training.
Five ways to irritate hotel guests . . . Grab a pen and write down the five things that annoy you most during a hotel stay. We'll concede that uncomfortable beds are at the top of everyone's list, but what are four more? D.K. Shifflet & Associates conducted a national online survey of people who had stayed in hotels in the last three months and asked them.
What are they?
1. Uncomfortable beds
2. Charging for Internet access
3. Hidden fees added at checkout
4. Charging for parking
5. Thin walls between rooms
