VISIT BRENHAM/WASHINGTON CO. LAUNCHES HOSPITALITY TRAINING PROGRAM
After successfully testing the program over the summer, the Visit Brenham/Washington County Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) has announced the launch of a customized hospitality and customer service training program.
“Visitor Journey A2D” is an enhanced hospitality-focused and blended-learning program that strives to help everyone in the DMO create a positive visitor experience from arrival to departure, or “A2D”.
City of Brenham Tourism and Marketing Director Jennifer Eckermann said nearly every business in Washington County is affected in some way by local tourism spending, citing $2.3 million in local sales tax receipts from travel spending in 2019. She said this training can “help everyone in Brenham and Washington County create a positive visitor/customer experience”.
The program is presented in two parts: an online course with seven short modules that can be completed at the participant’s own pace individually; and a live, in-person class with others that goes over the exercises from the online course and allows participants to share what they have learned. The live class can be presented on-site for employees of businesses that have five or more people complete the online training.
Once both portions of the training are completed, participants will receive Visitor A2D Champion certificates. Tourism Partner and Visitor Experience Manager Jennifer Phillips said the program can benefit not only anyone who works directly with visitors or anyone who might encounter a visitor in the course of their job, but also citizens and non-traditional hospitality positions. Once completed, graduates can then become ambassadors and have the opportunity to represent and promote the area at local events.
Visit Brenham/Washington County is partnering with the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, the Chappell Hill Chamber of Commerce, and the Burton Chamber of Commerce to offer $5 off the $15 price for their members who sign up for the training. Participants can email Phillips at jphillips@visitbrenhamtexas.com for the discount code.
Those interested can sign up or learn more about the program at www.visitbrenhamtexas.com/visitorjourney. The first live class is scheduled for November 5th, and additional classes will be posted on the website as the need occurs.