ORLANDO

Members of Visit Orlando, one of the nation’s largest convention and visitors’ bureaus, are learning how to make all of their guest service interactions golden with training provided by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI).

EI recently presented its Guest Service Gold program and the Certified Guest Service Professional (CGSP) certification exam to 118 people from 36 Visit Orlando member companies. Attendees ranged from vice presidents to line level employees and represented hotels, restaurants, transportation companies, attractions, museums, and shopping malls. Everyone who took the class passed the CGSP certification exam.

Guest Service Gold, a guest service training program introduced by the Educational Institute in 2011, shows employees and properties how to achieve a new standard of exceptional service based on emotionally engaging with guests in memorable ways.

“EI commends Visit Orlando for taking the initiative to ensure that gold-level service is the standard throughout the city’s hospitality and tourism venues,” said Robert L. Steele III, CHA, EI’s president and COO. “With the passage of the Travel Promotion Act and other efforts to increase visitors to the area, the importance of great guest service to attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other tourist sites has never been more critical."