Largest Welcome Program in Denver’s History to Greet DNC Delegates

To welcome the delegates and media, the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau has been working with the 2008 Democratic National Convention Host Committee and others to organize ...

    *  Welcome desks in all 96 hotels being used by the Convention.  Each welcome desk will have brochures, maps and volunteers to help answer questions. In addition, some of the hotels will feature welcome signage at the front desk.
    
    * The largest window store welcome signage program in Denver’s history with 2,500 signs available for stores in downtown Denver and in neighborhoods throughout the metro area.  This will be the largest neighborhood and metro distribution of store welcome signs ever undertaken with virtually all 4,500 square miles of metro Denver being blanketed with store signs.
   
     * All 96 Convention hotels will feature an evening welcome call recorded by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, welcoming the delegates to Denver.  When the delegates enter the room, they will see a blinking light on the phone indicating they have a message.  The message will be the welcome call from Governor Ritter.  In 50 of the hotels that have the technological capability, when guests turn on their television, they will have a five minute Denver tourism video with a recorded welcome and introduction by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.  This video will be a legacy program and will be continued after the Democratic National Convention in some 50 hotels with a generic welcome from Mayor Hickenlooper.
    
    * A complete Denver International Airport welcome program with banners, signage and a recorded welcome message on the train from Mayor Hickenlooper.  There will also be volunteer greeters at the airport.
    
    * The largest downtown welcome banner program with 2,000 banners including locations on the 16th Street Mall, the convention center corridor and throughout downtown, arranged by the Host Committee and on the Mall by the Downtown Denver Partnership.
   
     * Denver welcome mini-Web sites were created for each state delegation with information and photos about what to see and do in Denver.
   
     * 10,000 Welcome buttons, which will be distributed to “front-line” tourism staff throughout Metro Denver.
    
    * Denver welcome information desks at the bus and train stations, which will be staffed during the Convention.
    
    * Extended hours for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitor Bureau’s information centers on the 16th Street Mall and in the Colorado Convention Center.
    
    * A 186-page Visitors Guide to Denver and Colorado, produced by the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, which will be in all delegate and media welcome bags.

            In addition to the welcome program, more than 3,000 frontline tourism employees, including 700 airport employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Denver International Airport, have all received hospitality training to get them ready to provide a warm welcome to visiting delegates and media. The hospitality training program, called “Go the EXTRA Mile,” was developed by the DMCVB and includes videos, Denver brochures and information, customer service tips and interactive skill building exercises. A full day training session also includes a motorcoach tour of the city.

            To date, the program has trained 250 taxi and shuttle drivers, as well as hundreds of employees at the airport, Colorado Convention Center, hotels, rental car agencies, restaurants and attractions.

            A “Celebrity Car Wash” for taxi drivers is scheduled for August 19 to show the city’s appreciation to front line cab drivers and give them additional tips on hospitality.       

About the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau

Founded in 1909, the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes.  Tourism is the second largest industry in Denver, generating $2.8 billion in annual spending and supporting 101,000 jobs. For more information on Denver call 800-393-8559 or visit Denver’s official Web site at www.denver.org.