by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
One of Kitty Ratcliffe’s nightmares goes something like this: an inquisitive tourist arrives in Jacksonville for the Super Bowl. Curious, the tourist asks the hotel staff where the best restaurants are located or what the night life is like.
The hotel staff, in Ratcliffe’s nightmare, is clueless, rude and generally unhelpful.
“I think many of us planning for the Super Bowl here in Jacksonville have had that kind of dream wake us up in the middle of the night,” said Ratcliffe, president of the Jacksonville & the Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau. “I don’t believe any of Jacksonville’s hospitality service providers would allow that to happen, but we need to do whatever we can in order to present a truly polished front.”
To do just that, Ratcliffe announced Wednesday that the CVB, in a partnership with Florida Community College at Jacksonville and Improv Jacksonville, would be offering hospitality training programs from September through January.
“And we encourage all of our hospitality services partners to attend. We hope they do,” she said of the course. “It’s three hours long, and with Improv Jacksonville involved, we believe it will be both informative and entertaining.”
Ratcliffe and CVB spokesperson Kathy Harper said the classes are open to area hotels, restaurants and other tourist-friendly businesses.
“Really, any business who will be coming in contact with Super Bowl tourists can attend,” said Harper.
Harper said CVB business partners will not be charged for the course, though an undetermined rate will be established for businesses not registered with the CVB.
“From the very beginning, when we knew we would be hosting the Super Bowl, we wanted to be sure our hospitality businesses would have the opportunity to really shine,” she said. “We’ve been able to develop a program that addresses the importance of customer service and also product knowledge.
“We want these business to know the area, know Jacksonville and be as informed as possible.”
Harper said approximately 20 individual classes will be scheduled, though more may be added if there is enough demand.
“We’re still not sure about that but we’ve discussed possibly working with other CVBs if the program is a success here,” she said. “We’re confident it will be.”