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Vermont Chamber Expands Educational Offerings for Hospitality Professionals During COVID-19

August 17, 2021April 23, 2020

Vermont Chamber Expands Educational Offerings for Hospitality Professionals During COVID-19

As the state partner for the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce has expanded its educational resources for the restaurant and lodging industry. Tourism professionals now have access to more than seven complimentary professional development offerings.

Educational opportunities include:

Two free ServSafe training videos are available, designed to reinforce practices to keep food and employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. These free courses are available through the end of April.
The ServSafe Food Handler online training program is available for free through April for those who wish to attain the certificate or refresh their knowledge. This course must be uploaded to a student’s profile no later than April 30th. The student will have one year to launch the course and 60 days after launch to complete it.
The ServSuccess online learning suite, which offers courses, interactive study guides, and professional certification exams, is free through April. This program is designed to enhance the knowledge and abilities of working industry professionals. This course must be uploaded to a student’s profile no later than April 30th. The student will have one year to launch the course and 90 days after launch to complete it.
The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute’s professional development courses are available free of charge through April. These offerings are suitable for all hotel level employees and can help them take their hospitality career to the next level. Students must enroll no later than April 30th. Once enrolled, the student has 90 days to access the material for the AHLEI training.

ServSafe has been the industry standard for food and alcohol safety training and certification for 30 years. Hospitality organizations and schools rely on AHLEI for quality resources to train, educate, and certify hospitality professionals.

Describing the expanded offerings, Vermont Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Tourism Amy Spear said, “Vermont and the nation are in the midst of an unprecedented public health emergency, with significant stress being placed on the tourism industry. The Vermont Chamber is committed to helping the state’s restaurants and lodging properties recover and strengthening the tourism industry.”

The Vermont Chamber will continue to work with hospitality sector associations to provide resources for tourism industry employees and will advocate for measures that help Vermont businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Vermont Chamber Statement on Revised Guidance Allowing Future Online Lodging Reservations

June 30, 2023April 10, 2020

Vermont Chamber Statement on Revised Guidance Allowing Future Online Lodging Reservations

Today, Governor Scott amended his Stay Home, Stay Safe Order to allow Vermont lodging businesses to re-engage their online reservation systems immediately to book reservations beginning on June 15 or later.

Responding to the amendment, Vermont Chamber President Betsy Bishop said, “After listening to impacted businesses throughout the state, the Vermont Chamber urged the Governor to change his guidance and allow lodging properties to make future reservations while still adhering to his Stay Home, Stay Safe order. No other state has imposed this level of restriction on the lodging industry, so we are pleased that the Governor revised his order. This action will help lodging businesses, many located in rural communities throughout the state, recover once the order is lifted.”

The Vermont Chamber will continue to work with state leaders to elevate business community concerns and swiftly address issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 10, 2020

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Congressman Peter Welch Heard From Over 150 Businesses at Vermont Chamber Tourism Town Hall

August 17, 2021April 2, 2020

Congressman Peter Welch Heard From Over 150 Businesses at Vermont Chamber Tourism Town Hall

Congressman Peter Welch heard from over 150 businesses in the state’s tourism industry during a remote Vermont Chamber Tourism Town Hall on April 2 about how COVID-19 is affecting Vermont. The Town Hall, recorded here, was an opportunity for tourism businesses to further Congressman Welch’s understanding of COVID-19’s impact, share ideas, and help shape what future assistance will look like.

Congressman Welch thoughtfully responded to questions submitted by registrants and committed to taking the issues and ideas back to Congress with him.

Congressman Welch said, “It’s a hard time in Vermont and around the world as we face the COVID-19 pandemic together. Public health rightly remains the urgent priority of legislators, but it is also our responsibility to help Vermont’s businesses survive. Vermont’s tourism businesses are owned by our neighbors, our friends, and our families. We need to listen carefully to their concerns and be strong advocates during these challenging times.”

The industry asked Congressman Welch to help them with grant funding rather than loans to help them re-open and re-hire once the Stay Home, Stay Safe order is lifted. Other issues were funding tourism promotion during the recovery, addressing the disincentive to return to work in the new unemployment insurance law, and speeding up the access to SBA loans.

Amy Spear said, “Tourism represents one of the largest contributions of out-of-state money into the state’s economy, bringing significant revenue to communities statewide. When our tourism industry is impacted, as it is now by COVID-19, the impact is felt throughout Vermont. The Vermont Chamber is hard at work keeping tourism businesses informed of changes to the way they do business and pushing for financial and regulatory relief to keep the industry on solid ground.”

April 2, 2020