MGM Resorts announces paid parking policy for locals

MGM Resorts has begun to provide information about their new paid parking policy and how locals will be affected. Many members have received the following message:

MGM Resorts Parking Policy for Locals
MGM Resorts International

MGM Resorts International is taking steps to implement a $90 million parking strategy to expand parking availability, implement technology upgrades and reduce the hassle and frustration resulting from outdated and inefficient facilities.

In order to fund these investments—and the ongoing maintenance and capital improvements of our parking facilities—we will be instituting fees for self- and valet parking. Fees will begin to roll out at our Las Vegas hotels on June 6, 2016. These rates remain significantly below those of other highly popular tourism destinations.

As a local Nevada resident, our self-parking will continue to be complimentary to you through December 29, 2016, with the presentation of a valid Nevada driver’s license.

To extend complimentary parking beyond that date, you may choose to participate in M life Rewards, the loyalty program of MGM Resorts. Once you achieve Pearl tier status, self-parking is complimentary. Gold, Platinum and NOIR M life Rewards members also receive complimentary valet parking.

All parking is subject to availability.

The environment in Las Vegas has changed dramatically in the decades since amenities like low-quality dining, lodging and free parking were offered to attract customers. Growth in tourism and our local population—including many more cars on our local roadways—requires more parking availability, more efficient, modern parking systems and more frequent maintenance and upgrades to our aging facilities—all of which come at significant cost.

We have come to this decision with a great deal of care, particularly knowing we would be breaking with Las Vegas tradition. We know this change in strategy may be difficult in the short term, but it supports our aspirations for continuing to invest in the Las Vegas community for many years to come.

Click here for a complete overview of our parking policy.

Sincerely,

Lili Tomovich
Chief Experience Officer

M life Experience
MGM Resorts International

©2016 MGM Resorts International®. All rights reserved.

MGM Resorts International
3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

The new MGM paid parking policy will directly impact the work experience of professional guides and event staff who routinely work on the Strip at MGM Resorts properties. Gone are the days of easy coming and going from a job at one of MGM Resorts’ properties.

While we expect that this will not be the norm, at least one local employer of guides and event staff has announced that they will not reimburse MGM Resorts parking fees. What are your thoughts on this? Should step-on guides and event staff be expected to spend enough at MGM Resorts properties to reach the necessary M Life status to be able to avoid these fees, or are you ok with absorbing them, cutting into your income? This is an issue that we will be addressing more in the coming months.

What are your thoughts? How will this affect you? What solutions would you like to see enacted for those in our industry who routinely work at MGM Resorts properties providing professional services to their and our guests/clients?

InterpNEWS Magazine – Jan 2016 Issue

We would like to make our members aware of the International Heritage Interpretation Training Center & Magazine. Many LVTGG Members will find this interpretive organization and their publication interesting and worthwhile of your time. If you would like to subscribe to their magazine, see the instructions immediately below. All the following information is from them, and any requests for information about them or their programs should be directed to them and not the LVTGG:

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InterpNEWS (IN), the International Heritage Interpretation e-Magazine is published online and via email six times a year. IN is the most widely read of any interpretive publication, reaching over 155,000 interpreters, agencies and organizations in 38 countries.  IN is sent FREE as a service to the interpretive profession.  Check it out here:  http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpnews.html  If you would like to receive each issue as it’s published, just send your e-mail address to: jvainterp@aol.com  Also, they are always looking for articles on creative interpretive programs and services or interpretive research projects.

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The Jan/Feb 2016 issue has just been published and you can read or download it here, or read it and past issues online at https://issuu.com/interpnews or http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpnews.html.

In This Issue:                                                                                                                                 

Experience and Outcome Based Interpretive Planning – Mass Customization,

Markets of One and more.. John Veverka

– Interpretive Tip: A Road Trip with a Junior Ranger J. Patrick Barry                                   

Avoid The Awkward Close Speaking Tip 104 – Ethan Rotman                                                                            

Interpretive Training Course in Nada, Lithuania with Focus on the Curonian Spit –

  Trans-boundary World Heritage Site, Lithuania.  J. Veverka                                                               

“Let’s Celebrate Robert Burns Birthday” Dr. Martha Benn Macdonald                                             

Guides Association of New York City.                                                                                              

– Interpretation in Malta – Bringing 7000 years of history to life. J. Veverka                                                     

 – From historians to artists, Oakland County Parks discovers talents of its

    1,000+ volunteers. Julee Erskine,                                                                                         

Volunteerability at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum, UK  Trizia Wells                              

THE DIMENSIONS OF VISITOR MOVEMENT IN MUSEUMS Stephen Bitgood   

NEW – This current issue and past 2015 Issues of InterpNEWS are now available to be read on-line at:

 

 

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The Heritage Interpretation Training Center currently has several course openings due to participants completing each course. These include:

Planning/Designing Interpretive Panels e-LIVE Course – 10 Units awarding 1.5 CEU Credits $125.00
http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_panels_course.html

Interpretive Writing e-LIVE Course – 8 Units and 2 CEU Credits $200.00
http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_writing_course.html

Training for Interpretive Trainers e-LIVE Course – 11 Units and 2 CEU Credits. $200.00
http://www.heritageinterp.com/training_for_interp_trainers.html 

The Interpretive Exhibit Planners Tool Box e-LIVE course – 11 Units and 2 CEU Credits. $200.00
http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_exhibits_course.html

Interpretive Master Planning – e-LIVE. 13 Units, 3 CEU Credits. $275.00 http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_master_planning_course.html

 

Our Course Catalog for our current 17 interpretive courses: http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_training_center_course_catalogue_.html

For details on each e-LIVE course and course content you can check out the web page for each courses.  Courses can be started at any time and you can complete the course at your own pace.

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NEW Courses in the Planning Stage:

We currently have several new courses that we plan to have available by late autumn.  If you have an interest in any these let us know and we will add you to that courses mailing list:

 Developing Interpretive Plans for Historic Homes and Gardens. (Specifically designed for small to medium historic homes/gardens with small staffs and smaller budgets, but who need an interpretive plan for writing grants, related fund-raising and for their long-term development of interpretive programs and experiences).

– An introduction to developing living history characters and personalities & delivery of living history programs/experiences. This course is being developed for the HITC and offered by Rich Pawing of History Alive. http://www.richpawling.info/WordPress/

– Interpretive Master Planning for Botanical Gardens. Having done interpretive plans for many botanical gardens, we know some of their challenges and issues, from seasonal interpretation to incorporating art into their garden experiences.  Focusing on one main interpretive theme is always a challenge, but this course helps you provoke, relate and reveal your stories in magical ways that “grow on you”.

– Developing interpretive tours and programs – a guide for museum docents and volunteers. (This is a new course designed especially for docents and volunteers and offered at a greatly reduced tuition as a thank-you for their volunteer services).

These will expand the Heritage Interpretation Training Center course offerings to 21 college level interpretive training courses by November, 2015.  More courses are planned for 2016 as well.

All Heritage Interpretive Training Center courses can also be offered as live workshops/courses presented at your site or for your organization.  Costs: $800.00/day of training plus travel costs.  Ask for details.

http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_training.html

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Heritage Interpretation Training Center to provide courses for Museum Study LLC

Museum Study – is an organization whose mission is to help staff in small to medium museums and heritage sites build a better cultural institution and be a stronger member of the team that carries out the mission of their institution. To accomplish this, Museum Study provides online professional development training courses on a broad range of topics important to running a cultural institution.

JVA/Heritage Interpretation Training Center is pleased to be working with Museum Study to offer several 4-week long training courses in Heritage Interpretation, the first course being “An Introduction To Heritage Interpretation” that will be presented in November, 2015.  You can learn more about Museum Studies diversity  of Museum Management and Curation courses at their web site:  http://www.museumstudy.com/.  

HITC interpretive courses planned for 2016 include “Interpretive Writing” and “Planning Truly Interpretive Exhibits”.  Details on the Introduction to Heritage Interpretation course and other courses:  http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/.

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College Credit for Heritage Interpretation Training Center Courses ?

We are currently talking with several universities in the US and in the UK to have some of our courses made available to their heritage studies/interpretation students for actual college credit.

Several of our courses are currently being used by Newcastle University in the UK as part of their distance learning program – a MS in Heritage Management degree program.

More details to come.

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New JVA Interpretation Text Books From MuseumsETC.

http://www.museumsetc.com/collections/interpretation

Our text book set on Interpretive Master Planning has been revised and updated into one new very large book.  If you do interpretive planning or teach interpretation, this is a reference based on actually “doing” interpretive planning and training for 40 years.  Check it out here:

http://www.museumsetc.com/collections/interpretation/products/interpretation

The Interpretive Trails Book – This is our new book on planning and design of interpretive trails and related trail furniture and interpretive media.  Find out more about this book here:

http://www.museumsetc.com/collections/interpretation/products/the-interpretive-trails-book  It is based on 40 years of planning/designing self-guiding interpretive trails and related trail interpretive media as part of interpretive master planning projects.  This is used as the main text book for our “Planning/Designing Self-Guiding Interpretive Trails” course: http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_trails_course.html.

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Would love to chat with you about interpretation

Prof. John Veverka (John)

Director/Interpretive Coach

Heritage Interpretation Training Center

jvainterp@aol.com

SKYPE: jvainterp

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Again, for more information about their organization, see their website at http://www.heritageinterp.com

The link for the Heritage Interpretation Training Center:

http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_training_center_course_catalogue_.html

The Link for InterpNEWS – the International Heritage Interpretation e-Magazine:

http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpnews.html

Certified Professional Las Vegas Tour Guide Training

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UPDATE: The 2015 CPTG class has ended and was a great success. Congratulations to the 9 guild members who successfully completed the program and have attained their CPTG certification!

If you are interested in taking the training class in the future, please send us a message and we will notify you when the next class is scheduled. Most likely it will be in the spring of 2016.

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The Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild (LVTGG), a professional association of tour guides and travel companies promoting the integrity of tour guiding in Nevada, invites Las Vegas guides and other interested persons to register for the guild’s Certified Professional Las Vegas Tour Guide (CPTG) training program which will begin March 15, 2015.

The eight session CPTG program provides in-depth focus and training on information and skills relevant to Las Vegas tour guides. Participants receive the valuable added benefit of sessions held in stimulating locations such as the Nevada State Museum Las Vegas, the Mormon Fort, and on-site in Downtown Las Vegas and the Strip, as well as a number of special guest speakers and trainers throughout the program.

Most classes will be held on consecutive Sunday afternoons, with a few exceptions for holidays and site visits. Classes are beginning Sunday, March 15, and will culminate with a final examination. Those who successfully complete the course will receive certification from the LVTGG as being a “Certified Professional Las Vegas Guide.”

Topics include:

  • Practical Guiding Skills and Information
  • Geology and Flora & Fauna
  • Native Americans, Explorers, Pioneers, and Miners
  • The genesis and evolution of Las Vegas, including:

– The Mormon Fort and Helen Stewart
– Downtown and the Railroad
– Hoover Dam, the military, and the Atomic Age
– The Strip, from its origins to today
– Matrimony, Gaming, the Mob, Corporations, and Mega-Resorts

  • Regional locations and attractions
  • Meet & Greet and Event Protocols
  • And more!

For a limited time the CPTG program is being offered for just $50 for current members of the LVTGG. This special offer is available only through March 1 has been extended! LVTGG membership is a requirement of the training program, and annual LVTGG membership is $40.

Registration and payments can be completed on the guild’s website.

For more information, please visit www.lvtgg.com/cptg, or contact the Education Chair, Jerry Perkins, at training@lvtgg.com.

The Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild is a membership organization of tour professionals and members of the travel and tour industry who live and work in the Las Vegas area. The Guild advocates for the advancement of Las Vegas tour guides and tourism, and provides a liaison between tour guides, employers, and the community. In addition, through training and familiarization visits, the Guild strives to improve the local tour industry and ensure quality service for Las Vegas area visitors.

LVTGG Tourism Event – May 21, 2014 – Tourism, Hospitality, and the Lure of the West

 

TOURISM, HOSPITALITY, AND THE LURE OF THE WEST:

HOW THE HARVEY HOUSES PAVED THE WAY FOR LAS VEGAS

 Wednesday, May 21, 2014

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Art Square Theater, 1025 S. First Street, Las Vegas, Nevada

6:00 pm – Reception and book signing, featuring authentic Harvey House inspired menu items

Nevada Humanities Program Gallery, 1017 S. First

(behind Art Square, adjacent to Mingo’s)

Free and Open to the Public

Sponsored by Nevada Humanities, the Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild (LVTGG) and UNLV’s College of Hotel Administration, with support from UNLV’s History Department and the City of Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission.

Vintage Harvey House postcard

Join us for a spirited panel discussion exploring how the Harvey House empire of restaurants and hotels, under the guidance of hospitality pioneer Fred Harvey, paved the way for the development of Las Vegas as a tourist destination. The panel includes:

  • Andy Kirk, moderator, UNLV Professor of Public History
  • Stephen Fried, author, Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the West – one meal at a time.
  • David Schwartz, Director, UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research
  • Jan Jones, Senior Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs, Caesars Corporation; former Mayor of Las Vegas
  • Opening remarks by Dean Stowe Shoemaker, UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration

The program includes the screening of an excerpt from the recently released documentary, The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound, a film that chronicles the first significant female workforce in the US. Fred Harvey was a groundbreaking entrepreneur who established the first national chain of restaurants, hotels and book stores along the Santa Fe Rail Road from Chicago to California.

The Harvey House model of cultural travel, hospitality and culinary invention in the late 19th and early 20th centuries set the stage for a thriving industry that would invigorate the economy and culture of the West. Considered the father of hospitality, Fred Harvey was a pioneer in branding and mythologizing the west.

For more information about this program, call Richard Hooker, LVTGG, 702.592.2164

A WSJ review of Stephen Fried’s book can be found at this link.

You can view, print, and share the event flyer from this link.

The Las Vegas Tourist Guides Guild is a professional association of tour guides and travel industry professionals promoting the scope and integrity of tour guiding in Nevada. The Harvey House event, cosponsored by the Guild, is part of a series of educational and informational programs developed and presented by LVTGG in partnership with other organizations.

2014 National Travel and Tourism Week May 3 – 11

See below for some info from the LVCVA via Oscar Goodman on this year’s National Travel and Tourism Week, taking place May 3 – 11, 2014. Get ready to show your pride for helping make Las Vegas the powerhouse of world-class tourism that it is – wear blue, nominate the best guides and other industry members that you know and work with, and participate in the planned activities. If you would like to suggest ways that the LVTGG can participate as an organization, post your ideas in the comments or contact Babs Daitch at thanksbabs@gmail.com.

LVCVA Host Committee Header

National Travel and Tourism Week

May 3- 11, 2014

  The Annual Salute to Travel and Tourism in America National Travel and Tourism Week is fast approaching, and the LVCVA’s Host Committee is planning several activities throughout the community to help commemorate this important week. This is your chance to show your support and continue spreading the message of the importance of tourism.  Opportunities currently include: Resident Rewards
Representatives of the LVCVA are working on securing partnerships with local media outlets to host our annual Residents’ Rewards program. In recognition of Travel and Tourism Week, during the week of May 3-11, 2014, these local stations will put together promotions (on-air trivia contests, etc.) to reward locals with prizes, including staycation packages. Participating hotels, shows, restaurants and other venues will receive airtime featuring logo and descriptive verbiage of the prize and venue. If you are interested in donating prizes for these promotions, please contact Ericka Aviles- Business Marketing Manager at eaviles@lvcva.com


Hospitality Heroes

The Hospitality Heroes program was established to recognize and reward those employed by the hospitality industry for their outstanding service. The LVCVA and the Host Committee are asking for your support in identifying ONE exemplary employee (per property/business) who embodies the characteristics of a “Hospitality Hero“- someone who goes above and beyond to deliver the best customer service and show the best hospitality to every visitor he/she meets. Representatives of the LVCVA Public Affairs team including myself will surprise recipients by recognizing the “Hospitality Hero” at their place of work. In addition, we would love to have your property headliner partake in the festivities. If your resort and/or business is interested in participating, please contact Ericka Aviles- Business Marketing Manager at eaviles@lvcva.com  to request a nomination form.  Las Vegas Landmarks
The tourism color for the state of Nevada is BLUE. During National Travel and Tourism Week, we are asking hotels/businesses to help dress up your property landmarks/attractions in BLUE. If you would like to participate please contact Ericka Aviles-Business Marketing Manager at eaviles@lvcva.com.  Participating properties/businesses will be considered as location spots for on-camera interviews and other photo opportunities.  These will be shared with the US Travel Association and via LVCVA social media channels.

Travel Rally Day
Please save the date for the afternoon of Tuesday, May 6th, your entire staff is invited to the Mob Museum as we rally together to support Las Vegas’ economic engine- Tourism! More details to follow.

We appreciate your partnership and support with this program.  Click here for a video of how National Travel and Tourism week was celebrated across the country last year and join the conversation on social media by following @VegasHosts and @USTravel and using hashtags #NTTW #TourismMatters #TravelEffect

Thank you
Oscar B. Goodman
Chairman- Las Vegas Host Committee