PARTNERSHIP & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Champions of Hospitality 
More than 650 hospitality professionals, students, and their families from across the Coachella Valley gathered at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells to celebrate the spirit of Greater Palm Springs tourism at the annual Champions of Hospitality Awards Gala on October 30, 2023. The event, presented by Visit Greater Palm Springs, was an opportunity to unite our hospitality community and highlight the positive impact tourism employees have on local businesses and visitors.  

While the Champions of Hospitality Awards Gala celebrates the individuals and organizations that embody the innovative spirit of the local tourism and hospitality industry, the event also serves as a fundraising vehicle for the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation, raising more than $90,000 through sponsorships, a silent auction, and donations. At the event, the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation awarded $24,000 in scholarships to four college students from across the Coachella Valley and five seniors from Coachella Valley High School’s Hospitality Academy. 

The culminating award of the event, the Spirit of Tourism Award, was presented to Tim Lieweke, CEO of Oak View Group/Acrisure Arena, to recognize his embodiment of the spirit of tourism in the valley and his diligent work to move the overall industry forward in both actions and spirit. You can view the full list of this year’s award winners and the Spirit of Tourism award tribute video on our Champions of Hospitality website page. 

Caravanserai Project Marketplace at Palm Springs Art Museum 
Visit Greater Palm Springs partnered with Caravanserai Project in 2023 to support a cohort of Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs from the Coachella Valley with businesses in the tourism and hospitality eco-system for their SEED 2.0 Business Readiness Training Program. The Caravanserai Project supports a group of up to 30 local businesses with micro-grants for up to $7,500 as well as business readiness training. As part of our partnership, we hosted a marketplace Meet & See event at the Palm Springs Art Museum on September 27, 2023, to showcase the entrepreneurs in our cohort to our local tourism partners. 

Rent Responsibly 
Visit Greater Palm Springs continued its vacation rental host education series in partnership with Rent Responsibly and VRON-PS, hosting a “Get to Know Your Neighbors” webinar. The webinar featured tips and best practices for getting to know the neighbors of your vacation rental, including some advice from a local vacation rental neighbor. The webinar replay is available online and supported by a landing page with resources, templates, blog posts, and links to regulatory information. CLICK HERE to access the replay and resource library.  

College of the Desert PaCE Partnership  
The Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation works in partnership with College of the Desert’s PaCE program to support the growth and development of our workforce and future leaders in the hospitality industry. As part of this partnership, we offer an Emerging Leaders training program — a six-course series teaching the tenets of leadership resulting in a certificate. Scholarships from the Tourism Foundation for TEAM GPS Emerging Leaders Certificate classes are still available; hospitality employers can apply through goTEAMgps.com. 

Here’s a video of Director of Sustainability & Community Engagement Lauren Bruggemans highlighting the COD partnership and programs. 

Green Destinations Top 100  
Visit Greater Palm Springs made the 2023 Green Destinations Top 100! Green Destinations is a global organization committed to supporting sustainable destinations, their businesses, and communities with training, assessments, and certifications. VGPS entered the 2023 Green Destinations Top 100 Stories Competition, which is an annual competition that collects and celebrates initiatives from destinations globally, inspiring responsible tourism leadership.  

Our submission in the competition highlighted our TEAM GPS program, focusing on the ways in which it connects our tourism workforce across the Coachella Valley to provide participants with the knowledge and skills they need to excel in their careers while empowering them to shape and support a sustainable tourism industry. The TEAM GPS program not only teaches our hospitality community to love our destination but also fosters an understanding of the values of sustainability and inclusion among our stakeholders and partners, underscoring the power of collective impact.

Visit Greater Palm Springs Partnership 
In September and October 2023, Business Partner listings on our website received 133,365 views. Partners can gain additional exposure and attract new visitors through several programs: 

• Autism Certification - Families with autism want to travel and make memories; they also represent a large, growing segment of the travel market, spending more than $262 billion on autism-related services each year in the U.S. Becoming a Certified Autism Center gives your business a competitive advantage with these visitors and helps develop the skills and awareness of your employees. Congratulations to the Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory for becoming a CAC in May 2023. Learn more on our partner landing page. 

• Kind Traveler - Kind Traveler is the first Give + Get hotel booking and education platform that empowers travelers to make a positive impact in the communities they visit. Travelers give back to meaningful charities connected to environmental and community impact in destinations and receive kind offers from partnered hotels. Hotels in Greater Palm Springs have the opportunity to participate on this platform through a special program with Visit Greater Palm Springs. Azure Sky Hotel, Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs, Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa, and The Good House have already signed up. Visit KindTraveler.com and contact Jessica Blotter via email to learn more. 

• Diverse Business Listing Info – Your listings on VisitGreaterPalmSprings.com can now include information about diversity and accessibility. This information also helps us connect you with media and marketing opportunities for diverse-owned businesses. Log in at MyGreaterPS.com and update your “Amenities: Business Details.” 

Ongoing Promotion Opportunities 
Chill Deals – Share your packages, special experiences, and deals. Log in at MyGreaterPS.com to upload your “special offers” and attract more visitors. 

Events – Submit your events to our visitor events calendar. 

Oasis and San Jacinto Partners 

We welcomed 9 new or upgraded partners in September and October 2023: 

• Klipsch Marketing & Advisors (KM&A) 
• Porta Via Palm Desert 
• Shay's Warriors Life After Cancer 
• BBJ La Tavola 
• French Miso Café 
• Chef Wives Club 
• Encore Global 
• The Packhouse at Aziz Farms 
• Pomme Frite 

The generous support of our new and renewing partners helps us fulfill our mission of positively affecting the region’s tourism economy and quality of life.