VII. Delivering a Great Visitor Experience

In an era of lightning-fast communication via social media, a great visitor experience can make a big impact. Happy visitors can become extremely valuable ambassadors for your products and services. This section of the handbook contains resources for great customer service, as well as guides to creating specific types of agritourism experiences.

Exceptional Customer Service

• Oregon Guest Service Training Program is a partnership between the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association Education Foundation and Travel Oregon. Through the program, you and your employees or family members can participate in an accredited and internationally recognized customer service training program, starting at a cost of $30/person. Learn more from the course introduction video.

High-Quality Experiences

• Offering High Quality On-farm Experiences, Vermont Agritourism Collaborative. Explains how to build authenticity, safe environments and facilities, educational experiences (both farmer-led and self-guided) and strong customer service
• The following guides for specific activities are sourced from several states. Some regulatory information is specific to the state, but the content on how to deliver memorable experiences is broadly applicable.
  • Farm Stays
    • How to Develop a Farm Stay, Vermont Agritourism Collaborative
    • Farm Stay U.S., the national association for farm stays, based in Oregon
    • Farm Stay Manual, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture
    • Farm Stay Business Guide, Farm Stay U.S.
    • What to Expect during a Farm Stay (a customer perspective), Farm Stay U.S.
  • On-Farm Sales
    • How to Develop a Farm Stand, Vermont Agritourism Collaborative
    • How to Develop a Pick-Your-Own Business, Vermont Agritourism Collaborative
  • Events
    • How to Develop Farm-to-Table Dinners, Plate & Pitchfork, Erika Polmar
  • Educational Experiences
    • How to Develop a Farm Tour, Vermont Agritourism Collaborative

Section VIII of the handbook provides additional examples of high-quality experiences created through win-win partnerships.