​We are proud to feature Visit Frederick in this month's Partner Spotlight.  The company has been a Gold Partner of MHLA since 2021 and first joined the Association in 2015.  Read below to learn more!

Company Overview
Visit Frederick is a public-private Destination Marketing Organization partnership dedicated to enhancing the economic benefit of tourism for Frederick County's businesses, attractions, local governments, and residents. Visit Frederick plays a key role in generating the $518 million (2022) in tourism-related revenues which are generated for local businesses and attractions.

How does your business differentiate itself from others in your industry?
Visit Frederick is the official Destination Marketing Organization for Frederick County, Maryland.

Share any recent achievements, accolades or awards your company has received that are applicable to hotels.
These are the most recent MHLA awards for hotels in Frederick County: Plamondon Hospitality Partners received two MHLA Stars of the Industry awards in 2023

• Rick Clayton (MHLA Manager of the year- Select Service Division 1) – Residence Inn Frederick – Plamondon Hospitality Partners
• Colleen Howell (MHLA Guest Service star of the year- Select Service Division 1) Homewood Suites by Hilton - Plamondon Hospitality Partners.

How does your business positively impact the lodging industry?
As the Destination Marketing Organization for Frederick County, their mission is to drive visitors to spend the night in their destination. They market Frederick County as an overnight destination for leisure visitors, group tours, student travelers, and meeting attendees.
 
Furthermore, Visit Frederick provides advertising and development grant funds to Frederick County non-profit organizations or government agencies through their Tourism Reinvestment in Promotion & Product (TRIPP) program.  This competitive program allocates a portion of the hotel tax revenue received by Visit Frederick back to the community in the form of tourism product development and advertising grants. These grants allow Visit Frederick to cultivate overnight experiences for visitors to Frederick County.
 
Visit Frederick is an Allied Member of Capital Region USA (CRUSA), the official regional destination marketing organization promoting Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland internationally. This partnership encourages overseas travelers to stay longer and spend more money, through the leveraging of public and private investments.
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Primary Contact Information
Dave Ziedelis
Title: Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 301-600-4041
Address: 151 S. East Street, Frederick, MD 21701

Company website
VisitFrederick.org  

Social Media
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

​The Maryland Hotel Lodging Association (MHLA) Annual Golf Outing has served as a fundraiser for scholarships given through the Maryland Tourism Education Foundation (MTEF) for many years, and MHLA has managed the foundation since 2019. We're pleased to share that members of the MTEF Board of Directors attended the Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM) Annual Membership meeting on June 11, 2024 and presented a $60,000 donation to RAM’s Education Foundation scholarship fund. For over thirty years RAM has been providing scholarships and financial support to individuals looking to advance their careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

“This significant donation will ensure that we can continue to help young people pay for their post-secondary education in culinary arts and hospitality management”, stated Marshall Weston, President & CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland. “We are also able to help individuals looking to advance in the hospitality industry in different ways”.

Since 2007, MTEF also raised money and offered scholarships of their own to individuals looking to advance in the tourism industries. However, as the Hospitality industry continues to grow and includes restaurants, foodservice, hotels, lodging, tourism and entertainment, the MTEF Board of Directors felt it was best for the industry to have one place to go when looking for scholarships, rather than having numerous different programs. 

Amy Rohrer, President & CEO of the Maryland Hotel and Lodging Association and also a MTEF Board member agreed that “It makes sense to consolidate our industries scholarship programs. We’ll be able to have a larger impact and increase awareness that scholarship funds are available. MTEF has worked with RAM for many years, so it was an easy decision to support their scholarship fund”.

Scholarship information can be found at marylandrestaurants.com.