Alaska Host is a statewide customer service training program designed for employees of the hospitality and visitor services industry. The core of the Alaska Host program trains participants in how to provide quality customer service for both residents and visitors to Alaska.
The AlaskaHost customer service training program was first developed in 1992 for the State of Alaska, in partnership with the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) and the State of Alaska’s Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (Commerce). It was originally based on Tourism British Columbia’s SuperHost program, which was designed to support the influx and growth of tourism during the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In 2004, Commerce, ATIA and other users of the AlaskaHost program identified the need to update the AlaskaHost curriculum so that it would better meet the unique needs of Alaska’s visitor and customer service industries. During the past year, revising and improving the program has been a collaborative effort among AlaskaHost trainers, ATIA, Commerce, and other visitor industry and education organizations. The partnership created an Alaska-tailored training program geared towards educating the wide variety of employees in our state’s visitor industry, as well as any businesses interested in improving customer service.
AlaskaHost Objectives
The objectives of the AlaskaHost class are to:
- Understand the importance of providing quality customer service
- Recognize and anticipate customer needs and expectations
- Understand the economic value of the visitor industry to the State of Alaska
- Learn how to deal with dissatisfied customers in a professional, helpful manner
Completion of AlaskaHost
Upon completion of the Customer Service Essentials course, participants will receive a class certificate and lapel pin, featuring the artwork of Rie Muñoz.
