Bree Nidds, CTA, 29
Vice President of Sales, Discover Lehigh Valley, Lehigh Valley, Pa.
What I do:
I manage a team of sales and services experts whose goal is to generate an economic impact by hosting conferences, meetings and group tour business in Lehigh Valley. I also oversee the Lehigh Valley Certified Tourism Ambassador Program, and serve on the Global Leadership Committee at Destinations International.
How I got here:
My career began at the Wilmington and Beaches CVB in 2014. While working, I obtained my master’s from North Carolina State University in parks, recreation, tourism and sports management, and became the director of sports development at Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. In March 2019, I started my current position as vice president of sales at Discover Lehigh Valley.
My greatest career accomplishment:
In light of the pandemic, our team initiated and executed the COVID-19 Meetings Recovery Marketing Campaign. Until in-person meetings and events could safely reoccur, we recognized that the sales department needed to continue introducing meeting planners and event organizers to the destination through photo, video, social media and virtual experience. I am proud of this accomplishment because our efforts have given our partners hope. They know we understand that promotion of the destination is a vital way to increase demand, revenues and occupancy, but also to effectively communicate how safety measures are being implemented.
Impressive stats:
I strongly believe in continuing to invest in education and highly encourage my team members to pursue opportunities to continue learning. Within 20 months, the sales and services team at Discover Lehigh Valley has obtained or initiated five industry-recognized certifications.
A specific improvement I’ve made:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Discover Lehigh Valley meetings team created virtual site visit itineraries to guide meeting planners through venues and meeting spaces. These new collateral pieces can be used moving forward as we see meetings coming back.
What I'm working on right now:
Lehigh Valley is slated to host the first-ever Connect Pennsylvania, and is finalizing a new date and details due to it being rescheduled from the pandemic. Discover Lehigh Valley also began spotlighting our destination partners in Lehigh Valley through one-on-one Zoom interviews. We are speaking to the people behind the places that allow our destination to support our residents and visitors. It has been a new, fun way to showcase the destination that we plan to continue.
Twitter: @breenidds
