Nov. 13–ST. THOMAS — The fourth annual U.S. Virgin Islands Small Hotels and Business Development Conference began Tuesday on St. Croix.

The free conference is open to the public and the agenda will be repeated on St. Thomas on Thursday.

The annual conference began as a way to help small hotels boost their business in the territory but has expanded to be a resource for many types of local businesses.

This year’s agenda includes panels of industry experts speaking on topics ranging from effective use of social media, ways to elevate customer service and managing a business’ online reputation.

A half-day seminar on the bridal industry is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. today at Divi Carina Bay Resort & Casino. Industry expert Jacqueline Johnson from the Global Bridal Group will give a presentation.

Thursday’s full-day agenda will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Marriott’s Frenchman’s Reef Beach Resort, and a free lunch is included.

The morning will begin with keynote speakers, including author Steve Curtin, who penned “Delight Your Customers: 7 Simple Ways to Raise Your Customer Service from Ordinary to Extraordinary.”

At 10 a.m., a panel discussion titled “Social Media Boot Camp” will guide businesses on how to best use social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, to attract a new customer base.

The session on social media will feature social media marketer Josh Rosenberg; Shomari Moorehead, an accomplished and experienced digital technology consultant; and Brittani Wood, account supervisor with Development Counsellors International.

The 11 a.m. presentation will be made by Buam Vasigh of Aviation Consulting Group on understanding airlift, and Courtney Fennell and Beth Thomas of Google will be giving a presentation during lunch.

At 2 p.m., Jonathan Tourtellot, geotourism editor of National Geographic Traveler, will be joined by Steve Paganeli, head of destination marketing sales for the Americas at TripAdvisor, for a session on geotourism; while the online reputation management talks will be led by Daniel Craig, a former hotel general manager and consultant specializing in social media strategy and online reputation management.

An open business exhibition and trade show will take place at the end of the day, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“We are looking forward to some stimulating sessions as we support our destination’s small hotels and business community with business intelligence from some of the world’s leading experts in their disciplines,” Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty said in a prepared statement.

The commissioner added that the goal of the annual conference is to enhance the territory’s tourism product in a highly competitive marketplace.

To register for the conference, contact Tourism’s marketing department at 774-8784.

– Contact Aldeth Lewin at 714-9111 or email alewin@dailynews.vi.