Business Listing Guidelines

Listing Procedures and Guidelines

All businesses must maintain a physical address and/or presence within the state of West Virginia. Partners are required to manage and update their listings, as appropriate. Listings that have not been updated in the past 18 months may be automatically deleted from the system, without notice.

Partners are entitled to one listing per business address on WVtourism.com. Other business located at the same physical address that serve a different function for visitors may have their own listing (i.e., restaurants, shops, etc.). All new listings and changes will be reviewed by the West Virginia Department of Tourism to ensure eligibility criteria is met and that the information is helpful for travelers. The Department of Tourism reserves the right to edit, modify, restrict or remove listings at any time without notification.

Required Information

Each listing must include the following components:

• Complete physical address (No P.O Boxes; GPS system should be able to find this address)
• Phone Number
• Website
• Social channels
• A complete and detailed description in paragraph form – 500 word maximum of copy describing your business. Please proofread your work for correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Hours of operation
• Logo (450×300)
• A high-resolution photo that relates to your listing (1024×768)

General Description Guidelines

• Include an adequate description of your business. Think from the visitor’s point of view. What does the visitor want or need to know? Tell them what there is to do; why would they want to come there; any restrictions; location; etc. If you are closed certain days/months, say so. If seasonal, give specific months (do not say summer, winter, etc.). If you are a rural location, give some basic driving directions from the nearest landmark or major roadway.
• If you have been given an award/designation (Most Romantic Inn; AAA Four Diamond), include the name of the organization that made the award and the month and year it was given. If it was given more than four years ago, we cannot include it.
• Include admission prices. Give specific age groups (age 2-17, $12; age 60+, $10).
• Listings should be written in third-person, not first person. For example, instead of ‘For over 35 years, we’ve guided folks away from their reality into West Virginia’s great outdoors.’, say ‘For over 35 years, Example Outfitters has guided folks away from their reality into West Virginia’s great outdoors.’
• All listing descriptions are subject to review and editing for tone and style.

Navigation to Listings in the Partner Portal

Business listings are created and managed by partners. These listings feature important information about your business and provide visitors with tangible information. For access to create listings, tourism businesses must register to become an industry partner of the West Virginia Department of Tourism and sign up for the partner portal. The Partner Portal allows partners to add detailed descriptions, images and information to submit for placement on WVtourism.com.

Once a tourism business becomes a industry partner and their business listing is approved, partners will be able to access their listing and edit their listing from the ‘Business Listing’ tab in the Partner Portal.

If your tourism business already has an existing listing and/or need to make edits to a listing in which you do not have portal access, contact our team at TourismListings@wv.gov.