By Paige Nash
There are a lot of new and exciting things upcoming on the tourism front here in Minden.
Sara McDaniel serves as a Webster Parish tourism commissioner and is also owner of Simply Southern Cottage and the Cottage on Fort, which she rents out as an Airbnb.
Airbnb is an online marketplace that allows people who would like to rent out their houses, apartments, cabins, or spare rooms to connect with others that are looking for lodging in specific locations. McDaniel is known as a “superhost” on Airbnb, which means she is the best of the best as far as hospitality goes. Superhosts are top-rated and hold the most experience on the platform.
Directly after the HGTV Hometown Kickstart aired, she received notice from Airbnb that searches for lodging in our area have increased by 50 percent since this time last year.
“Well, that is now up to 69 percent,” McDaniel said.
Exciting news for the Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Commission, who is also currently working toward establishing a KTBS TowerCam in downtown Minden. The city would be joining a network of cameras which offer a real-time view and live feed on their website. The network already includes a portion of I-49, downtown Texarkana, Summerhill Road in Texarkana, a view in McCurtain County and one in Logansport.
“We are working on establishing some partnerships with other stakeholders in the community to literally put a spotlight on Minden and this would give us additional advertising with KTBS.com, KTBS television and news,” said Serena Gray, Executive Director of WPCVC.
Miller Quarters will be hosting the annual Scottish Tartan Festival next year. This year was the last time the Scottish Society of the Louisiana Highlands was able to hold their event at their usual location at the Scotland Farms in Minden. The organization was looking at possibly having to move the event out of the parish, so keeping them here is a win for the tourism board.
Miller Quarters will also be undergoing multiple phases of construction soon. It is not set in stone yet, what the phases will include, but a grand amphitheater, seating, a parking lot, bathrooms, a dog park and more are up for discussion.
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