The New Guard 2-1-2004

Last year was a time for fresh faces at convention and visitor bureaus around the country. From Providence, R.I., to Honolulu, a fleet of new executives has taken over the helm at local CVBs sometimes following hotly publicized shake-ups, always amid fervid competition.
   The class of 2003 arrives at a difficult period for bureaus. Although industry forecasts are cautiously optimistic for 2004, convention business continues to show the lingering effects of 9/11 in the form of skittish air travel and cost-cutting among corporate and association groups. Add to that a boom in nationwide convention space, and CVBs find themselves in a pickle of increased supply and decreased demand.
   To cope, many have ratcheted up their sales efforts, sometimes raising ire among local politicians and media who have sparked allegations of misspending or mismanagement. Indeed, 2003 saw many CVBs across the country singled out, dressed down and shaken up.
   Enter the new crop of bureau presidents. “We’re passing the torch to a new generation of CVBs,” says Leslie Doggett, the recently appointed president and CEO of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. “It’s about consensus building, policy making, customer service and selling.”
   How’s the view from the top of a CVB today? To find out, M&C conducted a series of interviews, asking the new leaders what it is like to helm a bureau in a time of promise and peril. 

M&C: Given the tremendous competition among cities to lure conventions, what plans are in the works to make your city more attractive to planners?

Doggett: It’s always an issue of selling your assets. Baltimore is a visitor-friendly waterfront destination with easy accessibility, whether flying or driving. Its location on the East Coast allows for higher attendance and affordability.

Tennant: People are amazed how easy it is to get around San Antonio. We have a very authentic destination. Our tourism industry is based on our strong heritage dating back even before 1718, when the Alamo was established.

Wood: We’re adding 166,000 square feet of exhibit space to the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. Downtown, we have a 621-room Marriott scheduled to open in spring 2005.

Jones: The Dallas CVB is in the middle of a rebranding process to showcase the diversity of the city. We’ve improved the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. And you can get on the light rail downtown, and 10 minutes later you’ll be at the North Park shopping mall.

Whiting: With so many hotel improvements and openings in the Greater Providence/Warwick area, planners will be hard-pressed to find a meeting facility or hotel that is not accommodating. The many options include the new 80-room Hotel Providence, the newly renovated Westin Providence and Providence Marriott hotels, and the expanded Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Crossings.

Monahan: Hawaii is a great place to meet and do business. We have world-class meeting and convention facilities statewide, plus the award-winning Hawaii Convention Center in Waikiki. Waikiki Beach has been invigorated with an impressive beautification, while resort areas on all islands have undergone extensive renovations and upgrades.

Meet the New Bureau Chiefs

Leslie Doggett is the president and CEO of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. Prior to taking the post last July, Doggett spent eight years at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she managed a global staff of 98 people and oversaw an annual budget of $17 million. Her appointment at the BACVA followed a yearlong controversy at the bureau over allegations of inflated booking and membership numbers.

Phillip Jones was appointed president and CEO of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau last October, following a seven-year stint as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. Jones, who also has worked as a director at the U.S. Department of Commerce, has vowed to keep Dallas in the top five convention destinations in the country.

John Monahan was selected in October 2003 to head an embattled Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau. Prior to that, for 11 years Monahan was a senior executive at Liberty House, Hawaii’s largest retail department store. He also sat on the board of directors for the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu. His appointment came three months after Tony Vericella resigned as HVCB president and CEO, following a state audit criticizing the bureau’s spending practices. 

Melvin Tennant became president and CEO of the San Antonio (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau in July 2003. A Texas native, Tennant logged 11 years in Charlotte, N.C., as head of that city’s convention and visitors bureau. In San Antonio, Tennant oversees a budget of $16 million and a staff of 106.


Brian Whiting was selected to head the Providence Warwick (R.I.) Convention & Visitors Bureau last October. Whiting, who began his tourism career as a sales manager for the Newport County (R.I.) Convention Bureau, previously worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Travel Industry Association of America and the Massachusetts Department of Economic Development/Office of Travel and Tourism.

James T. Wood, a former president and CEO of the Greater Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, is now president and CEO of the Greater Louisville (Ky.) Convention & Visitors Bureau. His 23-year career in hospitality has included a wide variety of roles in catering, sales and marketing.

M&C: What issues are you hearing about from meeting planners?

Tennant: We find our customers want quicker responses, so we will continue to improve our internal processes to accommodate them.

Whiting: From my brief time so far as president/CEO and my recent experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers interviewing thousands of meeting and event planners, it would appear that attrition, booking outside of room blocks and decreased attendance at events are the three hot issues affecting the meetings/trade show industry.

M&C: Attrition is a hot-button topic for many planners. What is your bureau  doing to address this as well as out-of-the-block bookings?

Doggett: We are trying to work with planners to create packages and incentives where it makes sense to book inside the block. We know this is an issue and a challenge a national challenge.

Tennant: In the next few months we’re going to implement RegLink, which will enable people who book through Passkey to do conference registration at the same time as hotel registration. Requiring attendees to get hotel rooms through the association or corporation is one way to address the attrition issue, but I don’t know how soon the planning community will embrace that wholeheartedly.

Wood: We’re trying to offer technology-based options that will encourage delegates to use established housing blocks.

Monahan: Attrition has affected some of Hawaii’s larger conventions since 9/11, but it has not been a major issue with single-property meetings and incentives, which is our area of responsibility. Regarding out-of-the-block bookings, the HVCB leaves it up to the client to determine incentives and/or penalties to help discourage this from taking place.

M&C: What is your bureau doing to address stagnant or falling trade show attendance?

Doggett: We have a history of good attendance because we have a nearby airport served by Southwest, and we’re easily accessible for those who are driving.

Tennant: Fortunately, we have not experienced falloff in attendance. We started out as a leisure destination first, so we’ve been able to stay very competitive in terms of retaining attendance.

Wood: We’re trying to provide the greatest value by investing in infrastructure. We have the Frazier Historical Arms Museum opening in 2004 and also the Mohammed Ali Museum opening in 2005.

M&C: How has your city’s marketing and sales approach changed in the past few years as a result of changes in the marketplace?

Doggett: One thing the BACVA has done is institute quarterly reporting so we can be strategic and analytic in our approach and spot trends. We know from research in our first quarterly report that meeting planners like and know Baltimore, but their boards of directors often don’t know about the city.

Tennant: The SACVB has increased its focus on new market development and equipping salespeople with the tools they need for sales calls and trade shows. We’re developing a much more sophisticated means to boost returns on investment of all marketing opportunities.

Wood: One of the changes we introduced in Louisville about a year ago was cold cash initiatives of $10,000 to meeting planners a financial incentive that can go right back to the association.

Monahan: Two changes have occurred regarding Hawaii’s marketing. First, the responsibility to market the Hawaii Convention Center was transferred from the HVCB to the operator, SMG, effective Jan. 1, 2003. Second, the Hawaii Tourism Authority reassigned the international marketing of leisure travel from the HVCB to companies based in those markets. This change took effect at the start of this year. The HVCB retains responsibility for promoting leisure and corporate meetings and incentive travel in North America, our largest and most important market.

M&C: Has your relationship with meeting planners evolved as a result of market changes?

Tennant: I think there’s more of a sense of cooperation and not taking advantage of the situation in a way that will harm suppliers.

Jones: We’ve definitely seen a change. Customers know the value of their business. Groups on the books for years are now calling to renegotiate their original deals. That pendulum will swing back at some point.

Monahan: Demand is excellent and growing. It’s due in part to Americans choosing to stay within friendly territory, and Hawaii is an exotic yet welcoming destination.

M&C: When are you projecting an industry recovery to pre-9/11 levels?

Doggett: There are so many variables between consumer confidence, the war and security issues. The forecast is you’ll see a recovery by 2005.

Tennant: I can’t say 2005 will be the year of pre-9/11 levels, but 2005 and 2006 are looking strong.

Wood: A lot of us are hearing things will be better sometime in 2005. But because of the uncertainty of our world environment, we basically operate with our fingers crossed that nothing of a tragic nature will happen.

Jones: Our goal is to be back in 2005 or 2006. In the short term, we’ll focus on the leisure side. While we have a downturn in meetings, we’re trying to fill hotels with leisure visitors.

Whiting: I expect convention center demand will return to pre-9/11 figures by 2005. However, it is important not to confuse demand with occupancy, as the latter will continue to be “depressed” compared to pre-9/11 levels, due to significant increases in the supply of new and expanded centers.

Monahan: Next year, 2005, is projected to be a big year for Hawaii’s meetings industry, with increases in all market segments exceeding pre-9/11 levels.

M&C: Will the recent changes made at your bureau remain once the economy recovers?

Doggett: Coming from the Commerce Department, I think that, like for any product, you need research and development, so we will continue reporting in good times and bad.

Tennant: Absolutely. I’ve seen three other major downturns, and a lot of practices that got us in trouble before were revisited. I don’t see that happening this time. The higher level of customer attentiveness and aggressive and creative sales will stay.

Wood: Some initiatives will stay and others will experience the normal business cycle. I think financial incentives are here for quite a while, to varying degrees.

Jones: Absolutely. One thing I did is to reorganize the DCVB into a leaner, more efficient organization. We combined the tourism division and sales division; combined all PR, marketing and web-based activities in the marketing division; and restructured some administrative components. We eliminated 14 positions from the bureau. It will end up saving us a half-million dollars.

Monahan: Yes, Hawaii’s current tourism marketing structure will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

M&C: What is it like to operate a bureau in a time of increased public scrutiny and public accountability?

Doggett: I feel we have a sense of mission, hope and purpose, and a sense of great potential. Although it’s tremendous pressure, it’s also tremendous opportunity. I feel honored to serve the people of Baltimore.

Tennant: Our position as a department within the city government gives us certain parameters that keep us out of trouble. Everything we do is open to review. I’ve always advocated internal review and having a high level of structure, so it doesn’t bother me personally.

Wood: I welcome it. It helps us to be good managers and salespeople. We have to make sure everything we’re doing can pass the blush test; if it doesn’t, then it’s something we shouldn’t be doing.

Monahan: We are largely a publicly funded agency, so the scrutiny comes with the territory. I absolutely don’t mind that. I’m a strong believer in accountability. Personally, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to play a pivotal role in charting the success of Hawaii’s tourism and contributing to our state’s economy.

M&C: How has your past experience influenced your approach to your current job?

Doggett: In the government, research, accountability and consensus-building are critical. In private business you can make a decision and move forward, but in public businesses, you need to build consensus and use analysis. It certainly helps to have a national network. For example, we obtained the 50,000-person National Baptist Convention, and it so happens the meeting planner was someone I had known when I first went to the Commerce Department, and we developed a positive working relationship.

Whiting: I’m sure my recent experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers has prepared me well to lead this organization, considering the detailed level of public scrutiny accounting firms have been under post-Enron. Plus, my experience conducting market, financial and economic-impact analyses for facilities and destination marketing organizations has provided me with a strong understanding of national and regional trends.

Monahan: Liberty House was very much intertwined with the fortunes of Hawaii tourism, and as a consequence I’m well acquainted with the workings of our visitor industry. I learned in retail that success is perishable, and you can’t take business for granted no matter who you are. There’s a direct relationship between marketing and getting customers to buy your product. It’s not optional. 

Tennant: Back when I started at the Charlotte CVB, the city was at a different stage in its destination development. The convention center was just being built, and it took until the mid-1990s for the city to be successful in the national association market. So I bring a level of aggressiveness in selling a city that had to create an image and name for itself in the marketplace. It’s a blessing to come to a city like San Antonio that already is an established destination.