2006 was a year when there was a changing of the guard at many CVBs around the country. Fort Worth, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, and St. Louis saw their chiefs retire. Houston and Palm Beach accepted the resignations of their chiefs amid turmoil. Providence, Baltimore, and San Antonio found new blood to lead their bureaus as well.
These new CVB chiefs are finding a much tougher job waiting for them than their predecessors did when they first took over. And the job is only going to get tougher, according to Dale E. Lockett, CEO of Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) and 2007 chair of the board of trustees at the Washington, D.C.-headquartered Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) "I've been in the business for 25 years and running a CVB has never been as difficult as it is today," says Lockett.
In the old days, a transition of the leadership at a CVB was usually the result of retirement or the person at the top voluntarily leaving to pursue another job opportunity.
But recently, changes being brought about because the local political community is demanding a change in leadership are happening more frequently. "In 2006 there were several changes in leadership at CVBs that were made to address the concern, perceived or real, that the destination needed to improve sales, marketing strategies, or the CVB itself," says Lockett. "Anyone coming into a situation like that will need to have the political skills to control the dialogue, and the ability to clarify and communicate the value of a destination marketing organization to boards, members, and other stakeholders is getting harder every year."
With so many different faces coming into major meeting and convention cities, we spoke to several CVB heads who took over the reins at their bureaus in 2006 to find out their plans moving forward. We asked these new bureau chiefs what they find to be the greatest challenge they'll face in their city with regard to the meetings market. We also asked them to name the biggest challenge they feel that bureau leaders around the country are facing as a whole with regard to doing their ever-more-complex jobs.
Here's what they had to say:
Martha Sheridan
President/CEO
Providence Warwick CVB
"Over the past few years Providence has had great success in generating meeting and convention business for area hotels and the Rhode Island Convention Center. With 500 new first-class hotel rooms entering the marketplace in 2007, our challenge will be to continue to generate additional business opportunities while maintaining maximum profitability for our hotels. In anticipation of this challenge, we have increased our salesforce and placed additional focus on markets that require larger room blocks as well as those that meet in non-peak periods.
"Nationally, I think that one of the biggest challenges facing CVBs today— particularly their leadership—is finding the right balance between the amount of time spent promoting their destination and that spent demonstrating return on investment to local and state government, and other major stakeholders. The competition for public dollars can be fierce and it is time consuming. While it is important to keep all of our stakeholders informed, it is equally as important to ensure that CVBs are providing the best possible marketing and sales support to their respective destinations. So to be successful, bureau leaders need to possess sharp political skills, be savvy about sales and marketing, and have the ability to effectively manage their team of people."
Kathleen Ratcliffe
President
St. Louis CVC
"The biggest challenge for St. Louis is breaking through the clutter of messages bombarding our customers to let them know that this is not the St. Louis of old. As the new $430-million downtown Pinnacle casino/hotel development opens this year and the new Ballpark Village and St. Louis Centre redevelopments get underway, getting these messages out is going to be extremely difficult—our customers face constant time deficits, and must also deal with the vast number of destinations competing for their attention.
"What I and my bureau colleagues are facing in common, I think, is that many of us have bigger challenges beyond simply promoting our destinations effectively. In fact, in cities where the bureau budget is sizable, that is probably their least difficult challenge. It's the other issues, ones that go with being a public entity and the scrutiny we face from local stakeholders, that can be truly difficult."
David Peckinpaugh
President/CEO
San Diego CVB
"Our biggest challenge is getting the corporate marketplace to understand the value proposition of our bureau. Overall, the association market has a good understanding and awareness of the benefits of working through our channels; however, the corporate planner with its fragmented audience is tougher to reach and therefore our biggest challenge as well as our biggest opportunity in the future. We are making great efforts to penetrate this market in 2007. We want the corporate marketplace to understand what we do, that we handle small meetings as well as large, and offer an incredible resource that is available at no cost to make certain their event provides an incredible ROI.
"One of our biggest challenges for bureaus as a whole is the approach to using electronic channels including the Web, and the technology investment and resources required to compete effectively. Bureaus are entrusted with driving demand into their destinations, and e-channels are driving more opportunities. However, the incredible array of options is daunting, and many of us demand customized technology solutions and significant resources in order to better communicate our destination message with effectiveness."
Other Newbies
David Dubois
President/CEO
Fort Worth CVB
DuBois assumed his new position in January of this year. Previously, DuBois was executive vice president of the Meeting Professionals International Foundation. "His proven success as a leader will provide a strong foundation for the continued growth of our city," says Fort Worth bureau chairman Jeff King.
Thomas J. Noonan
President/CEO
Baltimore Area CVB
Noonan, who took over in January of this year, came from the Dallas CVB, where he was senior vice president of sales and services. Noonan arrives at a pivotal time for the city, which is betting that a publicly financed $301-million headquarters hotel currently under construction will fill the underperforming convention center.
Joe D'Alessandro
President/CEO
San Francisco CVB
D'Alessandro, who says SF's biggest challenge is making international visitors feel welcome in light of tighter passport rules, took over the San Francisco CVB in July, succeeding 19-year vet John A. Marks. Before this, he was president and CEO of the Portland Oregon Visitors Association (POVA), where he grew the annual tourism revenues from $1.2 billion to above $3 billion. Visitor spending in San Francisco is currently $6.73 billion.
Tim Walsh
Executive Director
Newport CVB
In January, Walsh was promoted to director of the Newport CVB in Rhode Island, where he had been vice president of sales.
Scott L. White
Executive Director
San Antonio CVB
White joined the San Antonio CVB in October of 2006, moving over from the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he was executive vice president. "I am very excited to join the dynamic team in San Antonio," says White. "The San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau has an impressive reputation in the industry and I look forward to leading the organization in the incredible years ahead," he adds.
"We're fortunate to have Scott head the organization. His extensive background and experience is a valuable asset to an already successful team at the bureau," says Roland Lozano, assistant to the city manager.
Originally published Feb. 01, 2007
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