the cvb exec

Greg Ortale

Welcome back to Houston!
Winter 2008

GREG ORTALE is the president and CEO of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau and serves on the board of the Destination Marketing Association International.

MPG:  Tell us about your career and your background with Houston.

Greg:  I came to Houston in 1979 as the GM of what was then the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Council.  The president and CEO was Lynn Ralston.  After Lynn died, I left for Minneapolis as the first president and CEO of the Minneapolis bureau.  It had been a quasi city commission and they reconstituted it as an independent organization.  I was in Minneapolis for 20 years.  I always wanted to run the Houston bureau and so when the opportunity presented itself, I was happy to come back to this great city.

What is your top priority?

Besides finding my way to the office, my top priority is to maintain the communication with our stakeholders and team members and make sure that we are all focused on the key objective - to bring more visitors and meetings to Houston.

If you were talking to a group of meeting and convention planners, what would be your sales pitch for Houston?

I don’t know if there are many cities that offer the diversity of quality venues that Houston provides - with the George R. Brown, Reliant Park and all of the great hotels.  You can come to Houston and find just about anything you need.

For the corporate or the small association planner, it’s a buyer’s paradise in terms of being able to craft their meeting into what they actually want by the utilization of the venues.  Houston has a number of downtowns – the Greenspoint area, the Galleria, Downtown, the South Main area and the Hobby airport area.

What is on Houston’s horizon?

A lot of our product is already in place. Our biggest challenge is to change the perception of Houston.  A lot of people have perceived us to be a big, sprawling, uncontrolled, not service-friendly destination.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Since you last worked in Houston, how has the role of CVBs changed?

The obvious 800-pound gorilla is technology.  In 1979, we used a mini-computer and now there is more horsepower in one laptop than there was in our entire 1979 computer system.  The web has changed the way that we do marketing.  The growth of third parties as players has occurred as well as the importance of national sales offices. 

Some bureaus see the relationship with third-parties as adversarial.  How do you feel about third-parties?

It really depends on the third-party.

There are some third-parties that are adversarial.  They feel that it is necessary to beat up the city thinking that it is going to ingratiate them with their clients.  They should understand that most bureaus want to partner with them and help create a fair business relationship and a successful event. 

The last few years have been good ones for most hotels.  What advice do you have for hoteliers to help them continue their success?

They should look beyond the next 90 days.

Some have become very short-sighted – a bit of “market myopia.”  Some people don’t understand that if they’re making a decision in 2007 for a convention in 2014 they need to develop a longer-term vision.

What advise can you provide meeting planners to help them maximize their attendance?

I think it’s a matter of partnering with the bureau.  For the most part, the bureau knows what works and what doesn’t.  Planners should take advantage of that knowledge and experience.

Meeting planners need to realize that when you have a third party charging a commission and you’re asking for a rebate, the net rate to the hotels is something to consider.  Make sure that the rate is fair to both parties - a good deal for their members and a good deal for the hotels.

I think that a lot of bureaus around the country, especially the major ones, do a great job at helping planners build their attendance.  If you are coming to an event in Houston, let us reach out and help you learn more about what there is to see and do in Houston, and about the reasons you should attend the meeting for more than just the meeting content.

We may be near the end of a business cycle.  Travel costs are high and there are other factors that may lead to a reduction in travel and meetings.  What is your feeling?

I think you’re right.  In 2008 and 2009 we may see a decline in business travel.  This means that, for most hotels, meetings and conventions are going to become more important. 

I never pretend to suggest that meetings are the cake.  They’re the frosting.  Business travel is always the cake - it is the main part of the hotel occupancy equation.

Bureaus can help make a difference between running in the black instead of the red and it goes back to some hoteliers getting beyond their 90 day mentality.  Don’t go to your local bureau when there is an downturn in your business travel and say, “Where are our conventions?”  Well, three years ago you needed to be participating.

How does it feel to be back in Houston?

I’m really excited to be back in Houston and in Texas. I’ve got a lot of good friends in the Texas bureaus and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with them and working together to make Texas the destination of choice.  People have to come to Texas before they can get to Houston and that should be our approach.

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