the cvb exec

Scott White - Welcome to San Antonio!
Winter 2007

SCOTT WHITE is the president & CEO of the San Antonio CVB. Most recently, Scott served as the “second in command” at the Phoenix CVB.

:  What attracted you to the hospitality industry?

White:  Like most people, I saw opportunity to earn some money while I was going to school.  As I was doing that, I realized that the hospitality industry offered an incredible career opportunity.

In 1986, when I was working in food and beverage at the Monterrey Plaza Hotel, I realized that the sales people were the ones having all of the fun.  I went to Palm Springs and worked at the Desert Princess Resort that was taken over by Doubletree.  I then helped open the Esmeralda Resort at Indian Wells for Stouffer Hotels.  Stouffer was purchased by Renaissance and I moved from Palm Springs to Seattle to be the director of sales and marketing for the Renaissance Madison Hotel.

I wanted to get back to the southwest.  The CVB opportunity in Phoenix came about and some of the ex-Renaissance people were there.  Bob Lander, who is now the CEO in Austin, was our executive VP.  When he moved to Austin, I moved into his job so I always thank Bob for leaving.  Then, Steve Moore came to Phoenix and things were never the same after that.  (laughter)

:  Since you began with the Phoenix bureau, what has changed most about the role of CVBs? 

White:  It’s changed quite a bit.  We need to be more of a “partner” with our hotels and attractions and help develop programs that add value to what they are trying to accomplish.  We also need to be a stronger partner with our clients.

My goal is to develop programs that will allow us to sit down with meeting professionals and not only help them find them a hotel but to also say, “what is your ultimate goal while you are here, what are you trying to accomplish.  Can we help you build attendance, or drive more revenue to your bottom line, or help your foundation? What can we do to help you be successful?” 

It takes everyone on our staff to look at things from different angles and be creative.  I don’t have all the answers…it takes the entire team.  One of the things we did in Phoenix and will do here is to form a client advisory board to provide feedback about our services, collateral and marketing support.

:  What is the most challenging part of your transition into the top job?

White:  It is not so much the job itself but it’s coming into a new destination with a new staff.  It’s getting to know the local stakeholders, my internal staff, and learning more about the great history of San Antonio.  There’s a lot of value and importance put on preserving San Antonio’s culture and what the city means to the local community.

:  What has impressed you the most about San Antonio?

White:  It is the most friendly, warm and hospitable destination that I have ever been to in my life.

:  What is one thing that many meeting planners may not know about San Antonio?

White:  From our October 2006 survey of meeting attendees, the perception of San Antonio before arriving for the meeting averages a “6” on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the best).  After the meeting, the attendees score for San Antonio averages a “3” – twice as good.

I think that there a lot of meeting planners that don’t know that we have close to 13,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the convention center, great restaurants with wonderful cuisine, and incredible cultural and performing arts attractions.

:  What is the greatest challenge facing this industry?

White:  The one that is really on the horizon is the international market and the process that visitors have to go through to come into this country.

International visitors are very important to San Antonio.  We want to make sure we can work with the Travel Industry Association and the State of Texas tourism to help communicate how to enter the country and to ensure it’s a pleasant experience for the international visitors.   Research shows that people arriving from Europe are spending on average 12 - 16 nights per visit.  The economic impact is huge.  I’m very impressed with Roger Dow (director of Travel Industry Association).

Another potential challenge is access to the labor pool for our industry.  It’s in our best interest to be involved in intern programs and working with high school and college students to teach them about the opportunities available in this industry.

:  What advice do you have for meeting planners on a budget who want to bring meetings to San Antonio?

White:  Be flexible with your dates, your pattern, and your location.  And, always keep your options open.

Steve Moore, your former boss in Phoenix, is well known in this region.  What is the most important lesson that you learned from working with Steve.  I learned how not to play golf!  (laughter) 

From the professional side, Steve is very dedicated to making sure that whatever we did in Phoenix, that we did it right, and we took the time to get clients involved.  He was always asking for input from the hotels and from the clients.  Like in a chess game, Steve always thinks two or three steps ahead.

When you are going to make a decision, you need to know the impact two or three steps down the line both within and outside the organization.  That was the best lesson learned.