The Host

The Host

Q&A by Dave Szymanski | Tampa Bay Editor

Paul Catoe moved from the executive offices at a Tampa television station to the award-winning post running the convention and visitors association in Tampa Bay.

Paul Catoe is the point man for the tourism and conventions in the Tampa Bay area, representing the interests of more than 700 businesses involved in those industries. Catoe is CEO of Tampa Bay & Company, formerly known as the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, a private not-for-profit organization that promotes the tourism and convention industry locally.

For helping upgrade Tampa as a tourist and convention destination, last year Leadership Tampa Alumni awarded Catoe the prestigious Parke Wright III Leadership Award.

With 5,000 new hotel rooms coming online, plans for enlarging the convention center and Super Bowl preparations to be done, 2008 will be a significant year for the industry.

The Gulf Coast Business Review recently spoke with Catoe, 65, about the industry, what he's learned and what he sees happening for tourism, hospitality and conventions on the Gulf Coast.

Here is an edited version of the interview.

How will the convention and tourism industry perform in 2008?

"It's going to be a good year, not a great year. Part of the thanks goes to the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. We brought it into the organization about four years ago. It's part of the family now. We won the Women's Final Four basketball tournament. And the first and second rounds of the men's basketball tournament in 2008. It is a big deal. We did it four years ago in Tampa. Also, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that the ACC has awarded its 2008 and 2009 football championship games to Tampa Bay. We will also host international dragonboat races. It's going to be something huge for our marketplace. We're going to have a lot of Far Eastern visitors."

What will the 2009 Super Bowl do for the Bay area?

"The exposure is huge. You're seen all over the world. People see the beauty shots, water, palm trees, beaches, Busch Gardens. They have economists, these guys making a living studying different things like the impact of Super Bowls. I have been to 11 Super Bowls. One thing rings true. We were competing against three other cities and they all wanted it as bad as we did. The reason they wanted it is because it's good for their city. There is incredible economic impact. I guarantee you. Talk to the Columbia Restaurant and Richard Gonzmart. International Plaza. Ask them. Ask the waiter at Bern's (Steak House in Tampa). All will smile at you. It really does make a difference. The spending stays here. It stays in our community."

How does the National Football League view this market?

"In February 2009 we'll host our fourth Super Bowl. I think the NFL likes this market. The only cities that have had more are New Orleans, Miami and maybe San Diego. We feel very fortunate. We'll have new hotel product in 2009, including the Westin on Rocky Point. Across from it, the old Steinbrenner hotel will become the Ritz Carlton, our first five-star hotel in the market. That's a huge deal. We were always criticized for not having a five-star hotel."

How do things look for the tourism industry on the Gulf Coast beyond 2008?

"We think that in the next several years, good things will be coming along. There are will be opportunities for more events and conventions. Whatever is out there we're going after. We're going to shake the trees. I'm not going to say Tampa is an easy sell, but it's not a hard sell, once we get them down here, to show them the product."

What's the biggest challenge for your organization?

"Summer business. It's like driving off a cliff. There's conventions. We get leisure business. There's Busch Gardens, our proximity to the beach. I don't want to mention the H word (hurricanes). Some people are fearful of storms. We got a bad rap a few years ago. But we still continue to plug away. We want to make sure they don't bypass our market when they book a convention, meeting or event."

How do meetings, events and conventions break down in your business?

"Meetings and conventions make up 60 to 65%. The rest is leisure activity, like Busch Gardens. Tour operators bring groups in. Sporting events have blessed us, especially amateur sporting events. Any number of soccer, baseball, AAU events are happening at any given time. It helps hotels outside of the downtown area. Convention and meetings usually don't. Major sporting events are included in the conventions category."

Why did the bureau change its name? How has it been received?

"We changed our name officially in the first part of October. It's no secret convention and visitors bureaus all over the United States are re-branding. All do research. We used to be the Tampa-Hillsborough Convention and Visitors Association. That's difficult to say. The acronym is difficult. Hillsborough is totally meaningless. So we took Hillsborough out. We became Tampa Bay. Then, after a 13-month process, talking to people in Atlanta, Austin and Chicago, trying to find out what they thought of Tampa, they didn't understand what a convention and visitors bureau does. To identify ourselves was the thought process."

What have you learned about this industry after eight years as CEO?

"It's gotten a lot more competitive. I came here and we were cooking along. Then came 911. It just killed our industry. People were afraid to travel. There was a recession. Our staff, which was up to 50, came down to 35. (Now it's at 62 people, including the Sports Commission. It also has 40 to 50 volunteers and part-timers.) Five years ago we were in the top 30 cities in convention center size. Now we're in the top 50. It makes us have to work a lot harder and be more efficient with our dollars."

In light of the KPMG study in 2003, do we need to enlarge our convention center to compete?

"Our convention center is fine. Do we need more space? Yes. It will come. Other cities have moved ahead of us. We have 200,000 square feet now. We met with everyone, including our customers. We're somewhat land-locked. We think we can add another 150,000 square feet to the convention center and not cause problems. We can go east over Florida Avenue. An additional 1,000 hotel rooms are coming downtown. I think our hotel rooms situation will get there. The problem with expanding the convention center is trying to find the funding for it. We can still take 85% of the groups out there. Ideally, like to have one convention in, and one moving in. Most of the conventions we go after, the general ballpark is groups that need 150,000 square feet. If we had 300,000 square feet, we could do two."

Who is one of our biggest competitors?

"Orlando. Four to five (hotel) properties have more meeting space than our convention center and it has more hotel rooms than we have downtown. What we see in the industry is that they are able to offer meeting planners one-stop shopping. Industries can have the convention right there in the hotel. The Gaylord Palms people are very aggressive. We see them in Orlando, Phoenix and Washington. It certainly has had an impact."

What other competitive issues exist?

"After 911, places got down and dirty, offering discounts and concessions for people to come to their cities. We always help them out some way. I think we saw some of the destinations out there buying business. More cities are offering incentives."

What are the area's main tourism assets and drawbacks?

"The assets include our waterfront destination. We've done a marvelous job marketing that. The Marriott Waterside Hotel was formerly a site for old warehouses. It is thriving. You can see the appeal of Channelside, the cruise ships. There's a lot of activity. The mayor's Riverwalk project is a great asset. Cathy Castor getting money from the federal government for the streetcar system helped. Busch Gardens is the 800-pound gorilla. It brings in a ton of business. Busch is incredibly important. It works with us in the leisure and meetings businesses. Busch is critical to what we do. The airport is a huge asset to us. Our airport is only seven miles from downtown. It's convenient to everything."

What do we need to work on?

"The convention center and more hotel product downtown. That will help our meetings and conventions. More restaurants and shops closer to the convention center would help. Downtown retail. That is coming."

Has the profile of visitors changed?

"It has stayed the same. But after 9-11, everything in the industry changed. We would book conventions and events three to five years out, sometimes seven to eight years out. After 9-11, we were booking six months to a year out. Things have gotten back to normal."

Are we capturing the demographic we want?

"The demographic we want, on the leisure side, is 25- to 54-year-old females. We don't do that at the expense of senior citizens. We have our partners across the bay. We get our share of international visitors. South Americans like to come here to shop. They go to Busch Gardens. Pinellas wants to fill its beach hotels. It does some of that with international business. Pinellas does a wonderful job in marketing to Europeans. We also do our share of Canadian business. We have sales representatives in Brazil, Argentina and London. It's not as simple as it looks. We're all going after the same piece of business. In Washington and Chicago, we share sales reps with Pinellas County."

How has the convention business changed?

"The biggest thing with CVBs (convention and visitors bureaus) is that they suffer from an identity crisis. Money from the county needs to be spent outside the county. People here then don't know about us. It only stands to reason. We don't get all of the bed tax money. Visitors service the bond debt on the (St. Pete Times Forum) arena, (Raymond James) stadium and Legends Field (spring training home of the New York Yankees). But the system is a good system. It helps us keep the product fresh. The money eventually goes back into the community. Helps us from a sales perspective."

How do you work with Pinellas and Pasco counties?

"We have a great relationship. We have a closer relationship with Pinellas than ever before. If there are any two counties that need each other, it's us. They have world-class beaches. They don't have a convention center. We're always trying to figure out ways to work together."

Are you changing the marketing message?

"We had change with a new logo and name. If there will be change, it will be nothing dramatic. Our current marketing is not the most creative thing. It's good. We need to say nothing different. One of great things on our research, one thing stands out: Tampa is a genuine city. People are down to earth. It's a genuine place to go."

What are the local and national perceptions of the Tampa Bay area?

"They recognize Tampa Bay, not just Tampa and St Pete. I think it's a reflection of the fact that we have major sports teams, like the Rays, Lightning and Bucs. I think wherever you travel, people refer to us as Tampa Bay.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Organization: Tampa Bay & Company

Industry: Conventions and tourism

Key: Bring more conventions, tourists and events to the Tampa Bay area.