|
Today, Michael is fresh off the successful launch of a newly debuted brand platform for his destination, which has seen its share of exciting transformation in recent years. Representing the cities of Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga, the GO CAL brand was created to better reflect Greater Ontario’s role as an international gateway. Greater Ontario and the Inland Empire have emerged as one of the nation’s most highly sought-after population and economic centers, surpassing the San Francisco Bay Area as the 12th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and leading all of California in job growth. Read on to learn more about Michael’s professional trajectory, his vision for GO CAL, and advice for the next generation of hospitality pros.
How did you get started in hospitality?
Long story but, I started as a tour bus driver. Yes, I have my license to drive 40-foot tour buses! I used to do tours to Universal, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and San Diego, and across the state. I advanced in that industry into leadership and ultimately sales and marketing—and when a hotel opportunity in Anaheim came up, I took it.
How did your hotel experience serve as a launchpad to your destination marketing leadership?
I have worked in most hotel types and brands, both in franchise and corporate managed and owned products. Given hotels are the catalyst or the engine that often drives the funding model for a DMO, understanding the needs of hotels really helped guide my thinking and style related to the importance of hotels to the DMO and vice versa. I also believe hotels require a greater level of accountability, and I have carried that into my role in DMO leadership. I measure everything we do and report results and make changes as needed to ensure we are meeting the goals of our constituents.
How has destination marketing evolved throughout your career?
Wow, so much has changed. Technology alone was a massive shift. Just thinking about things as simple as fax versus email, everything used to be fax. It’s kind of like 8-track and cassette tapes evolving to CDs and now none of that exists and most young people don’t even know what those are—same concept. Used to be many different lead sources for business were managed and available, and now so much of that part of our business has been condensed into a few large entities. Hotel brand consolidation has changed greatly over the years too, changing the way we interact. The ability to measure our marketing efforts has improved, allowing us to better target our spending. Just to name a few.
What project(s) or challenges had the biggest influence on you personally and/or professionally? What accomplishments are you most proud of?
|
