3.3 Careers
Meagan A. McGuire
Smaller DMOs may have only one person managing all destination marketing and management functions while larger DMOs will have one or more employees focused on each approach. The wide range of DMO budgets, employee size, and structures means that the below roles do not necessarily equate to jobs and some employees at DMOs can take on multiple roles. Therefore, the wider range of skill sets a person has, the more advantage they will have in the DMO setting.
The chart below lists the most common roles at a DMO with corresponding skills and competencies.
| DMO Role | Skills and Competencies | |
|---|---|---|
| Destination Leadership |
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| Marketing and Branding |
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| Visitor Services |
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| Destination Development |
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| Partnership and Community Relations |
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| Memberships |
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| Convention, Meeting, and Group Sales |
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About Mark
Mark Everton’s entry into the hospitality industry was through accounting and finance (personal communication, January 12, 2024). Shortly after graduating with degrees in accounting and finance from Humboldt State University in far northern California, Mark joined the Four Seasons hotel group as the Assistant Controller at the Four Seasons Clift Hotel in San Francisco. Mark describes what work was like decades ago:
The early 1980’s was a very different time in the hotel industry than it is today. There were no computers in use in the hotels. Catering bookings were kept in enormous books and the sales team would put clients on hold and tell them ‘let me check the book to see if that room is available’ and literally would go to the big book to look at dates and availability.
Mark had a diverse accounting tenure with Four Seasons, opening a Maui property and converting the Santa Barbara Biltmore from a Marriott to a Four Seasons. He left Four Seasons to open a new hotel, the Portman Hotel, in San Francisco. Mark believes that the experience of opening a hotel and the team building necessary to accomplish the myriad tasks and challenges helped him develop skills that serve him well today. As he explains,
One becomes a bit like Rube Goldberg in having to find creative solutions to unanticipated issues because at the end of the day the hotel has to open and guests need to be accommodated. This experience is applicable to problem solving and ‘thinking outside of the box’ for a DMO to be successful.
Mark’s love of operations and his ability to juggle multiple tasks led him to move from the accounting realm into hotel operations. During his time managing the 1,000-room Renaissance Parc 55 in San Francisco and the Oakland Marriott and Oakland Convention Center, Mark found his true passion for managing the day-to-day challenges of large big-city properties. He worked in management positions in inner-city luxury and convention properties as well as in Hawaiian and coastal resorts before joining Joie de Vivre, the largest manager of unique boutique hotels in the United States. Over many years with Joie de Vivre, he oversaw a dozen properties in Hawai’i, Southern California, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco while being based out of the Waterfront Hotel in Oakland’s Jack London Square.
As a long-term board member of Visit Oakland, Mark was a natural fit as CEO. He left the 24/7 life of an innkeeper after 30+ years and to join Visit Oakland. Mark reflects,
I was often asked if being the CEO of a DMO is different from being the GM of a hotel. They are surprisingly similar. The focus of marketing, sales, differentiation from your competition, managing owners vs. board members, team building, and goal setting are very similar. The primary difference is that the phone doesn’t ring at 2 a.m. because the night auditor has a stomach ache.
Mark’s fondest memories (so far) of working for DMOs include seeing Oakland selected by National Geographic as one of the 20 best places to visit in the world and having his organization Explore Seattle Southside chosen as one of the 100 best places to work in Washington State.
About Mark Everton
Mark’s proudest accomplishment is being married to his best friend and high school sweetheart for 43 years and successfully seeing all five of their children leave home, for now anyway. Mark’s professional experience includes management roles with Hilton, Marriott, Four Seasons, Joie de Vivre, and independent hotels, including the Claremont Resort & Spa in Oakland and the Portman Hotel in San Francisco. Mark has also had wonderful experiences with various community organizations, nonprofits, chambers of commerces, and philanthropic endeavors.
DMOs create many career opportunities outside of management. In particular, the many companies that support DMOs focus on marketing, technology, and research. Below is a list of the most common independent companies that DMOs contract with:
- Marketing Agencies: As mentioned earlier, some DMOs employ independent marketing agencies to assist with strategic planning, destination intelligence, website design and advertising, public relations, and media buying. The skills required to work for a marketing agency include communications, creativity, critical thinking, design, social media, data analysis, public relations, project management, sales, and customer service.
- Data Companies: Data companies focus on data collection and provide hotel occupancy, average daily rate (ADR), and revenue generated per available room (RevPAR) data. They also conduct surveys, provide cell phone tracking data, airline and cruise passenger arrival data, and more. The skills required to work for a data company include data visualization and analysis, statistics, problem-solving, data modeling, critical thinking, and customer service.
- Customer Relations Management (CRM): DMOs work with CRM software that keeps track of a variety of elements, including customers, request for proposal (RFP) documents, events, newsletter sign-ups, marketing data, and more. The skills required to work for a CRM company include sales, problem solving, customer service, technology, project management, database management, and communications.
- Other Technology Companies: Ever-evolving technology means that new companies are emerging regularly to provide innovative approaches to DMO marketing. Email newsletter management systems, app developers, interactive digital display providers, and many more inventive companies cater to DMO and tourism marketing and offer professional career paths that require skills in development, technology, project management, operating systems, resourcefulness, innovation, communication, problem solving, and sales.
Many opportunities exist for individuals wishing to work for or alongside DMOs. Whether the role is in marketing or sales, partnerships or memberships, community engagement or convention sales, a successful career path will depend on an employee’s core interest in working collaboratively with others towards a successful and sustainable tourism economy.
Attributions
- Figure 3.14: Mark Everton © Explore Seattle Southside Used with permission.