Beyond the Brochure: What CVBs Really Do for Planners

In this episode, hosts Eming Piansay and Sara Robertson sit down with two powerhouse destination experts: Kristin Delahunt, VP of Destination Services at Discover Atlanta, and Brynn Johnson, Director of Convention and Group Sales at Yakima Valley Tourism. Representing two wildly different but equally compelling destinations—urban Atlanta and scenic Yakima Valley—they share how CVBs (Convention and Visitors Bureaus) act as behind-the-scenes superheroes for meeting planners.

Learn how CVBs help planners save time, access local gems, and create immersive attendee experiences—all for free. From organizing off-site winery concerts in Washington to navigating Atlanta’s booming culinary scene and new downtown developments, this episode showcases how CVBs boost the visitor economy and support local communities and small businesses.

You’ll walk away with insights into:

• Why CVBs should be your first call when planning an event
• Hidden destination perks that planners often overlook
• The real impact of tourism on local lives
• Why relationship-building is at the heart of destination success

Whether you’re a seasoned planner or new to the game, this episode is your reminder: CVBs aren’t just helpful—they’re essential.

Transcript

Editor’s Note: This episode of Smart Start Radio was transcribed by Otter.ai and edited lightly.

[Music]

SR Welcome, welcome to Smart Start Radio everybody! This time, I get to do it first. I am host one of two, Sara Robertson.

EP You made me spit up my water. That was really rude. 

SR I'm joking!

EP I just wasn't expecting that. 

SR Well, I think so far, we've every time started off by Eming saying “I'm host one of two.” And I'm like, Oh, “That's so cute!” But now I get to say it.

EP Bravo, bravo. I didn't see that coming. That was really good, and I'm host two of two, Eming Piansay.

SR Okay, we are, all jokes aside, so excited to welcome you back for another episode of Smart Start Radio. This one is super fun, and it's something that I'm personally very passionate about. So I'm really grateful to both of these wonderful professionals who came on to speak today, and that was Kristin Delahunt, who is the vice president of destination services at Discover Atlanta, and Brynn Johnson, who is the director of convention and group sales at Yakima Valley Tourism. So today, we are going to be talking about destinations, and that's such a fun topic for meeting planners. I mean, like half the reason you're in this industry probably, I'm making an assumption here, but it's because you love to travel. You love to go to new places. 

EP Yeah, true, fair.

SR And we have representatives from two very different but kind of underrated, undeservingly underrated. So we have Atlanta, which is this huge metropolitan city in the heart of the South. And then we have Yakima Valley, which is this beautiful rural landscape with like that, homey small town culture, but like they have so much as Brynn will go on to tell you, terms of F&B and entertainment and service in Washington State. So, super excited for this topic. We're going to talk about how you can best utilize the resources that you have at your disposal, why it's important to be working with CVBS and DMOS from the get go, and just establishing those relationships that are going to fuel your career, your success, and the success of everyone around you. 

[radio tuning sound]

SR Welcome back, welcome back to Smart Start Radio, everybody. We are so excited to have you here listening to us today, and we are also so excited to have two amazing CVB representatives here with us today to talk about all the amazing work that they do. And you know, if you're a planner, you probably are familiar with what they do, but the immense amount of work that they do on the back end to make your meetings come together so beautifully and bring a destination to life, when you hold your, when you hold your meetings in said destinations, is just unreal. So we are going to really dig into that today. So we have Brynn Johnson here from Yakima Valley tourism, as well as Kristin Delahunt from Discover Atlanta. And these are just two amazing women who are so successful in what they do, and they're representing two very different destinations. So whether you are a giant corporate planner, you're planning immense conferences, or you're putting together small incentives. Both destinations have so much to offer you, and this is really for a broad audience to understand, you know, the broadness of CVBS as well as how they fit into the broadness of meetings. So let's dig into it. Can we start off just by having Brynn and Kristin, you guys introduce yourselves and a little bit more about what exactly each of you do?

Brynn Johnson Sure, I'll start. So, I'm Brynn Johnson. I'm the Director of Sales here at Yakima Valley Tourism. I've been here for 18 years now. And basically what we do is we act as a, your liaison for the meeting planner to the destination, and that would be, helping them plan their meeting from start to finish. Work with the venues, finding the right venue. Mostly it's the convention center here, whether they're self-contained in hotels or other area venues. We work with the hotels to get their contracts situated and then any other outside activities.

SR Fantastic. And Kristen, what about you?

Kristin Delahunt I am the vice president of destination services here at Discover Atlanta or Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. I've been here 21 years, always been in the destination services department, so very similar to what Brynn shared as a whole from an organization, but specifically with our role in DS is, two years out, we take ownership of the account from sales, and then we become their one stop shop for anything they need in the city, to plan and produce their events. And we also do a lot of destination promotion to get the attendees excited to come. Hopefully, come early, stay late, bring a guest, basically just provide any of that kind of boots on the ground assistance for those two years out leading up to their event, just to make sure that they are plugged in with all the right suppliers and have everything they need and have a unique experience in the city.

SR Awesome. So the first question we sort of want to kick off our conversation with is, how did each of you enter this world of destination marketing, you know, like, what, how did you discover it, and what made you, you know, fall in love with it to the degree that you hold the roles you do now? And as a tag on to that question, or an add on to that question, what do you think is special about what destination marketing does for planners and travelers and destin, like locals within your destinations? You know that whole broad scope?

BJ I actually completely changed careers. I was a high school history teacher. Well, actually, high school history was my goal. I ended up teaching elementary school, because there were no high school history jobs available at the time, after I got my degree in college. And I coached softball, and then, because it was hard to find the right fit for me, I decided maybe there's a different avenue for me, and stumbled upon a kind of entry level sales position with Yakima Valley Tourism in 2006 through a friend in the wine industry. So I kind of got my foot in the door that way, and I've just kind of worked my way up to Director of Sales. A lot of people don't really understand what we do. I feel like even some friends of mine probably couldn't tell you exactly what I do. And I really think that one of the things,

SR We can probably relate.

BJ Yeah, I think that one of the things that we do that's important is, you know, we're constantly bringing in tourism to the valley, whether it be sports, whether because we do have our Sports Commission, whether it be conferences, other types of meetings. By doing that, we are contributing to the local economy. And I think that that's really important, especially when economies are ebbing and flowing all the time. So it's something that we continue to see grow. And I think that's really important.

KD Yeah, just, just feeling like you're some small part of the the, city's growth or their success, you know, exposing visitors to all of the great things that people don't know about your destination is always very rewarding. And also just you know that you, you're constantly learning, you're constantly growing. There's an association for everything.

[laughter]

EP You're not wrong about, that you're not wrong.

KD You can think about a lot of industries, but it keeps it fresh and keeps it kind of interesting, always working with new people and creating new programs with them. So that's super rewarding. I got into it where I started at Maritz Travel Company and was with them for five years on their operations team. That's how I got into just the hospitality industry overall, and traveled with Maritz ops team running programs on the convention and trade show side as well as the incentive side at destinations all over the world. And it was a lot of fun, and it was a lot of learning and a lot of travel. And so after about five years, I wanted to, you know, kind of do something similar, because I really enjoyed, you know, the fast pace and working with different types of customers all the time, and working with all of the location suppliers. But I wanted to do something that kind of kept me a little bit more sane, little less travel. So I happened to be living in Atlanta at that time, and saw this job opportunity at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, and I thought that that might be a good, a good match, but a little more stationary than my whirlwind travels. So that was 21 years ago, and then I've just, kind of, you know, worked in various roles in the destination services department since then.

EP Just kind of curious, like, the one thing I've, I've, I've learned in this industry so far is that you guys are kind of like, the the source or the voices that kind of, like, really, like, speak to people outside of your area, to kind of like, engage them and bring them in to, like, want to host their events there, essentially. I was wondering, like, what's like, the hardest aspect of that, of like, getting people to, like, look at you guys and be like, “Hey, we could come here and host our event here.” Like, what aspect of that is not as easy as it might be?
 
 

BJ I mean, for us, I can speak right away. It's air travel. We have one airline. You know, we're a town. We're a city of 100,000 people, a county of 250,000 people, and our DMO represents 10 other municipalities along the way, for over about a 70 to 80 mile stretch. And so we are very diverse and unique that way, but because, and we're centrally located in the state, but we only have this one airline with very limited amount of in and out flights, so that makes it hard, but we are a drive market. So you know, when that does become a little bit of a hurdle, then I just kindly remind a lot of these groups that, you know, we are a two hour drive from everywhere in the state, for the most part, so we are very accessible.

KD For our team, sometimes would be, I guess, a lot of people, you know, still have not been to Atlanta, and they don't really know what to expect. So, you know, and you know, some competitors have some very obvious icons, right, like the mouse, you know, down south, or, you know, the New York or San Francisco. There's definite things you think of in some of these destinations, they come to mind. So our team works really, really hard to get customers here to experience the city, and it's on a site visit. And we do so many of those. We are fortunate to have, to have, you know, delta is our hometown airline, and Hartsfield Jackson is the busiest airport in the world. So, we're fortunate to have the lift, which does allow us to bring a good volume of customers here on a site visit to check out the city. And every time we do that, we get the “Oh my gosh, I have no idea, you know, that Atlanta has such a culinary scene, or that it was, you know, so active, or so diverse, or so green!” You know, and we love to bring people in and change that perception. Or at least, you know, let them discover what the city has that really they did not know of before, because they might not have thought of it as a typical, you know, tourist destination, or, you know, for fun, or anything like that.

SR I think it's interesting that you both say that, because I feel like that's similar for both of your destinations, like they're not necessarily the first thing that a planner would think of, but you can offer such interesting and exciting experiences for meetings and events. And I think that's part of the reason we really wanted to bring you both on today to talk about that and to, like, promote your destinations for our audience, because you really, you really are such unique destinations in an age when people really want unique, immersive experiences. I'd love to hear a little bit more about each of your destinations, Yakima Valley and Atlanta, you know, like, what kinds of things do you find people seek out the most when they visit your destinations. And what kinds of things do you think that meeting planners ought to know about what your destinations can offer? Brynn, do you want to start?

BJ We are a wine and, well, main, main egg based area of the state, and we are the largest hop producer in the world. A lot of people don't know that. And for a really long time, we produced the hops, but we never really had any breweries. So in the last 10 years, we've really kind of started to have breweries and cideries and distilleries kind of pop up, because before, it was all wine, and we are a very large wine destination. And so I would say that a lot of people now come for, besides conferences obviously, but, for leisure, they're coming for the wine and the beer, the culinary experiences. We do a lot of farm-to-table because of the Ag background that we have here. And a lot of people really like to come to our farmers market. We have a great farmers market in the summertime, from May through October. And then, of course, we are a sports we kind of are the sports capital of the state for like, the the smaller, well, I wouldn't say the smaller schools. We still do some Four A stuff, but our Sports Commission brings in a lot the, probably the main chunk of our business when it comes to overnight stays. And we are also kind of that makes us a little unique, is we have the sports commission we have. We also manage our Visitor Information Center, that's a separate building, a way that we're actually trying to work in the next few years to bring that maybe more on site. And then we are one of the only DMOs that I know of in our state that is has the marketing contract for the convention center here, and we happen to be inside the convention center, which makes it a unique experience for a lot of our meeting planners, because I'm on site. So when they're here, I'm helping them troubleshoot any issue. I'm kind of their voice between the hotels, catering, the convention center, because a lot of times they're too busy to maybe, maybe they don't want to speak their mind directly to those people, and so I kind of help buffer that a little bit for them, and I'm on site for that reason.

KD And, not to be a broken record. But you know, some of those same things, we are definitely a sport city. Got the gorgeous Mercedes Benz stadium, so we host a lot of large scale events. We just had the college football national championship this past January. We are gearing up for FIFA World Cup in 2026 you know, we've got, you know, a few others on the horizon. Don't know that I'm allowed to release those yet, but some, some majors that people will be excited to come and enjoy in Atlanta. So, yes, like, you know, and of course, like, college football is huge, you know, in our region. And again, it's, you know, Atlanta is kind of a mecca for college football and sports fans of all kinds. So sports is huge for us as well. And again, you know, like Brynn was mentioning, our culinary scene is wildly diverse. It's not just shrimp and grits, you know, it's not just chicken and waffles. It is, it's so much more of an international culinary destination than anybody ever expects. We have such diversity of all cultures in Atlanta, and so that, of course, when you have that, you've got all of that great international food, and it's not, you know, pricey either, you know, we've got, you know, a wonderful culinary scene of all you know, that represents all price points. We have Michelin in the city, which we're very excited about. They came into Atlanta last year, they are back again. This year, they will be, I believe, back again next year, all their kind of secret tasters out in the city checking out our restaurants. There are, you know, we, our first cohort. We had a handful of Michelin stars and other accolades. And then our second award show expanded that. So we've got yet, you know, a whole new cohort of additional Michelin star restaurants in the city. And so that's, and, you got to eat. So, you know, meeting planners are coming in town. That's generally our you know, the number one thing is they want to know, “What's the culinary scene? Where can I do an off-site dinner, board dinner, or team dinner? “And so we love to be able to kind of open their eyes to that variety and really get them out in the city, tasting all the great spots we have.

BJ Now, I'm hungry Kristin, because I haven't had lunch yet.

[laughter]

SR Right, yeah.

EP One thing that we, we kind of wanted to ask you guys is, like, when, when folks want to host their events in your city and whatnot, like, what's one thing that you guys kind of wish they would ask about, or, like, inquire about? Because I know, like, a lot of times, like, people don't always ask the right questions about things, but are there things that you wish people would think about more so and ask at the start of the process?

BJ I mean, for me, I would say a lot of times that I don't think that they realize, even though we try to educate them from the process, because a lot of times we have planners that they're contacting me after they've already contacted a couple of hotels, and I'm like, “Well, we could save you all this time, and here's what we do.” But a lot of times they'll get kind of well into the process, and then they'll mention that they have an off-site spouse tour that they want to put together, or something along those lines. That is something that we do. And I try to, again, I try to educate them on, on the whole process, that we are not just dealing with the meeting aspect, but we do the fun stuff as well. And so, you know, that's part of what we do, is sell the city, you know, in the destination. So, you know, we always try to let them know we’re your Yakima, everything-Yakima contact. So it's not just, you don't need to just deal with hotels and convention center, but you know, we're willing to go the extra mile to do the servicing as well. We used to, when I started, we actually used to have a servicing department, so to speak, which was one person, and we've kind of just absorbed that. So we are that one stop shop for them, or we're doing from the start to the finish and being on site with them. So it is kind of, it's interesting to see the process from behind the scenes in all aspects.

SR So the sooner that they reach out, the better, and the more that you can do for them. 

BJ Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It just allows me more time to, you know, let them know our capabilities, whether that be finding they want a discount at some of the downtown hotels within walking distance, or they want to put together a brewery tour, or, you know, a dinner in the hot field, or something unique that's, you know, unique to our area. 

KD Yeah, definitely, again, hitting the nail on the head. 

[laughter]

KD What, whatever the saying is, nail on the head, like we always say get to us early, because you don't know if you don't know. It amazes me, that how many planners still don't realize the full scope of resources that a DMO can provide and make their lives so much easier. You know, it's we always kind of joke with them too, like, it's free, 

SR Yeah.

KD We're giving you free stuff, free labor. 

[laughter]

KD So come to us at the, from the very start and let our team, you know, whether it's on the sales side, or into the services side, like let us understand what your needs are, and, and help pull the pieces together on your behalf. You know, we're the we're the destination expert, so don't try to tell, tell the story or sell the city, you know, on your own, come to us. We already have all of that. We make it easy for you, you know, to plug and play, whatever is going to pique your attendees interest about that particular destination. We already have all the content, the photos, the videos. You rely on us when you're trying to, you know, promote the destination, and with promoting your meeting, I would also say, you know, oftentimes, you know our convention center is downtown and our major you know, convention hotels are downtown, and we have a lot of great attractions that serve, as, you know, special event venues downtown and a lot of restaurants, but there are other very cool, unique parts of the city. So while they might come in, you know, right away and say, “Well, we want to do something this walking distance to the convention center.” And we have great spots in walking distance, but I always try to encourage them, like, allow us to push you a little bit outside of there, you know, and into the neighborhoods you know that are close by, into the more you know, kind of local spots, because that's where you can find some really, truly unique city experiences that I think your attendees are going to appreciate, even if they had to take an Uber or get on a bus. So trying to get them out of that, you know, oh, we want everything to just be walking, you know, that's one thing that that I always hope that they will come to me, you know, with an open mind, with the kind of scope they’re looking to plan certain events around.

SR Yeah, I love that.

KD Kind of a tangent, to that question.

SR Totally, totally, I love that. And I think, like, I really like what you said about like, “It’s free, come to us!” because, you know, I think that's something that's 

EP It’s a luxury. 

SR Yeah, I think that's something that's really special about like, the kind of work that you do is that you, at the end of the day, you love your destinations. You want to bring people in and help them to see it in through your eyes, and the way that you want them to love it in the way that you love it, or help them discover what it is that they will love about it. You know, like, at the end of the day, you are stewards of your destinations. I'm curious, you know, when it comes to the local people in your destinations, you know, like, how does—We know that, like, tourism has an impact on the locals, you know, for, for better or for worse, but like, what role does the CBB or DMO play in the lives of the locals?

KD Well, right off the, off the top of my head, I'm thinking, as far as you know, businesses and suppliers, you know, and not all, not all, DMOs are this way. We're membership based. And so, you know, we love to connect the planners to our members. A lot of those members are small local business owners, and that's, you know, a direct impact to the local businesses and the residents in the city. So, you know, I generally, I would say the convention and the tourism that we bring to the city, you know, the the love gets spread around, you know, like the residents are benefiting from that. Also, you know, conventions or events that come into town that residents can partake, like the sporting events, you know, that's definitely a benefit to them. Yeah, do we have to balance, you know, track, traffic planning, or, you know, large crowds and be respectful of, you know, the folks who live here, especially live in downtown, yes, absolutely. We try to communicate as much as possible with our other city partners. You know, what's happening in the city? When are there large groups, you know, coming in? Are there street closures associated with events? So we try to be very proactive about communicating that, because we don't ever want them to look at tourism and the convention business as a hassle or a detriment to their to their lives in the city. But you know, we also, whenever we can try to expand their reach, to include them. You know, whether it's through volunteering or taking part, and you know community events, you know, encouraging groups that come in to do some sort of, like give back to, to the city, or a legacy project. So we always want to respect, you know, the residents and our, you know, friends and partners in the city, while also you bringing in, you know, great events that hopefully will bring them business and kind of rising tides of all boats, so to say.

BJ Yeah, Kristen, you couldn’t have, you said it great. I, you know, to add to that, we have a directory of conventions that we give out to our members, so they have an idea ahead of time of what's coming to town, and then when it's going to be concentrated more in the downtown area, we send out kind of a press release and a reminder to let you know, like the hotels and the restaurants till you know you're going to be busy this weekend. And, as a resident myself, I always know when to stay away from the downtown just because of like, sporting events. When the sporting events come to town, you're not, you're going to be waiting to, you know, go to dinner, if you're downtown. So just having that available to the local businesses and members of our tourism, our DMO is definitely helpful to them, because they know how to staff properly so they can provide that really great experience to the visitor.

SR Yeah, I'd love to talk a little bit more about what's going on in each of your destinations right now. I know Atlanta has some exciting stuff coming up. I'll have an article coming out on that very soon, actually, and Brynn, as well, in Yakima Valley, you know, like for both of you, what are some things that are coming up that you can share right now?

[laughter]

SR That you're excited about and that you think that the meeting planners in our audience are going to want to know about?

BJ I mean, personally for us, I think the spring and summer is my favorite time of year, because we have the we have 300 days of sunshine here. So we do a lot of outdoor concerts. We do downtown summer nights in the summer where they, they shut off one of the streets, and there's vendors and wineries and breweries, and there's always a band. We also have a lot of the wineries, we'll put on concerts on the lawn. There just seems to be more going on during that time of year when we have conferences. And honestly, our peak season for conferences is fairly, you know, it's typically April through October, which is also, you know, the prime time as far as weather goes. So and again, as I previously mentioned, we have our farmers market. So a lot of groups tend to, I don't want to say that they base their conference around what's going on, but they definitely, you know, they're flexible. They want to see what's going on that, in that month, in that week, before we're looking at, you know, securing those dates for them. But, you know, four years ago, although it's not new technically anymore, but four years ago, our convention center went through an expansion. So it's been interesting, challenging and fun all the same, to find those groups that were no, you know, they outgrew us before, and now we can host them. So kind of re, retouching back with those groups and getting them to reconsider Yakima has been a fun challenge, so.

SR I will just interject really quickly here to say that like. Very beautifully said. And I think it really demonstrates how full circle it goes, you know, from like, meeting planners, reaching out to you, to how you impact the local community, and, like, just the full the full circle, the full life cycle of how these things happen. I think it's just like, it's so neat and beautiful, and you just tied up with a little bow, and you deliver an amazing experience for locals and visitors alike. And I love it. 

[laughter]

KD Well, we've got some very exciting developments happening in downtown Atlanta. I think Sarah, you might or even have some stats on some of those. It sounds like so one that we're super excited and cannot wait to see it all you know, come to fruition is a development called Centennial Yards. It sits immediately adjacent to the convention center campus. So, like right downtown Atlanta, you've got the Georgia World Congress Center, Mercedes Benz stadium, State Farm Arena, the Omni Hotel Atlanta and the new Hilton Signia all on the same campus. And then right across from there is where Centennial Yards is going to be, and it's a 50 acre site that currently has been just a parking lot, just asphalt tailgate area, you know, if you’ve ever been in the stadium. Well, a developer bought it, and it's a $5 billion investment. They're going to have 500,000 square feet of retail, entertainment venues, concert venues, theaters, several hotels and residential. So kind of a big mixed use project flopped right down in the middle of downtown, right next to our convention campus. So, we're we couldn't be more excited for that. Many of the buildings will be open in time for our FIFA World Cup hosting in 2026. Not everything, but over the next several years, we'll see it fill out and tenants kind of move in. So we think it's going to just change the entire landscape of a convention in the city and that visitor experience, or really any event that you're coming down, you know, downtown for, whether it's just the hotels or the arena or the stadium, going to provide a whole new kind of entertainment district to expand your time in the area. So we're super excited about that. And then, actually, right next to that development, there's an, another one that's being developed it is called the center. It is the old CNN Center. And when CNN Center relocated their studios out of this space, a developer bought this whole development, and they are developing this into another kind of dining, nightlife, you know, entertainment, kind of indoor district, if you will. So very excited about that. Again, just to add to the offerings for guests coming in to downtown, specifically to, to have a huge range of new options to enjoy while they're in the city. And then the, the third kind of new it, new development is just a couple blocks south of there, in our most historic district, and it's now named South Downtown, but it really was the original part of downtown, so it has beautiful architecture, the oldest part of the city, and what South Downtown is doing, is creating another entertainment slash, like tech entrepreneur hub in this several block space, but they're keeping the buildings and key, and maintaining the integrity of the architecture, so it feels it still keeps that historic vibe and is very walkable and will have a bunch of, you know, restaurants and entertainment outlets and retail as well, in that space. So, we are hoping that people that come to Atlanta in the next several years, when they see these developments come to life, have a completely new experience that they will not have expected at all if they've been here recently before it's going to change the entire downtown landscpae. 

SR I love it. That's so awesome. Yeah, I mean, the work you guys do is just so incredible. And I think that, like both, both of your destinations, I think have had a lot of opportunity for planners that I think a lot of people don't know about. You know, like, once again, I just want to bring it back to that like, your destinations maybe are not the first thing in somebody's mind, but that's why we have you here today to share with our audience, you know, like guys consider these destinations because they sound so awesome, so exciting to see you know, like, what's going on in Atlanta. I remember, I was on a fam trip there last December, a media fam, and learning about these developments, and like walking through the areas and seeing like, the start of like, these businesses that are opening up there, and just envisioning, you know, what it's going to be. And Yakima Valley sounds just like, so incredible and beautiful. I want to have a winery concert! I want to go to a winery concert!

[laughter]

BJ Come on up, Sara!

SR That sounds so cool, that sounds so cool. I love concerts and I love wine. So, I mean, it actually can't get better than that. 

BJ Yeah.

SR That sounds like such a cool off site for a meeting. Like, that's something people are gonna remember. 

BJ Yeah.

SR You know? I love it. I do have another question for you guys. So, like, I think I know what you're gonna answer, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. You both represent such different destinations. Each of you has, like, a very unique flavor and experience that you can offer people. And do you think that that makes your work different, or do you think that the kind of work you do is a lot more similar than different?

BJ You know, I looked at that question over and over, and I was like, you know, obviously we're completely different, extremely different destinations. But I think at the foundation level, what Kristin and I both do are very, very similar, but just the overall experience is going to be maybe that's where we're a lot different. We're kind of more of your small town feel with different experiences that because of the Ag base, that people can go do things out in a hot farm or out in a winery or vineyard, where they might not be able to do that in a bigger city. But Kristin, not trying to speak for you, because you’ll have plenty to say, I'm sure, but because you're the expert of Atlanta. But you know, with being a big city, a tier one city, you guys have, you know, way more at your fingertips to offer, as far as you know, from A to Z for options.

KD Yeah, that's a good point. I would, I would agree. You know, at the core, you know, we just, we want to be that destination, resource, you know. We want, we want to work with you, kind of hand in hand, to build whatever experience you're looking for in the city. And then it's really just about, you know, what, what the city offers, and what is, you know, unique about that city, you know, I think about for in your location, it sounds very picturesque and, and relaxing and gorgeous. And like, what a beautiful place, you know, to have a meeting and then have, like, a wellness program or something, you know, bring in the outdoors, you know, like refreshing everybody's minds after a meeting or something. And, yeah, with it, you know, with Atlanta, it's a large city, and we have a lot of a lot of neighborhoods, so, you know, we can, we can do big, but we also want to, you know, relay, like we can do small, you know, we're kind of, we're a city of neighborhoods. We're a lot of different pockets. And if you do want to find a more of a small town feel, or, you know, you don't want to feel like you're overwhelmed by, you know, downtown Atlanta, or, you know, Midtown Atlanta, you know, we've got, you know, Buckhead, or we've got, you know, our east side, you know, beltline area, and we've got these smaller pockets of town, these neighborhoods around the city, that you can feel like you are doing more of a takeover, and you do have more of a kind of unique, curated feel. So again, we just, we're just trying, we want to listen and find what is the best fit for you, I think, for, you know, for both of our destinations, and make sure that we're presenting the, you know, the best part of our destination for whatever that is that you're looking for.

SR Yeah. I think, you know, the big takeaway here, like at the end of the day, CVBs, DMOs, are your experts, and you want them to be your best friends, so work with them. 

[laughter]

SR Reach out as soon as possible, because you'll get more out of it. But they truly care about your destinations, and they care about bringing that destination to life for your meeting. Because, after all, why are you traveling all this way to visit a destination if it can't come to life as big and beautiful as the CVB knows they can make it for you? Eming, you want to jump in with our final trademark question? 

EP Sure. So typically, we ask our guests at the end of every show, what is in your toolbox? So, what is something that you've experienced in life, in your work, whatever it is that you deem fits this kind of question, that has helped you do what you do now?

BJ For me, it's, it's very simple. It's, don't take no for an answer, because what we do can take time. We're always working in the future. So it might not happen today, it might not happen next year, but building that rapport with that client that might say, “Oh, you know, we only want to work with, with, you know, these larger cities that are on the I-5 corridor, that's where our membership is, you know, centered,” and trying to get them to think outside the box. And so if you build that rapport over the years and have some genuine relationships with these clients. You're not just selling them, you know, a destination. It's, it's more of a like we were talking about an experience and building that trust with them. Eventually they come around. And so for me, you know, being switching careers, from education to this in my 20s, you know, it was like, you know, you get to, you know you, they say no, and you're just like, “Oh, this is that, they're never going to want to come here.” And I just thinkpPersistence is key, so and patience. So, yeah, just don't take no for an answer.

[laughter]

KD Those are important to have in the toolbox. Oh, gosh, I would say, I mean, I hate to say this because, you know, like life and business life and, and personal life is all blended together. But I hate to, you know, create any, any animals out there. But I would say your flexibility and your availability. You know, we always try to be there for customers whenever they need us. So, you know, the quicker we can respond. Jump on something, raise our hand for an opportunity. Usually, then, you know, something beautiful comes out of that. So you know, being willing to jump in and try something new, try a new experience, build a new program, being flexible with, with the with the meeting planner. Um, you know, being patient, like, like Brynn said, and just, you know, being available to, to their needs. I think it's, it's not, you know, rocket science, but what, what we're doing. But I think the, the attention that you can give to a planner and their time, and the responsiveness goes a long way in building that relationship. And hopefully, you know, being the one that they call, you know, when they have that next program, or that next idea for an event or something like that. 

SR Love it.

EP That's so important, like that, like face time, of like knowing someone to be like, I trust you to do this for me, because I know you can do it that's huge, especially, like they're investing, you know, time, money, energy, in you and hoping that working with you can get them what they want.

SR Yeah.

EP That's huge.

BJ And honestly, through the days, many of these people have become my friends.

SR Yeah!

EP Hmm!

BJ You know, when you’ve worked here this long, and you work with them on an annual basis, or you pursued them every year until they finally say, yeah.

[laughter]

BJ One day they’re like, “Okay!”

SR I think one thing that both of you touched on is this relationship building and the absolutely integral role that it plays in the way that planners and CVBs and DMOs and everyone this industry works together. Relationship building is integral to everyone's success. 

BJ Yeah.

KD Take, take care of that trust that they've that they've given to you. You know, you want to feed them 

BJ Absolutely.

SR Cool. Well, thank you both so much for being here. I love learning about, you know, both of your destinations, and they're just both such incredible places, and also just the immense amount of work that CVBS do and the amount of love that's in it is so beautiful. So thank you, thank you for the work you do, and thank you for being here to share it with everyone.

KD Thank you for having us. 

EP That was really fun, Sara, thank you for finding those people. One interesting thing that I always think for us is really cool is that when we go on like fam trips and stuff such, and we go to like locations that we've probably personally been to, and we get to see whole new sides of areas that we never thought, like, had these things, and I totally they talked about a lot of things that I wasn't aware of that existed in their areas. So I'm like, this is actually like, really cool. Like, it's really great to have a resource for planners who can, like, “There is a place I can call, I can see exactly what they can offer me and how that fits my vision of what I want to do for my event.”

SR Yes.

EP So it's a great resource. 

SR It really is. Yeah, it really is. If you don't work with the CVB, you are missing out on opportunities. And like, they're there to help you. And like, the thing about the CVB professionals that I've met and worked with is, like, everyone just loves their destination so much. Like, these are truly passionate people, and they just want to show you like they want to welcome you into their destination and be like, “look at this and look at that. Isn't it awesome?” And they're just like, the most wonderful people to work with. So it's really lovely. And I think one of the other things that I'm really excited about for this episode is just like, I want to drive home the topic of community impact, and like, the impact that tourism makes on local communities, because, like, those dollars that you spend to bring your meeting, and the dollars that your attendees spend, you know, going out to dinner, or, like, just experiencing the destination, buying a souvenir, that that money goes back into amplifying people's ability to, like, live a great life in this destination. And like, you're truly being part of a human community through travel, not just economically, but like, emotionally too. So yeah, it's really good.

EP Yeah. Going somewhere, you're engaged with that environment and their, their world, and you become part of that world for a short amount of time. It's good to have a resource to kind of like guide you through that, because there are often things that you don't, maybe there's cultural things that you aren't aware of, that they can kind of keep you on the right path to success in that respect.

SR Thank you so much for listening, and remember you belong here, and wherever you choose to go!

You've been listening to Smart Start Radio, a Smart Meetings production. Interested in being our next guest? Connect with us, at editor@smartmeetings.com.

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