Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

That's a Wrap

For those that have been missing their daily dose of Zeitgeist, j'excuse. We've been burning on finalizing preparations for and launching the inaugural Board Leadership for Destinations Symposium with our friends from SearchWide Global, Civitas Advisors, CFObyDesign, Fired Up! Culture and representatives from Destinations International. Hosted by one of our dearest friends in the industry, Maura Gast and the exceptional team at the Irving Convention Center, the event exceeded even our expectations when we hatched this egg of an idea in Toronto last summer.

Thanks to the DMOs that joined us on this journey for your faith in our ability to deliver compelling content to your Board members and provide them the opportunity to interface with their peers from across the country, from Mat-Su to Savannah and Newport to Anaheim. And thank you for the closing session encouragement that this was, indeed, an empowering experience for CEO and Board members alike. That was our intent all along.

And, for those that couldn't join us because of scheduling conflicts, know that we'll be announcing future dates in the coming weeks.

Because, this was just too cool of an experience for all of us to not do it again.

For all that joined us in Irving...Thank You.

New on DMOU: Embracing the Night Time Economy

A lot of attention is paid to the 6a to 6p economy...but that has been a disservice to its 6p to 6a sister of the night. 24 Hour Dallas intends to change that...and we talk with the organization's Coordinator, Bryan Tony, on the most recently released episode of the DMOU Podcast.

Chick here to listen...or find us on your favorite podcast platform.

Nothing About Us Without Us

I've been pondering this quote almost every day since I heard it this summer at the Annual Convention of Destinations International. And, we included it in our DMOU podcast episode in which we asked DMO pros about new positions and titles they were considering that they never would have in 2017.

Well, we decided to go deeper. And, on the just dropped 100th episode of DMOU, we talk with Ottawa Tourism's Catherine Callary about how Canada's indigenous story is being told through an increasingly authentic lens...and learn about the Ottawa Indigenous Tourism Entrepreneur Training program.

Good Stuff.

New on DMOU

For as long as I can remember, those who serve as Chair of Destinations International do so with an agenda that layers on top of the organization's Vision and Mission. It was the Environment for Rick Antonson and Transparency for the late Spurgeon Richardson...just to name a few.

For Visit Baltimore's Al Hutchinson, his role as Chair will be marked by "four pillars." And, he and I go deep on two of them (Workforce and DEI) on the latest episode of the DMOU Podcast that just dropped this morning. Plus, we'll discuss the HBCU Scholarship Program that is surpassing all initial expectations.

And...in the Bonus Round, the man who, at the age of 8, saw James Brown perform in concert reveals his favorite all time band.

Check it out.

The Evolving DMO Workspace

Honored to be a guest of the Travel Vertical podcast last week, discussing with Laurie Jo Miller Farr and Adam Stoker how the Destination Marketing and Leadership Organization world is evolving with new job titles and responsibilities that were generally unheard of five years ago.

As I suggested during our conversation, one of the hardest parts of the Plague was saying goodbye to DMO veterans that have since transitioned to other jobs or industries. While we miss them, it also has provided the opportunity for DMO CEOs to re-evaluate their Org Chart and deployment of human talent.

Not a topic on which I traditionally riff, but a fun conversation all the same. Thanks, Travel Vertical!