The My Houston Toolkit gives you the tools and resources you need to sell the cultural and culinary capital of the South.

YOUR TOOLS. YOUR WAY.

Resources to Visit HOU Safely

Why Houston?

America's fourth-largest city is a cosmopolitan destination, filled with world-class dining, arts, hotels, shopping, attractions, entertainment and nightlife. Houston also means business.

Check out some of the reasons people visit Houston for business or pleasure:

Pictures & Video

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HOW WE WORK WITH CUSTOMERS

As destination sales experts, we save our customers valuable time and money by acting as an extension of their organization. We work with them every step of the way from the initial consultation and needs assessment to providing them with area specific information such as meeting and event venue options, hotel, restaurant, nightlife, shopping, and area attraction and transportation related information. We collect hotel responses, provide industry and vertical market research, submit customized city proposals, follow-up on their behalf, coordinate site visits to include scheduling, itinerary development and distribution, airport pick-ups, transportation, city tours, offsite tours, hotel tours and meal arrangements.

Once the group is booked, our Client Services team works with meeting planners to provide a wide range of services including planning site visits to hotels and facilities, itinerary building, housing and room block consultation, distribution of collateral materials, creation of custom collateral and customized attendance-generating promotions.

HOW WE WORK WITH PARTNERS

Our sales team works closely with our hotel partners by providing tools, resources, and direct sales support to include research, marketing materials, pictures, videos, and a city proposal addressing the customer’s buy factors. Our partners find that working closely with us increases their chances of winning the business over competing cities.

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Q: We already received the lead from a customer or third-party representative, either directly or through a third-party platform like Cvent, why is Visit Houston sending us the lead?

  A: When we receive a lead, we do not simply send the RFP out. Regardless of the group size, our first goal is to connect with the meeting planner and fully qualify the opportunity to uncover information that will assist us in our effort to sell the destination over our competitors. We also try and get information not listed in the RFP that our hotel partners need in order to submit a competitive proposal. In addition, we find out if there are other opportunities the customer or third-party may have for the city and our partners. As you know, it can take some time to connect with a meeting planner so sometimes you receive the lead from us after the lead was initially sourced. Checking hotel availability is only one area of consideration when sourcing a city, hotel and or venue. Customers reach out to us for city-related information such as air and ground transportation costs relative to other cities, information on legislation, diversity and inclusion, economic sectors that would align with theirs for potential speakers, sponsors, or attendees, marketing and promotional support information, as well as information regarding restaurants, nightlife, and offsite venues. In many cases, they also ask for recommendations on other sub-markets and hotels they are unfamiliar with, ask us to follow-up with hotels for responses and or ask that we compile all responses into one hotel grid for easy comparison. Sometimes they reach out to us before sourcing leads to hotels and sometimes they reach out after. In all cases, it is important to know that we are working hard to make sure they select Houston over other cities.

• Q: What do you do to sell Houston after the lead is distributed?

  A: After the initial consultation, at their request, we distribute the lead to sub-market(s) and hotel(s) they have already sourced, asked us to source after the fact, or to areas and hotels they asked us to recommend based on their stated goals and requirements. After the lead is distributed, we provide area-specific information such as meeting and event venue options, hotel, restaurant, nightlife, shopping, area attraction and transportation related information. We follow-up on and/or collect and consolidate hotel responses, provide industry and vertical market research, submit customized city proposals and when Houston makes the short-list, we coordinate site visits to include scheduling, itinerary development and distribution, airport pick-ups, transportation, city tours, offsite tours, hotel tours and meal arrangements. In short, while our hotel partners are selling their hotels, we are selling the city, thus working in tandem to ensure that Houston wins the business.

• Q: If we reach out to Visit Houston for support will the lead be shared with other hotels or partners?

  A: No. If a partner reaches out to us for assistance, the lead and information therein is kept strictly confidential and is not distributed elsewhere.

• Q: For in-house groups (10 - 999 rooms on peak), can Visit Houston provide financial assistance such as hosting a welcome reception or offering a city rebate or cash sponsorship in order to incent the customer to book Houston?

  A: We are not able to provide financial assistance to in-house groups. We are a member-based CVB and pride ourselves on representing all members in a fair, consistent, and equitable manner. The In-house sales team books hundreds of groups per year and if we offered financial assistance to one group, we would need to offer assistance to all of them and we do not have the financial resources to do that. We are able to provide non-monetary support and resources such as research, marketing and promotional materials, site visit coordination, transportation to and from the airport and meals courtesy of Visit Houston.

• Q: Why is Visit Houston asking us for a copy of the signed hotel contract and will this information be shared with other hotels?

  A: The signed hotel agreement is required by our audit committee to validate room nights booked in the city. We also require the contract before we turn the file over to services so that they can provide resources and support to the customer. Hotel contracts are kept strictly confidential and are not shared or distributed with others. When we request the hotel agreement, please remember that we worked hard to provide the customer with city-related information while selling the destination over competing cities.

• Q: When requested to do so, why is it important that I respond in MemberNet or to the Visit Houston National Account Executive?

  A: We receive many of our leads from sources other than third-party platforms such as Cvent. Other sources include RFPs directly from the customer and via our website. In those situations, unless you respond in MemberNet or to us directly, we will have no way of knowing if you would like to bid on the opportunity or not. Responding in MemberNet also helps us compile Hotel Grids for customers and helps us provide great reports back to your property including leads sent to your property, leads turned down, leads not responded to, leads lost, and definite rooms nights booked in a given time period.

Meet the Team

• 

  Jason Purifoy

  Director, Citywide Sales
  Lead Generation Sales
  10-999 Peak

  P: 713-853-8338

  jpurifoy@visithouston.com

• 

  Alyssa Abdulla

  National Account Executive 

  P: 713-853-8051

  aabdulla@visithouston.com

  Meet Alyssa

• 

  Nathan Tollett

  Vice President, Citywide Sales
  1,000+ Peak

  P: 713-853-8977

  ntollett@visithouston.com

• 

  Anita Robles

  National Account Executive
  Consumer/Tradeshows

  P: 713-853-8033

  arobles@visithouston.com

• 

  Brian Stonesifer, CMP

  Director of Client Services

  P: 713-853-8330

  bstonesifer@visithouston.com

  Meet Brian

• 

  Natalie Young, CMP

  Associate Director of Client Services

  P: 713-853-8955

  nyoung@visithouston.com

• 

  DeShawn Fitzpatrick, CMP

  Senior Client Services Manager

  P: 713-853-8925

  dfitzpatrick@visithouston.com

  Meet DeShawn