Looping everybody in to the Vegas effort
CMW TALKS TO JOHN S SCHREIBER , VICE-PRESIDENT BUSINESS SALES LAS VEGAS CONVENTION AND VISITORS AUTHORITY , AND HEARS ABOUT THE HUGE COORDINATED EFFORT AIMED AT BRINGING BACK EVENTS TO THE FAMOUS CITY
hat were your early career ambitions and how did you get into the hospitality and events industry ? I always wanted to become a marine biologist , that was until my family moved to Las Vegas in 1984 from Rockville , MD . Even then it wasn ’ t ‘ love at first sight ’; the hospitality bug really took hold when my father , an executive at Caesars World ( former parent company of Caesars Palace ), thought I should get a job in the gaming industry . This was the time gaming was about to expand beyond Las Vegas into new jurisdictions around the country . My first job in the industry was on the front desk at Caesars Palace on the graveyard shift .
What was an early piece of career advice that has served you well ?
Never take your personal problems to work in this industry . Everyone has them , but when you work in the hospitality industry , you represent your hotel company , your restaurant , your venue . The guest never needs to see or hear about the problem . They are there to have a great time , relax and get away from their own problems and your job is to make sure their experience is one they will never forget .
You have spent many years in Nevada and Vegas , at both hotels and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority ( LVCVA ). Wherein lies the appeal of this great destination ? As a value proposition Las Vegas can ’ t be matched by other destinations thanks to the 150,000 hotel rooms and more than 14m square feet of meetings and event space . The entertainment , dining , spa and shopping offerings are unparalleled , and while people may not think of the great outdoors when they think of Las Vegas , the destination is also the gateway to several amazing state and national parks and recreation areas . Las Vegas is a great place to sell because it offers all the amenities people want for both business and leisure travel .
How have you been coping during the pandemic and what has the LVCVA been able to do to help its partners during these difficult times ? We ’ ve taken a multi-pronged approach throughout the pandemic . As the destination marketing organisation for southern Nevada , one of our biggest initiatives over the past year and a half has been constant communication with our resort partners and other tourism industry stakeholders . Because restrictions and guidelines have been different in various cities and states , communication to visitors to let them know what to expect when they arrive in Las Vegas has also been key . And , as the owner and operator of the Las Vegas Convention Center , early on we were focused on earning Global Biorisk Advisory Council ( GBAC ) STAR facility accreditation by ISSA , the world ’ s leading trade association for the cleaning industry , and since our capacity limits were lifted on 1 June , we ’ ve been focused on successfully welcoming large groups back to the building .
Left : Las Vegas Convention Center Loop by Elon Musk ’ s Boring Company . Main photo , p . 18 : John S . Schreiber
How did you leverage virtual platforms to mitigate the effect of working remotely ? We ’ ve participated in virtual webinar and conference opportunities , but throughout the past year and a half , we ’ ve really gotten back to basics . We ’ ve been picking up the phone and talking to our clients , putting together toolkits and assets regarding Nevada guidelines , and continuously updating our websites to reflect current information . We ’ ve also spent a lot of time on phone calls and
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