Things haven't been right at the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. for a long time. Mike Hudson's recent article detailed the many missteps and blunders of current president and CEO John Percy. Many feel it is time for a change atop the county's quasi-governmental tourism promotion agency.
In attempting to determine what the future of the NTCC should be, we decided to take a look at its past. We sat down with the former head of the agency, David Rosenwasser. In a wide-ranging interview, Rosenwasser spoke of his time in Niagara Falls, his new job in Missouri, his thoughts on John Percy and, shockingly, about the consulting job he just concluded in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Reporter: How's life been since you left Niagara Falls?
Rosenwasser: Life's been great. I had the good fortune of securing a job in St. Charles, Mo., that has turned out to be, quite frankly, even better than I expected.
We have a very strong tourism base and a brand new convention center attached to a 300-room Embassy Suites hotel. We also have a very nice gaming operation owned by Ameristar, who built a 400-room all-suite hotel that just opened a few months ago. A lot of things just fell into my lap here and I've always said that it's better to be lucky than to be smart.
Reporter: Is there anything about the job in St. Charles that has surprised you?
Rosenwasser: Well, as you remember, the debacle of the casino money (in Niagara) -- the fact that it took over a year for it to come -- was sort of the last straw before I left. I had to go to vendors and say, "Can you wait six months for your money?" I thought I was hired to oversee conventions and tourism, not worry about the funding.
Here, I don't have any of those problems. Even though we're a city department, there is an earmarked tourism tax, and our money does not come out of the general fund of the city. I don't have to worry about someone screaming that I've gone on a business conference and the pothole in front of his house hasn't been fixed.
Statutorily, the money has to be spent on tourism. We're held accountable to the finance director of the city, so scrutiny is as substantial, as it should be, but quite frankly, they've created a very healthy environment in which to do business.
Reporter: Are you bitter about the way things ended in Niagara Falls?
Rosenwasser: Not bitter, no. I feel fortunate in that I got to be involved in a startup venture and got to accomplish some things that hadn't been achieved by the old CVB. I feel that in three years we had some successes that were commensurate with or exceeded the level of expectation that we had going into it.
What I was and I guess I'll classify it as sad about was that we couldn't get a more united front to keep that momentum going. We had the opportunity to initiate some major programs that spoke to the issues facing the county,
Reporter: Can you give an example of one of those programs?
Rosenwasser: For instance, I felt we could have developed a countywide network of transportation. In place, it would allow a visitor, after checking into the lodging of their choice, to get on a shuttle and go to all points throughout the county. Not only would this showcase the county, but it would increase the length of stay.
We'd done all the work, had it approved through the NTCC and the governmental entities, a vendor was chosen, funding sources were discussed, and it has never gone anywhere.
I'm not privy as to why it has sat on the shelf under the current administration. It's a major piece of the puzzle that's missing.
Reporter: If the casino money had come through on time, would you still be at the helm of the NTCC?
Rosenwasser: It's hard to say definitively, but quite possibly, yes. The board of directors and the chairman, Tom Weeks, asked me to extend my contract beyond the original three-year term. I said, "Tom, there's a lot of things I know how to do, but I don't know how to run an organization with a $2 million-plus operating budget when over a million dollars of that money isn't here."
Any businessman will tell you that when you're owed money and having to constantly chase it, that's hard.
Reporter: Your successor, John Percy, has come under much criticism as of late. You've worked with him and you've had the opportunity to view his tenure. What are your thoughts on John and the job he's done?
Rosenwasser: There's one issue that I've been most confused about as it pertains to John. I follow the area closely in the Reporter and the daily papers, and I see assertions where the hotel revenue in Niagara Falls was up, I think, about 13.5 percent. That's what John had said.
Then I read where (City Comptroller) Maria Brown had said last year that the room tax collection was virtually slack in '07 from '06. Well, you can't have both of those things happen -- they're exclusive of one another.
Room tax is a percentage of your hotel revenue. If one is up 13.5 percent, the other should be up in the exact same amount.
I'm not calling anyone a liar, but things just don't make sense. I'm disappointed if for some reason John feels compelled that he has to make numbers say something that aren't supported across the board.
There are some other things that I know John is hot to trot about, like India. I know when I was there, we saw a lot of people coming from that part of the world, but I don't think that I'd invest the type of time and money he has in pursuing that. I think that there's enough of a population of people within a five-hour's drive of Niagara Falls who you aren't capturing that you don't have to take on the expense of going halfway around the world to drive your business.
Reporter: I'm sure you are aware of the fact that for the first time in 30 years a private company will be operating the gateway visitors centers along the NYS Thruway at Clarence and Angola. What were your thoughts when you heard that the NTCC has lost the bidding to remain as the operator?
Rosenwasser: There was a Request for Proposals put out by the Thruway Authority, and I'm disappointed that the NTCC couldn't put out what should have been a winning response. I'm astounded that the Thruway Authority found a private vendor that offered more than they could have from what is essentially a quasi-governmental organization.
That said, I think Niagara Majestic will do a fabulous job of operating the centers. I think that Doreen and Sean O'Connor are both diligent people who have been in the industry for virtually all of their adult lives, and I don't think there will be a compromise to the benefit of the community.
Reporter: How does losing the centers impact the NTCC?
Rosenwasser: During my time, there was a substantial cash flow that came from the centers. In the summer when we were waiting for checks -- our money from the city of Niagara Falls, for example -- the cash flow generated from those centers was critical. The profit from the centers allowed us to increase our advertising and promotion of the region. The loss of that money will have to be replaced.
I'm glad it's not my responsibility to figure out where that money will come from.
Aside from money, I believe the centers are absolutely critical in the promotion of Niagara County -- people stop at those centers who would otherwise not normally come to Niagara -- especially as it pertains to hotel bookings. The agents there were very persuasive in selling an overnight stay in Niagara Falls, N.Y., over one on the Canadian side.
No matter how many trade shows and conventions you attend, you'll never be one-on-one with the tourist the way you are at Clarence and Angola. No matter how well I think a private company can fulfill that task, it should be the obligation of the NTCC.
How they'll fulfill their objectives without the aid of those centers, I'm not quite certain.
Reporter: Rumor has it you've been spotted in Niagara Falls, Ont., quite a bit over the past year. What gives?
Rosenwasser: I've just completed consulting work for the new convention center being planned for Niagara Falls, Ont. I was asked by Dragon Matovic, whom I'd known for quite some time, if I would be interested in serving as a consultant on the project. I told him I needed to clear it with my boss, the mayor of St. Charles, which I did.
I was contracted to develop a marketing plan for the center. Later I helped with the search for a CEO for the project. It was a lot of fun, and I'm certain that the project will be a tremendous success and a great asset to Niagara Falls, Ont.
Reporter: One final question: Could you ever see yourself working back in Niagara Falls, N.Y.?
Rosenwasser: I love it here in St. Charles and can't envision a reason why I'd want to leave, but I've lived long enough to see stranger things happen.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Sept. 30 2008 |