A career in hotel management has been leading up to Tim Meyer’s new job as the executive director for the Cuyahoga County Convention Facilities Development Corp.
Meyer, who took the role overseeing the Huntington Convention Center last fall, says there are a lot of commonalities in this role with his days managing hotels in Cleveland, New York and California.
“Both have events coming in and out,” he says, “and both focus on quality and deliverables.”
Meyer sees the convention center, fresh off a $50 million renovation, as a jewel in Downtown Cleveland — as well as the engine that drives the city’s hospitality industry.
“We’re trying to position our city to get as much business as possible,” he says. “It’s critical that we all maintain focus on the goal: grow the market and create opportunities.”
The center reopened to great fanfare last summer after a renovation that included the seamless integration of the former Medical Mart. The convention center offers 500,000 square feet of usable space, including a 225,000 square-foot exhibit hall, two ballrooms and dozens of breakout rooms suitable for meetings.
“We’ve hosted weddings,” he says. “We have a new terrace with a tent structure.”
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There’s even a farm on the premises, as part of an effort toward sustainability and locally-grown food. “It’s a real attraction to customers,” he says.
The success, seen even before the renovation, is due in no small part to the partners that he works with, including the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland, Meyer says. They sell not just the event space but nearby hotels (Hotel Cleveland on Public Square, which also reopened last year after a $90 million renovation) and the Downtown experience in general.
“One of our sales strategies is to get people in the city as much as we can,” Meyer says. “We have hotels within
walking distance, the lakefront and the Rock Hall within walking distance, the Mall outside when the weather’s good. We close a deal by showing the features of the city and showing our partnerships.”
The sales pitch is an easy one for him to make. A New Orleans native, he met his wife here while serving as general manager of the Hyatt Arcade, and he has made Cleveland his home.
“We feel like we are hosting people in our home, and it really makes it easy,” he says. Attendees feel that energy and truly appreciate it, and meeting planners want their attendees exposed to that culture. “I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in Cleveland to have landed this position.”
