Today we’d like to introduce you to Debby DuBose.
Debby, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My introduction to the Hospitality and Tourism industry started in 1986 when a friend referred me for a part-time data entry clerk job with the Toronto Convention and Visitors Bureau (now Tourism Toronto). I worked in the Housing Bureau for five years processing registrations for city-wide conventions. At that time, everything was done manually. Each day, I received bags of mail from Delegates who were registering for a future conference. My job was to open thousands of envelopes, photocopy each form, and create piles for each conference which were eventually filed away. The information on the forms then had to be entered into a database. Once I verified that the Delegates hotel selection was available, I sent a copy of the form to the hotel via courier so they could generate a confirmation number which was then sent back to me to enter into the database.
A Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is a non-profit marketing organization that provides information, resources, and support to the hospitality and tourism industry. Their job is to target and encourage organizations to hold conventions and meetings in their city. Hospitality and Tourism generates billions of dollars each year from visitor and convention business. The economic impact benefits everyone who lives and works in any city in the world which makes this an extremely competitive industry.
After several years of working in the Housing Bureau at the Toronto CVB, I was promoted to Convention Sales Representative where I learned how to build relationships with clients, prepare customized bid proposals for Meeting Planners, and partner with hotels to book future business. Little did I know, this was the beginning of my 30+ year career in the meetings industry. Since then, I have worked for two other CVB’s in Atlanta, Georgia and Los Angeles, California. I also had a role in planning events for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Later on in my career, I switched gears and worked as a Meeting Planner where I was responsible for managing logistics for conventions, meetings and events for leading organizations such as the 100 Black Men of America, Inc., American Heart Association and Kaiser Permanente. As a Meeting Planner, I used a vendor to assist me with finding hotels and negotiating my hotel contracts. Since the vendor was paid a commission by the hotels, there was no charge for me to use them. This was my introduction to the world of Third-Party Meeting Planners (or Intermediaries as they prefer to be called). I remember seeing the amount of commission that they made and thinking ” I wish I could do that”. But how do you go from straight salary to straight commission? I would need at least a year to build up my clientele and learn the ropes. As a single mom with no additional income to rely on, it seemed impossible until one day I was laid off from my Meeting Planning job. What seemed to be the worst thing that could happen to me turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Fortunately, I was given a severance package that lasted two years with full health care benefits. After turning down three job offers, I took a leap of faith and joined the same third-party company that I had once used. During my training, I was told to give myself at least a year or two to build my book of business. My first client became the company who had laid me off and from there the referrals starting rolling in. After one year, I joined the “Million Dollar Club” and became a Top Producer. I quickly learned that doing business is based on relationships. None of my clients cared who I worked with. They were doing business with me because they trusted and liked me. That’s when I realized it was no longer necessary to give 40% of my commission to the company I worked for.
In 2016, I took a bigger leap of faith and started my own company, Conference Solutions International. Two years later, I received the Smart Women in Meetings Award from Smart Meetings Magazine. This award is given to women who break barriers, overcome obstacles and invent new ways to set the stage for amazing transformations. I believe all of my experiences prior to starting my own business prepared me to be successful as an Entrepreneur.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My journey has not been a smooth ride at all. There have been many obstacles along the way. In 1998, after a year of horrible symptoms and almost dying, I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease. In 1999, I went through a painful divorce while still trying to regain my health and take care of a 11 month old baby as a single mom. Those were some of the darkest times of my life but through it all I knew I needed to find a way to build a comfortable life for me and my daughter. Since I did not have guidance from my parents, or a stable childhood growing up, it was very important to me to be a good role model to my daughter. A lot of people have commented that I “have it all together”. In many ways I do; I travel the world, stay in beautiful hotels, I have a successful business, my daughter graduated from college in 2019 with honors, but I definitely have “a story” to tell that I think could inspire a lot of young women which is why my next venture is to publish a book.
Conference Solutions International – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Conference Solutions International is a full-service, global meetings and events agency specializing in planning and implementing quality meetings that deliver exceptional results. We assist you at every step of the way in negotiating rates for hotel guestrooms, meeting space, concessions, and food & beverage minimums. Our extensive experience negotiating hotel contracts helps save you time, money, minimizes your financial risk and is completely complimentary as we receive a commission from hotels.
As a company, I am most proud of the relationships that were built over the years, and for providing unmatched customer service. Our clients come to us because of our personalized service and industry knowledge—and because we value people and create lasting partnerships.
What sets me apart from my competitors is my well rounded professional experience. I have worked on both sides of the industry; the service side at CVB’s and the planning side where I was actually the client. I speak my clients language; I understand their meetings from a Planners perspective which allows me to understand what they want and what they don’t want. The process of working with me is seamless.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would have started my own company 20 years ago. Because I fell into my first job, I didn’t have knowledge or an understanding that this was actually a full-blown industry. If I knew then what I know now, I would have found a mentor and learned everything I could about the many opportunities that are available in hospitality and tourism.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.conferencesolutionsintl.com
- Phone: (404) 410 – 1477
- Email: admin@conferencesolutionsintl.com
- Instagram: SavvyMtgPlanner
- Twitter: @SavvyMtgPlanner
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