The Business of Houston Hospitality
Exploring the business behind the Houston hospitality and tourism industry. Hear from members of the industry as they discuss their restaurants, bars, breweries, hotels, venues, attractions, theaters, museums, and related businesses which define Houston’s vibrant hospitality landscape. Hosted by Jonathan Horowitz, president of the Houston Hospitality Alliance and founder of Convive Hospitality Consulting.
The Business of Houston Hospitality
A conversation with Kristan Williams and Lana O'Neil
This week, host Jonathan Horowitz chats with Lana O'Neil and Kristan Williams of Imagen Venues, which offers corporate and private event spaces in Houston and Dallas. Learn more about their journeys in Houston hospitality and the unique opportunities and challenges of a turnkey event venue.
Welcome to the business of Houston Hospitality, where we visit with and learn from the people behind Houston's vibrant and diverse hospitality industry. Each week we speak with owners and operators of restaurants, hotels, venues, attractions, museums, theaters, and more. Please welcome your host, president of the Houston Hospitality Alliance and founder of Convive Hospitality Consultant, Jonathan Horowitz.
Jonathan:Greetings from Houston. This is the business of Houston hospitality. I am your host, Jonathan Horowitz. And today I will be speaking with Kristen Williams and Lana O'Neill from Imagine Venues. As always, we will talk about their history in Houston, how the business is doing and what they think about Houston's hospitality industry and its future. Welcome to the show, Kristen and Lana. Thanks for being here. We certainly appreciate it. So give our listeners a little bit of background on y'all and kind of how you have come into the business and you know, how long you've been in Houston and just how you got to where you are today and then. If you can as well, kind of describe the business that you're currently in and what it does and where you operate and, and how you operate.
Kristan and Lana:Absolutely. So this is Lana and I have been in Houston for nine years as of January. Prior to that, I would lived in Vegas for three years, Las Vegas, and then before Vegas Seamote Springs, Colorado, which is where I really kind of jump started my Hospitality career. I worked in the hotel industry for IHG, and I worked with Wyndham on the marketing side in Steamboat Springs, and then I was with the chamber as the marketing, or excuse me, membership director in Steamboat Springs. So that's where I kind of launched my hospitality career. From there, we moved to Las Vegas. Where I then was in the restaurant industry for majority of my time there, and then went into the event side with Blue Martini which is where I kind of got my music background, which ties into where we're at now. So we had to hire bands and whatnot in the nightclub nightlife in Las Vegas. Then from Las Vegas, we moved to Houston, where I worked for a private social club called the Mark and City Center.
Jonathan:Ah, I'm familiar with that actually. Yeah.
Kristan and Lana:that's an old one. And then from there moved on to good company restaurants where I was the sales and marketing manager for them for about six and a half years. And that's where I met Kristen. She worked along with me there and then from good company, that's where I moved over to. Where we're at now is, is' not in venues. So I'll let Kristen share her background before we kind of go into the next topic of what it is that we do here and our business model.
Jonathan:Yeah. And I, and I want to come back in a bit to some of the differences between what you've seen in Colorado versus Vegas versus Houston,
Kristan and Lana:Yes,
Jonathan:I'm a big fan of Vegas myself. In fact, I'm going to be there next end of next week again. And I'm a big fan of how they do hospitality there for
Kristan and Lana:Very much. So I've learned a lot of hospitality there.
Jonathan:yeah, we can come back to that. So Kristen, yes, your background.
Kristan and Lana:Yes. Hi. So I'm Kristen Williams. Oh, I started in the restaurant industry back in the day at macaroni grill when it was a, a bigger brand, I would say started there kind of from the bottom up learned hospitality when that brand was thriving. And so I really got my, Footing in the industry from them started off as like a hostess and worked all out to cater manager than service manager. I was able to travel the country and go to different states and work at restaurants that needed some help with sales and the morale with the team. So did a lot of the front of house and then from there. Move to Landry's and worked for Babbins for a little bit. So got that corporate feel of how, like, the restaurant and companies work on that end was there for a short time and then got an opportunity to work for Peli Peli, which was a South African company that was in Houston for, I don't know how many years total, but I know sadly they are no longer at the
Jonathan:my good friend Thomas Wynn and,
Kristan and Lana:Yes.
Jonathan:guys. Yeah. Yeah. In fact I'm going to try to try to get Thomas on the podcast here and not too distant future.
Kristan and Lana:Oh, perfect. I'll have to tell him I said hi, but yeah, so I was, I came on there because they were looking to grow their catering side of the business. And that was my background. So we did that and I was there from 2015 to 17 and did a lot of massive projects, which was great for just experience, especially in our Houston market, and that's kind of where I got the taste for So we started doing stuff with some organizations within the industry, like national association of catering events. I got in introduced to visit Houston Houston 1st, those organizations and kind of what they did and because we were doing events with them. So. Within that we got to do Super Bowl and then we, when that was here in 2017, we even ventured out and did Austin City Limits as a food vendor there, so ran that project as well. So got to experience a lot of different sides of the catering business, so now it's like a full picture. And then after things started to shift there, I wanted to change a little more Nine to five type situation. So I ended up going to good company and met Lana and ended up over there and was a sales coordinator working with her. And that's where we met and did a lot of great events there as well, and started building the network that we now have here as well with like our planners. And again, really did a lot more with Houston first visit first, and then. The group that kind of used to be a Houston hospitality. But same, you know, same concept. So getting involved in that and actually being out in the market. And so then when Lana says, Hey, I have a opportunity at a Manhattan venues. Would you like to come over here? I said, yes, that'd be so exciting. And so moved over here. And I think here we've done a good job of being out in the market and building the relationships like with Houston hospitality and that's kind of where Lynn and I thrive. And that, you know, also has helped build the brand. So
Jonathan:No, that's great. Yeah. And I, I'm a big fan. So I've been in Houston now 34 years, I guess, and have always been a big fan of the good company. Brand and how they do things, et cetera. And still, you know, I was literally, I was at Taqueria two days ago live in the area. So, you know, all three in the Kirby right there with barbecue and seafood and yeah, always been a big fan. And actually Levi's another one I've got on my list for the podcast. Yeah,
Kristan and Lana:chopping him down. Yeah.
Jonathan:yeah, I know. I know. I, I've run into him recently in a couple of events and stuff. We've known each other for a long time. So I'm trying to, I'll try to cajole him at some point to find an hour to, to do this, but certainly great history and, you know, obviously a wonderful family business, as you know. So tell us a little bit About what the current business model looks like and, and what you all do and, and how that kind of interacts and intersects with all of the other hospitality types of, of businesses in Houston. Because I, I think if I'm not mistaken, you also operate in Dallas. Is that right?
Kristan and Lana:Yes, just recently.
Jonathan:Yeah. So how does, how does all that kind of lay out in terms of a business framework?
Kristan and Lana:Sure. So I'm going to take a step back and go to so I've only been here for nine years so I'm not a Houstonian. Well, technically I'm not a Houstonian.
Jonathan:You are now.
Kristan and Lana:And I am now. One of the biggest things that I learned right off the bat is that there are millions of people that are moving to Houston on a daily basis that don't know what these brands, they don't know good company. I didn't know what good company wasn't for and for years. And in fact, I call it Goody Company. Some people still call it Goody Company, but the E is silent. And so from that, I learned right away that you have to be very visible in the market and you have to be out there networking and being involved in these organizations. So Kristen, like she mentioned, NACE, she's on the board with NACE. She's actually involved. She volunteers. I'm on the board with Media Professionals International, MPI, and Executive Women International. So we are involved with a lot of organizations. So our, our calendar is full all the time. We try and stack it. One of the thing, another thing is that a good salesperson should not be in the office. They should be out there with the as the face of the company and just you know, shaking hands, kissing babies, that type of thing. So that's what's made us really successful, not just getting a man venues on the map, but even with good company and just staying visible in these markets and diversifying the portfolio, not just sticking with, you know, things that are meeting planner specific, but going outside of that. And so some of the oil and gas companies are pipeliners. And some of the other different organizations that we, we attend including Houston first and staying in front of his visit Houston. So that's kind of what made our, our business model is to be visible in the market. And just networking, networking, networking, cold calling attending on these functions, attending seminars and educational events to continue to grow ourselves and see what's trending in the market. That's what we focus on on a daily basis.
Jonathan:So is, Is the, is the business itself, it's not just a venue that you're utilizing for certain events, but you're also doing the, the planning and the coordination and the ideation and development and execution and all of those things.
Kristan and Lana:absolutely. So we love working with our DMCs because they make our life a lot easier, but we don't always have that ability to do so. So we are working directly with the corporations. A lot of times that don't have the experience. So we're creating that vision for them. We're selling the space and then we're putting the event together, you know, piecemeal and everything together, getting the vendors, getting the food, getting that ballet, all the things I'd go into coordinating the event, and then we're actually executing the event after that, and then with a follow up, we do what's called an experience transformer of how did the event go, what could we learn from this event, what can we do better for next time, how can we market this, this type of style of event moving forward. So one of the nice things about the company that we're with now is they're very open to, let's try it. Let's try it because after COVID, we can't really turn business away. I mean, we certainly can. There's certainly good business and business. We don't, we just, this isn't a good fit for us, but let's just try it. Let's see what happens. And if it, let's learn from it and make it better.
Jonathan:And so at this point how large are you, how many employees do you have? And that kind of leads to, you know, another question that an issue that comes up a lot right now in terms of staffing and labor and costs and some of the challenges that go into these types of businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, as we continue to try to recover from the COVID years. And, and so I want to. I want you all, if you can, to kind of touch on that, some of the challenges and some of the issues that you have faced and may still be facing and then also, you know, kind of how you have seen things change, maybe pre pandemic versus, you know, today how is the business different and how has it evolved over time?
Kristan and Lana:I'll speak to our size and then I'm going to hand it over to Kristen to talk about what, what we've seen happen. So our company, we're fortunate that we operate as a nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights. If we don't have a private event, and so our stampede building can accommodate 4, 000 people, our escapade building can do 6, 000 people, and then our festival space can do 20, 000 people. So when it comes to our employee size, our day to day, like Monday through Friday, operations team is about 25 to 30 people, but then our nightclub, our, our extended event team, You know, bartenders and things of that nature. That's going to be closer to 150 to 200 people that we can pull from. So, I mean, we don't employ them full time, but we have that slew in our back pocket to pull from. Now, in terms of what we're seeing in turnover, Kristen, why don't you speak on that? So I was lucky enough to stay in good company through COVID. It was a very small team as most companies did. So learned a lot about pivoting and kind of transitioning and, you know, learning like, what, how does our brand stay visible in this new market, so learned a lot with that. And then, you know, had to deal with all the cancellations and then, you know, like the word that none of us like is force majeure and deposits and things like that. So I will say that, you know, before coven, the conversations that you've had with clients about those things like, You know, the specifics on their event, the contract side of their event definitely changed that conversation. And there's a lot more, I think everyone has added a lot more verbiage to their contracts just to, you know, so like in regard to cancellation and things like that. Because without having COVID specifically happen, you don't really know that you need those kinds of things in place. So definitely learning curve there, got to work with. I personally got to work with a lot of our lawyers at Good Company, which was not the best conversation, but very eye opening, learned a lot but I will say trend wise, like, as far as people booking in person parties we have some friends in the industry, like Dorita, I think, specifically, that do digital events, or, like, live stream events, and that has, we've seen a lot more mixed, so, as far as the type of events, We do mostly corporate at our venues here just because of the style of venue that we have. And so there are a lot that say, can you do live streaming? Can you add this on? So I will say some of them, their guest count isn't as high as it would have been before COVID happened, obviously. But they are still adding, you know, so you're still kind of offsetting the cost, if you will, you know, with them adding a live stream component and having all of that option for guests that aren't there.
Jonathan:And has that, has that forced you to kind of adjust your offerings in terms of having the technology and the AV and, you know, the staging and all of that kind of stuff to be able to offer those things in terms of, you know, probably wouldn't have needed to do that as much pre COVID. But now if people want to do a lot more remote or hybrid type of events, is that forced you to kind of adapt in terms of a business model and be able to offer those things?
Kristan and Lana:Well, we have a lot of that those items built in. So we do have a lot of stages built in a lot of production, but yes, not specifically live stream or, you know, those things. So when it comes to that, we did have to curate packages for, you know, live stream specifically already. And then it also changes the format and layout of your event. So that's something that you need. Those are questions that, you know, they tell us that right off the bat, or we find that out. It's like, Oh, well, then your layout needs to change because now you're thinking of, you'd have to have a camera in the mix. you know, make sure it's not blocked, make sure the vision is good, you know, and also like lighting. So that's a big thing. So a lot of more components come into that conversation. So there are, there were custom packages that we created. So when they ask that, we can say, okay, this is the price that adds on, but it is going to affect the way you're seating and you're staging and you're lighting and all of those different things. Play into that. I
Jonathan:Yeah. It's interesting because I know comparing this and I personally have spent a lot of time in the, in the restaurant industry and, you know, And also kind of in, in commercial real estate and the COVID years really changed the operations and even design of restaurants where, you know, all of a sudden you've got to have special areas for pickup and to go in the third party delivery services and, you know, more prep space that, you know, it literally has kind of changed the industry in just A couple of years, you know, whereas, as I'm sure, you know, the, the industry itself is very slow to change and adapt to things. And it can be generations before you see big shifts. But all of a sudden, in the span of three or four years, we've seen kind of that generational shift of geez, now you have to design for with this in mind. And you got to plan for that where you never really would have thought of that. So much and I would assume that translates as well into other areas like, you know, experiential events.
Kristan and Lana:think that the only I said, you know, there wasn't a lot of good that came out of COVID But the one good thing that I think happened was is, you know, like example good company They're they're a thriving brand right before COVID they were doing well And I think a lot of brands got comfortable and you get comfortable in your hey, I got plenty of business coming in I don't have to go outbound and things like that. COVID happened, I think for a lot of You know, places or brands, it really forced them to be more efficient and have that healthy fear of like tomorrow's not promised, you know, revenue wise. And so how do we make sure we take care of our customers and our employees and our brand and making sure that everyone's taking care of? So, if anything, the only good that I think came out of that was. It's I like to use healthy fear, but it's like, Hey, you know, we don't know what can happen in the market or with the world and things that are going on. So it makes you be make smarter business choices. I think when you're, and then also, you know, making sure that you're taking care of the client's vision and then foreseeing any things that could happen down the road. So like some of these events went about two years out because they're larger conferences and you're like, I mean, that's fine, but then do we need to add any extra things in place? Like, Hey, your food prices might go up. We might see increases on bar items. So, Mm-Hmm. it's, it does change that. On our side, you know, the biggest things that we would see changes in would be even production. We've seen those labor costs go up because, you know, the workforce is not the same as it was before. Mm-Hmm. So for us on that side, you know, we don't have food in house. We outsource the catering, but that is that we have to put that, you know, disclaimer in there, like, Hey, the food and menu prices could change, you know,'cause we're not in control of that. So market value or things like that, just. Being more aware of making sure that the client is apprised to those things so that they don't feel caught off guard when, you know, things are out of our control as far as costs.
Jonathan:Sure. Yeah. And, and as a former practicing attorney, I am very familiar with force majeure and all those fun things that you have
Kristan and Lana:say it.
Jonathan:think about when you don't know what's going to happen and try to build it into the language and try not to have any surprises. I know it's, it's a challenge. And, you know, to your point in terms of, any positives that came out of the COVID years. Other folks that, that I've been able to talk to have talked about finding efficiencies, right. People realizing that they could do more with less and having to adapt, you know, to your point specifically about some of the challenges with labor you know, and, and finding good qualified people. I think there have been some sort of advances or discoveries in terms of efficiencies and, you know, really saying, Hey, how do we best utilize our people and how can we do more with less? And so those that were able to adapt and I hate to use the word pivot because it was so overused, but you know, that that's, that's what happened. And, and I think a lot of folks kind of discovered that, Hey, we can actually do this. And we may have been a bit overstaffed, you know, or top heavy or something in the past. Now that that has changed we'll see if it kind of evens itself back out or, or how that evolves over time.
Kristan and Lana:We do expect a lot more of our employees now, whether it's our full time staff or our hourly employees. One of the terms that we use is, you know, we're growing our capacity, so we're expecting a lot more of one individual than we used to expect of that individual, where it might have been three jobs that one person was doing, and now they're doing one, or they might have done one job, and now they're doing the job of three people, and just growing that capacity and being more efficient and effective at it, and that's been a challenge with the labor pool, is finding the right people to put into those spots, people that want to grow, the people that can, you know, operate at a higher level, and with less help behind them.
Jonathan:yeah. And, you know, obviously as y'all are familiar and having been in the hospitality business for, for some period of time a lot of people go into it thinking it's going to be temporary and it's just something to do and, you know, kind of entry level, whatever it may be. And I think some of the challenge for the industry has been to get people to understand that there are really good potential long term careers. In the industry, and it doesn't have to be just kind of a passing thing that I'm doing while I'm waiting to either do something else or go through school or whatever it is. And you know, if you have a good, stable growing business you can certainly provide those opportunities for people to, to grow and stick around for a long time and, and make good money and, and make it a career. So I think that's, that's part of. A little bit of education that needs to come out in terms of, in terms of communication that's coming out from the industry. So, you know, I know we touched a little bit on that, on that labor part. I did want to get your perspectives on what you consider to be your biggest day to day challenges. Is it labor or is it something else? You know, what, what keeps you up at night?
Kristan and Lana:Ooh, that's a loaded question.
Jonathan:How, how, how much time do we have? Do we have a long list? Thanks.
Kristan and Lana:I think for us, is Or well, if I was just see for me is the like communication getting the communication from point A to point and what's in between that and, you know, kind of the, the game when you're a kid telephone. So I'm telling her one thing she's telling the next person, and then by the time to get by time gets to Z, the conversations completely changed and so maintaining that conversation, the entire time making sure that it's consistent, that it doesn't get altered because someone has a slightly different change and then. That's slightly different change is actually a big change when it comes to events and executing and planning of them. So for me, it's the communication. Did I did I effectively communicate? Did it actually land on them what I said? And are they taking away what I meant? So for me, that that would be my my day to day. Biggest hurdle with not even just clients, but employees as well,
Jonathan:And do you have sort of internal, like, do you utilize a certain technology to try to do that? Is
Kristan and Lana:too many,
Jonathan:too many? That, that can be
Kristan and Lana:mean, we're on teams, we're on WhatsApp, we're in Asana, we're in Triple C, we're in Google. I mean, we have too much community, too many places. And that's where I think sometimes I, I, I get nervous because the ball could get dropped and I put it in every single spot that it's supposed to go into.
Jonathan:Yeah, that's that's an interesting, you know, challenge technology is great for certain things, but I guess it can be overdone sometimes which would create, you know, additional problems. Kristen, how about you?
Kristan and Lana:Well, I was thinking on that. It's like, you know, for like, when we were a good company, right, we did smaller events, like 20 to 50 people sometimes. But when you're talking about an 11, 000 person seated event outside, this small communication can become a huge thorn in your side. If it doesn't land to the right person, once it finally gets there. So I will say that I agree with her on that, but, Another thing I think for us as a brand is our location. And so we've done a really great job of, you know, we're only 15 minutes outside of town with no traffic because you're usually going the opposite way of traffic when events start in the evening. Because, you know, a lot of our. Business and clients, I would say 50 percent have come from visit Houston or groups like Houston Hospitality Alliance. So they come right from the convention center in that area of downtown. But when you're talking to new clients that are on the other side of Houston, you know, it's saying, hey, we got a great venue that can fit a very large guest counts or multiple venues. We'd love to have you come out. So it's really. You know, intriguing them with our brand and getting them to trust us when they meet us and then saying, Hey, I know that we seem far outside of Houston, but really come and see our space and you'll fall in love with it. And, you know, we can get you out here. So I think that would be one of our weaknesses or like things that worry us is that, you know, it's hard to get some of these brands to come outside their comfort zone as far as traveling, or maybe it's a cost, you know, like, Hey, they don't want to bust everyone out or things like that.
Jonathan:And can you describe, you know, exactly where that venue is located because you're on the north side, correct?
Kristan and Lana:Yes, we're 59 and beltway north. So just right by Kingwood. So we're literally 15 minutes from the convention center with no traffic 20 with traffic.
Jonathan:Yeah. And, you know, for somebody like me, who's a total inner looper, right, who has been centrally located for so long that that seems like it's really. Far away, but I know that it's not because I've, I've made that drive and gone and, you know, play golf up there and things like that. And I, I know it's not that far away. So, and then I know we touched on this at the very beginning, but you're now also operating in Dallas.
Kristan and Lana:Yes. So we just are partnering with venue in Dallas. So we are also, we kind of wear multiple houses and venues. So we host concerts every venues. And we also are promoters. So one of our promoters is created this beautiful space in Dallas and have tasked us to kind of take over the operations and the sales of it. So now Kristen and I, our new venture is to do what we did in Houston and Mira in Dallas with getting involved in the market, staying visible in the market, and eventually we'll be hiring a coordinator up there. But in the meantime, We're getting in. We're getting in there and kind of getting get in our name on the map. The ultimate goal then is once Dallas up and running, then we'll look at San Antonio and some other cities as well. So we want to be regional and have locations where we can not only host concerts with promoters, but also have a venue space because that's what our we're seeing is In the future with the music industry is that it's getting very expensive for to source talent. We're noticing that with our festivals and whatnot, where we used to have a lot of country artists at Stampede location. We've kind of changed, I hate the word again, pivot. We've pivoted our model to less concerts or no concerts and more events because it's more profitable there and that in that area and changing our venue into not a nightclub, but into a venue or a conference center. So that's what we're seeing With our business model as used to be known as nightclubs and concerts now being as a conference center as an event center.
Jonathan:That's interesting that that kind of shift of call it mentality or whatever you want in terms of of a business plan going from what I would call kind of social public to more corporate, private and it's, it's actually encouraging to hear that that business is there to be able to do that in terms of Having those corporate events kind of coming back after a number of years of really just not having them at all in any form or fashion. But I would imagine now with expanding up into the Dallas area you're going to be doing a lot more travel. And you know, you're going to be one of those proponents of that bullet train that they've been talking about for the past 20 years. Which.
Kristan and Lana:I don't know if it's going to happen, but if
Jonathan:I don't, I don't know either. I don't know either, but they keep, they keep threatening that it's actually going to come at some point. But yeah, like, like myself and my wife, I would imagine you're also big proponents of Southwest Airlines as we are. Right,
Kristan and Lana:we've already talked about it. They probably won't let that happen. So we'll see.
Jonathan:right. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, you mentioned obviously your interactions and connections with various groups, organizations, trade associations things of that nature. And I think it would be helpful if you can kind of describe, because you've, you've seen it, you've lived it, you've experienced it. Getting involved in, in those things, what do you see as the real benefit? What are the importance, you know, of doing those things? And it's not just necessarily giving back to the community, but it's also helping benefit your business and growing. So you know, describe a little bit about how you get involved in these things and what benefits they bring to you and, and to the company.
Kristan and Lana:Good question, because I actually made a note here that one thing I didn't touch on is besides being involved in you know, On these these nonprofits that were part of our on the boards. We also volunteer our time. So we back in the Super Bowl happened. I volunteered in the Super Bowl. We both volunteered for NCAA. We both volunteered for college playoffs. We are, we got on the sports authority. So sports authority has been one of the The biggest avenues of once you get on that, you know, on their volunteer list, you get all these opportunities. Same with golf tournaments are always looking for volunteers to, you know, do registration. And that's what kind of like we Houston rodeo, we're both on the Houston rodeo on different committees. It takes a huge group of volunteers and the benefit of that, of course, getting back to the community, but then you're getting visible visibility with people that an attorney that you may not have ever had the opportunity to, or a doctor or, you know, You know an hourly employee that was looking for employment and all of a sudden you have an opportunity for them. So being involved in the community isn't just about giving back to the community, but it's about who you get to interact with. And you never know who you're going to meet on these volunteer committees besides just being part of, you know, the master ones that were part of like MPI and MACE and ILEA and things of that nature. What do you, what do you say about Well, I would say that being I think I would say the whole like Houston first visit Houston HHA the organization we've been we've always stayed in front of even at good company through and then here, but I will say that. Nurturing those relationships and being involved with that and getting, you know, very, not saying personal, but like being friends and, you know, on that level with some of the people at those organizations has made it to where we know exactly what the organization does. Like we're very aware of how to stay in front of it. So then when we shifted to Dallas in the beginning, we were like, this is going to be difficult. You know, like we, we aren't up here all the time. Like we're going to have to really maximize our time. But then as we met people and through our connections with organizations here, It was very welcoming and they're like, oh, we've heard about you or so and so told us about you. So really having those people in your corner so then when you go somewhere, they're like, oh, they told me you were coming up here or, hey, we already connected through email via, you know, Deshaun or whatever. So it's it, I will say that doing that is in the, when you first, Start with those organizations. You don't realize the benefit that you're getting from it until the time comes. And then like in Dallas, we've seen a wealth of connections and already have we got an event, you know, very close. And so I think that's, that is the importance. And, you know, what, what is the saying, you know, you get what you put in. So pending being visible, Offering services or saying, you know, my big thing when I reach out to any partner, like a hotel, a restaurant, whatever is, how can we support you? And then in turn, you know, you support us. So like, how can we support you in your restaurant or, you know, taking care of your clients or your guests or whatever it is so that we can all be a great Houston market. And then now in the Dallas market. So
Jonathan:Sure. Yeah. And, and obviously, you know, the, there are ways to make those mutually beneficial relationships because everybody wants to get something out of the relationship and, you know, it's always a, an issue if it's too one sided. And so, you know, part of that trick is figuring out how you can work together to make it mutually beneficial. And that, that definitely is the best outcome for everyone.
Kristan and Lana:when it goes beyond the relationship building of the business side of it, it goes into friendship. So a lot of these connections we have. We're friends with them. We're friends on Facebook. They know about our kids. They know about our lives. They know about, you know, what's going on with, we know what what's going on in their life. If you know, they're celebrating a birthday or when we pay attention to that, same with on LinkedIn, like we pay attention to that and make sure that we're being a friend to them and being like, Hey, I saw that you won this award. Congratulations. Like great job. You know, and just with a little tiny, a D that attention to detail makes that, makes it go from a business partner to a friendship real fast.
Jonathan:Yeah, that's great. And that, that's a great point about, you know, getting involved and getting out there and putting yourselves out there. Because obviously, as you know, it takes a lot of time, a lot of energy. It's, it's not easy but certainly, you know, if you put the time in you can reap the benefits, you know, for sure. I want to talk just briefly, if you can what your thoughts are on the future. Sure. You know, what does it look like for y'all as you, you mentioned, you know, thinking about growing into other markets as well. But specifically for Houston and how you've seen the Houston hospitality industry You know in general, and a lot of it is focused on the restaurant industry, but we've gotten a lot more national exposure, more awards, more people moving here, opening businesses. There seems to have been a lot of growth, there's a lot of activity going on all the time. And I, and I know you kind of, you know, straddle some of the lines between large public social types of events and the corporate side. You know, what do you think the next five years or so are going to look like in Houston for, for this type of industry?
Kristan and Lana:I will say like. Our HHA visit Houston. All of those organizations are doing a really fantastic job of putting Houston on the map and attracting some of these conventions that they're bringing into town. We've seen an uptick in the convention side of it. And even on the sporting sides of it we got a little bit of behind the scenes and how that operation works and, you know, how they vet on Superbowl and how many years you can have, you know, in between that you hosted it, then you can host it again. I think that the Houston as a whole, we have a lot to offer culturally, you know, the restaurants, we have the performing arts, we have sporting so we are very attractive as a city. I see from the private event side of things and the event side of things continuing to grow and get back to kind of pre pandemic in other markets. Like Vegas just from being in Vegas and still having connections in Vegas, I see that growing, but at a slower rate. And I don't know if it's just because during the pandemic, Vegas, Vegas, Personally, I know that's going down, went down in terms of cleanliness and just the city as a whole and what their offerings are, but I think that's gonna take a lot slower than like something, something like Houston, where we're very tight knit organization. Yeah, and I think that because we've been involved with like Houston Sports Authority or the teams that are bringing, I mean, because sports is what we just, we've done a couple of those recently, but I think with the expansion and the things that the city has coming down the pipe, that we're already a competitor in bigger markets, like Vegas is its own realm, but, you know, like Chicago or some of the other big cities that are a destination for, because a lot of our businesses come from conferences that are happening in the city. So with this expansion, I only see, you know, an uptick in our, Volume of events, because we want to say feed, but, you know, they, they, with that, those relationships, we will get a lot more leads for us from that. But I also think that it provides more opportunity for, a community involvement, because we're already really involved there, but getting in front of those groups, because example, like with Dorita. Who did she led the region, the final four. So we got to do that as well as volunteer at the final four. So when it came, so it's, it's both sides of it. So then you get to be in front of the, you know, what's servicing the community, but also on that. And so, you know, not that it's all about the business, but you are getting in front of all of those different parts of that that comes to the city, because it's not just the sporting event or the conference or whatever. There's so many other things that they do when they're here and making sure they get the full Houston experience. When they come visit us. So being a part of making sure that our brand is a part of their experience when they're here in whatever form. So I do think that we'll have more opportunity to maybe have them come out for a night at stampede, or we've, we've done a couple of events where we had a group from Canada that came in and they did a dual event where they started at stampede, and then we also brought them to Escapade to experience that Latin music and that feel. And so. Really giving them a, you know, because I think that's a, that's a good picture of what Houston is, is, you know, here's a very, yeah, very diverse experience for you. And they're all in one location. So I think the expansion, all the things that we have coming in the next five years, maybe more will definitely help highlight our brand because we have so much to offer.
Jonathan:Yeah, I think the word is getting out, you know, in terms of the diversity of Houston, the opportunities in Houston, just everything. You know, I, I hear from folks all the time, you know, oh, I, I came here for some other reason or I didn't really want to come to Houston, but I had to, you know, I came for this convention or, or, or. Or, you know, I came to visit a family member or I came to go to the med center, you know, whatever it is. And they're like, I had no idea Houston had all this and that and the other. And it's fantastic. And, you know, a lot of those people frankly end up staying, you know, they, they just, yeah, I didn't plan to come here, but now I live here, you know, that sort of thing, because I think they recognize. And experience it with, with all of the diversity and all the culture and the arts and the sports and everything else that goes into it. You know, the word, the word is certainly getting out. We've never really been known as a quote tourist town, you know, like, Like of Vegas or even San Antonio with the Riverwalk or Orlando or whatever it is. But once people get here and actually experience the city and everything it has to offer, they're always really impressed. Plus the people. I mean, just the people are, are great. But you know, they see that diversity, they see the restaurants, they see the arts and the sports and everything else that goes into it. And. Inevitably, they're impressed. And every time we have one of those big, whether it's the, the Astros, you know, playing in the World Series, or it's the Super Bowl, or the FIFA that's coming in 26, people are always, you know, they leave with a great impression of the city, which is, you know, Which is fantastic because then in theory, they're either going to come back or they're going to have a convention here, or they're going to do business here which, which really does benefit us in the long run. So I, I share your optimism for the future and the continued growth. And then, you know, Lana, I'll, when I'm in Vegas in a couple of weeks, I'll, I'll, I'll look around and see how things are looking there in comparison. Cause interesting. My wife is also in the, in the business on the event side and she's going out for a conference, an events conference. So we'll, we'll see what the attendance is like and how that works.
Kristan and Lana:Yeah, I'm just, I mean, just from living there and then I, you know, gone back several times a year. Just the difference in the cleanliness on the streets and just you know, just some of the, the clientele that you see has changed. Where, you know, when you went to Vegas, you got all dressed up and you, you know, it was, it was an experience and it's, I feel it's, it's just changed a little bit where it's become a little bit more casual and certain, certain places and, and things. So that's what I know.
Jonathan:Yeah, I certainly agree. Well, let us shift to our three final questions. And I'll, I'll kind of let you share and, and, or play off each other as, as you wish. But we always ask our, our guests these final three questions. First being favorite travel destination. And why, you know, if you're going to go anywhere, drop of the hat tomorrow, you're going to jump on a plane, jump in the car. Where are you going to go? Where do you, where's your favorite place to go?
Kristan and Lana:Well, we both travel quite a bit.
Jonathan:I know.
Kristan and Lana:we like travel.
Jonathan:is, this is for, this is for fun.
Kristan and Lana:travel is our spirit animal. We like to get, we like to just get on a plane and work to travel. Yeah.
Jonathan:I'm, I'm very familiar with that.
Kristan and Lana:Yes. Wow. Let's see. There's so many. I would say one of my favorite places is probably Cabo purely because I've been there so many times it's comfortable. I have American friends that live there. So I get a little bit of a different experience when I go to Cabo. I'm not at a resort necessarily. I'm more of the authentic Cabo. Plus water is my spirit animal anyway, besides travel, like anything by the beach or in the sun, that's where I want to be.
Jonathan:That's great.
Kristan and Lana:I went to Scotland last year, which was amazing and it was beautiful and I would love to go back, but because it is a trek to get there or anywhere in Europe. So I would say Belize I've only been there once. I've tried to go back. I've had friends that have gone multiple times. I, we also have friends that live there, but I think it's, it's only a two hour flight. The water's beautiful. It's, you know, three feet as far as you can see, but I think it, it goes back to the hospitality, like. It's everyone is so nice because tourism is the main thing for them. So everyone we met was, Oh, make sure you try this. Oh, make sure you go over here. Oh, don't get out of the water. I'll bring your drink to you. Like, it's just I think, you know, overall, you don't have a bad day. You know what I mean? You don't go to dinner and be like, Oh, this is horrible. Like everyone is excited to see you. They're happy you're there. So you know, I like to go to places like that where tourism was their main thing. So COVID really hurt them. So I think going to those places and putting my money there, you know, I feel like it's helping give back to, you know, their
Jonathan:That's, that's fantastic. And, and we have a similar experience. We try to go, my wife also is, is all about the water and the beach. And we try to go to Grand Cayman
Kristan and Lana:community. Yeah.
Jonathan:January, which is beautiful. But to your point totally, almost totally reliant on tourism and so you just get treated differently when, when the mentality is focused totally on bringing in the tourists and making them feel welcome and wanting to come back. That's, that's the big trick is to get that repeat business as you know. Okay. So question number two, we talked a little bit about this before, but specifically and succinctly. If you're talking to somebody who's never been to Houston, what do you tell them is the best reason for them to come visit Houston? What, what should they come here for?
Kristan and Lana:Well, what I tell people, because it's hard to get people, my, my family out here cause again, it's not a destination city. I'm, I'm their only draw. No, I would say diversity, diversity, diversity like we mentioned before, we have the sports, we have the arts, we have NASA, we have so much, we have the space center, we have so much You know, southern hospitality. We have, you know, Tex Mex. We have a lot of to offer in Houston in terms of activities and things to do and things to see that not everyone else has. You know, you mentioned San Antonio Riverwalk. Besides Riverwalk, I mean, there's Alamo, but then what else you're going to, you know, are you going to do? That's really, you know experience wise. So I would say for me, I would say just the diversification of the city is the draw for us.
Jonathan:I
Kristan and Lana:I think after going spending some time in Dallas, it's very, obviously very different and to, you know, their city, you know, we have like Galleria, we have city center and then you go out to like Sugarland, Katy, Spring, Woodlands, it kind of goes, but you can get to a lot of places from the heart of downtown under 30 minutes. So I think our thing is there's always something going on. So like you've got the art car parade coming up and the next weekend there's a latin fest and the next weekend and it may not be in the heart but it may be right outside or it may be so you can come to the city and there's always something happening so and I and it could be you know a market or it could be like I said the latin fest or so it's never one thing like one type of cultural thing or one type of food so I would say honestly the food I think we're becoming a very big food stop for people we have a lot of you independent businesses here. So I would say you come to Houston. You're going to eat great food. You're going to experience something new and any experience that you go to, I think is going to be a really good picture of what Houston is. So like example, the art corporate. That's a bigger event that we do, but that kind of gives you an example of what kind of people are here and what we like to celebrate, which is you know, how everyone is different and how we embrace all of that and how our city comes together to create great
Jonathan:Absolutely true. And we are very proud this year at the HHA to be a sponsor of the Art Car Parade. So, we'll, we'll have folks there. We're actually we're sponsoring the Art Car Ball, which is coming up
Kristan and Lana:On a Friday.
Jonathan:This Friday night is can be our car ball. So we are the VIP area sponsor and excited to have a bunch of HHA members will be out there partying it up for art car weekend, which is, as you, as you say, rightfully an iconic Houston event. I mean, it brings 200, 000 people to downtown Houston for that, which is phenomenal. We've got a lot of, hospitality Alliance members who are participating in that in one form or fashion St. Arnold brewery is a big part of that. C Baldwin hotel is involved. So it's it's great and it's great for the city and it's totally unique. I mean, super cool type of event. So. Okay. So, oh yeah,
Kristan and Lana:I, I was like gonna say we were everything we talked about today's. I think that when you're a brand, you're trying to be a successful brand in Houston, you need to be a champion for everything Houston and be, you know, like more knowledgeable of things that are going on. So like example, we have clients come in and that's part of it. Like they're here for the first time in Houston and they're scouting venues. And so they'll ask us, where do I go for lunch? I'm like, Oh, what side of town are you going to be on? And then I'm going to try to offer something like I've offered good company before, but it's like, I'm trying to offer something that's only in Houston. Like, I don't want to offer a chain. I don't offer. I'm like, you know what, you're going to be on this side. You should drive five minutes down the road and you should try this place. It's great. It's known for this. So I think, you know, making sure that, you know, and like being apprised of what's going on, it takes a lot of effort to be, you know, what's going on, like the art guard parade, but, you know, just making sure that when those, when they come here, cause that could be the one thing they remember and why they book with you or why they decide to do business with you is because. you, allow them to have a great experience and help guide them on that Houston visit?
Jonathan:for sure. No, no shortages of great places and great things to do. So last question for you both going back to business, you know, what is the one thing that you would say is the most important thing you've learned over the years? And if somebody were coming to you trying to get in the business or wanting your advice what is the one piece of business advice that you would pass along to the next generation who wanted to follow in your footsteps? What is the most important thing for them to, to do or not do?
Kristan and Lana:Well, it's two parts. One is get involved in every anything and everything. That's just going to build you as a person, as a brand. And also, that's also going to grow your capacity. So never stop growing. You know, never stop learning, never stop staying in front of people and knowing what the trends are. As soon as you stop, you stop. So that would be me.
Jonathan:That's great.
Kristan and Lana:That's a hard question. There's so many things. I would probably say, which has not been my model lately, but say yes. So, especially if there's like, you know, they're younger, they're coming up or not even young, but I've seen people that, you know, just transition and decided to go into the hospitality or food and beverage or industry. Is just say yes to opportunities. If they ask you to work this event or ask you to show up here, just do it because you never know what you're going to get out of it. I mean, there's some events and networking events where I'm like, I don't know if we're going to, you know, meet anybody or if there's going to be a lot of people there, but then you go and you're like, even if you meet one person, you know, and you get their contact, you never know what that per who that person knows or what they're involved in, you know? So I would say just, you know, Say yes to opportunities that come because sometimes when you miss out, you know, you never know what that could have led to maybe down the road or in years or whatnot.
Jonathan:Yeah, no, I think that's great advice. Certainly for somebody kind of getting going and yeah, getting involved, making those connections. It's all about the networking and you know, how you can connect those dots to make things happen. So certainly agree. Well, thank you both for being here. I certainly appreciate it. Thanks to Kristen Williams and Lana O'Neill from Imagine Venue. Yeah, I'm going to do that over again. Hang on. Let me pause that. can, we can fix anything in post. So many thanks to my guests today, Kristen Williams and Lana O'Neill from Imagine Venues. Of course, many thanks always to the Houston Hospitality Alliance for continuing to connect, educate, promote, and advocate for the entire Houston hospitality community. You can get more information on the HHA at www. houstonhospitalityalliance. com. Please join us next time as we continue to explore the people and the businesses behind Houston's amazingly diverse hospitality industry. Thank you both again for being here.
