A conversation with Meredith Dollevoet of Cartersville Museum City
Meredith Dollevoet has enjoyed a long career in events and tourism, advancing from front-desk clerk to director of sales for a hotel in Wisconsin. After moving to Georgia, she continued working in similar roles for hotels, including contract work and opening Courtyard by Marriott Cartersville. Dollevoet fell in love with the area, its people, and the CVB—and created a proposal of how she could help the CVB grow.
Now, as director of sales for Cartersville Museum City, Dollevoet wears many hats. “I don’t see it as selling,” she says. “I promote Cartersville and Bartow County and its attractions, connect planners with the partners who fit their needs and goals, educate local partners on how to work and connect with visitors, and create ways to enhance the visitor experience. I enjoy it because each aspect is different and keeps me continuously engaged.”
Here, Dollevoet shares how relationships shape her work at Cartersville Museum City and help bring meetings and events to Cartersville.
What makes Cartersville a great destination for meetings and events?
Cartersville/Bartow County is a great destination for a variety of reasons, but two main reasons are location and unique venues. Located on I-75 between Atlanta and Chattanooga, it is easily accessible and perfect for regional meetings.
Cartersville’s main event venues, Clarence Brown Conference Center and LakePoint Sports Complex, see millions of visitors annually who drive economic impact and spending throughout our community. In addition, Cartersville has three incredible museums: Booth Western Art Museum, Savoy Automobile Museum, and Tellus Science Museum—all providing a unique atmosphere to enhance any event, whether it’s a reception amid Western art sculptures, networking while viewing automotive masterpieces, or dining beneath an 80-foot dinosaur.
Also, Barnsley Resort, located on 3,000 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, offers unique event spaces where groups can connect and be inspired, with breathtaking landscapes, cottages and guest rooms, a variety of restaurants featuring creative menus, and myriad activities to enhance any program. No matter how often I go to Barnsley Resort, I always leave refreshed and inspired.
What is your approach to building and maintaining relationships with event planners?
Being genuine and listening to event planners are key to building and maintaining relationships. If you don’t listen, you will never truly understand what they want—which isn’t just meeting space and guest rooms. Going the extra mile is also key. To me, the tourism and hospitality industries are synonymous. You can bring visitors to your destination any day, but if they don’t experience the hospitality or don’t feel welcome, they won’t return.
How does your relationship with planners help bring new and repeat events to Cartersville?
Trust is the key to any relationship. Planners need to trust that my partners and I will deliver what they need and that their guests will be well taken care of. Trust isn’t built overnight; it is a process that requires patience and work. While it is nice when it happens, I don’t go to a conference or trade show expecting to leave with instant business. Once trust is built, the events will happen.
In your experience, what is most essential in the CVB-planner relationship throughout the planning process?
Communication, collaboration, and flexibility are also important—and they are a two-way street. There is a give-and-take between both parties to ensure a successful event and relationship.
What might planners do differently that would better equip CVBs to assist them in working with local suppliers?
I have learned so much from planners throughout my years, especially when doing contract work. They are moving in multiple directions at any given time, and CVBs are here to help them. Share as many details as possible with CVBs and trust them to create itineraries and be their liaison with the suppliers. Ultimately, it will save planners so much time, which is priceless.
In what areas could CVBs focus their efforts on strengthening planner relationships?
CVBs need to focus on the big picture when strengthening planner relationships. This is why I work to promote collaboration with other destinations, especially when attending trade shows in other states. We all can’t accommodate every event or give all planners what they need. By partnering, sharing ideas, and working together for the overall betterment of the industry and the events, everyone wins.
How do you see the CVB-planner relationship changing in the coming years?
I saw a major shift in these relationships from when I left the industry to raise my children and when I returned. There are fewer local planners and more outsourcing now, which can make it more challenging to connect. Everyone seems to have more responsibilities as well, which means less time for those connections. I can’t predict the future, but, as we continue to find more efficient ways of working and as technology is more and more integrated into our daily lives, I hope we continue to understand the value of real connections and relationships.
