William Adams, a 20-year veteran at destination marketing organizations, used to quietly look on in awe at the achievements of Experience Columbus.
“The city has quietly flown under the radar for years, but that’s changing,” Adams said.
He hopes to be part of the continued expansion of the Ohio capital. In September, Adams left his post as director of convention sales at Destination DC to become Experience Columbus’ new chief sales officer.
Previous career stops included the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Visit Norfolk, Visit Syracuse and Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County.
“I have the opportunity to put myself in the path of progress,” Adams said. “If you see the trajectory that Columbus is on, and the excitement and enthusiasm that those who work and live in Columbus have, you can’t help but to be excited as well.”
In 2024, visitors made more than 53 million trips to Greater Columbus for conventions, trade shows, sporting events and leisure visits, spending $8.2 billion and supporting more than 82,500 jobs.
“It’s not just about heads in beds,” he said. “It’s about the impact visitor spending has on small, local businesses and the impact groups have on our city when they give back through their service projects and philanthropic donations to local nonprofits.”
Building Bridges
Assuming a prominent position in a thriving DMO requires doing the very thing that’s made Experience Columbus a hot spot for events: building relationships.
Adams leads a team of 16 salespeople, including team members stationed in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, two major hubs for destination visitors.
Activations are a key to connecting with staff and clients. Two noteworthy successes Adams points to are:
- A Halloween-themed luncheon for clients in Chicago that highlighted the “Get Goosebumps in Columbus” campaign, a nod to Goosebumps author R.L. Stine’s hometown of Columbus.
- A pickleball event the DMO hosted in partnership with PCMA, drawing attention to the 2025 Major League Pickleball champions, the Columbus Sliders.
To maintain staff teamwork and loyalty, Experience Columbus has team members participate in industry conferences, programs like Leadership Columbus and national boards. The DMO also hosts “Development Days” to align on goals, build connections and get out into the community. Past examples have included tours of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum and Huntington Park, the home of the Columbus Clippers minor league baseball team.
Other significant perks include unlimited sick time, a wellness program with coaching and activities, a Lifestyle Spending Account as well as 14 weeks of parental leave, paid caregiver leave and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Program.
Spilling Secrets
As Adams noted, Columbus is working to shift from being an unexpectedly strong host city to being recognized outright as a premier destination for events.Hosting familiarization trips and maintaining a strong presence at industry events are two primary tools.
Notably, the DMO’s booth at PCMA Convening Leaders was called “Our Lips Aren’t Sealed. Let us tell you about Columbus.” The activation highlighted three locally based companies: Mukha Custom Cosmetics, Glenn Avenue Soap Company and Bath & Body Works.
Attendees were invited to, “Come discover why you should kiss the ordinary goodbye and plan your event in Columbus!” and enjoyed a distinctive experience on the trade show floor. The lip bar booth was a strong showcase, Adams said.
More than 660 people, representing half of all business event organizers in attendance, visited the booth and engaged with the giveaway, which included lip scrubs, custom lip gloss and lip masks. All 1,140 products brought to the show were distributed, and the booth design earned a Gold Hermes Creative Award.
The destination has also done well hosting industry events, including ASAE in 2019 and PCMA Convening Leaders in 2023. The impact of ASAE, the trade show for association executives, was massive:
- 5,476 people attended
- $16 million in economic impact
- 81% of attendees had never held a meeting in Columbus
- 600 community volunteers filled 1,000 shifts
- $30,188 was raised for local charities
Meanwhile, ASAE has already announced it will return to Columbus for its 2030 Annual Meeting & Exposition. The event is expected to bring in $8.1 million in direct visitor spending.
“We are known for being a collaborative, hands-on partner that rolls out the red carpet for attendees,” said Adams.
Hosting planners puts the spotlight on Columbus’ eclectic neighborhoods, including the German Village. The trips also put in perspective the city’s ease to navigate. More than 100 restaurants are located steps from the convention center and nearby hotels, Adams noted.
Speaking of, the Greater Columbus Convention Center features 373,000 square feet of exhibit space, 75 meeting rooms and three ballrooms, and connects to 2,700 hotel rooms.
New and upcoming developments include:
- The Merchant Building next to the famed North Market. The project, set to debut in 2026, will include a new 162-room lifestyle hotel with meeting space.
- Development of a new $2 billion terminal at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, set to open in 2029 for the airport’s 100th anniversary.
- Phase one of The Capital Line, a nearly $100 million biking and hiking project, is also underway.
It’s little wonder Adams jumped on the Columbus bandwagon.
“The opportunity to engage this community and do my part to help Columbus realize its full potential is why I am so excited for this opportunity,” he said. “I’m not someone who will watch this progress from afar, I will live in this city and immerse myself in its culture.”
