Patti Roscoe Networks Her Way in Leadership Ranks of Hospitality
Seated in her office, facing a desk stacked with committee work folders and business papers, Patti Roscoe is explaining part of her philosophy.
“Life is timing, and you create your own karma,” Roscoe says.
“Life is what you make it and if you screw up,” she continues with a rueful laugh, “it’s probably your fault.”
On a similar note, if you get it right, you might just develop a reputation for being tenacious, organized, an entrepreneur, and a born leader.
Those are a few of the words friends and colleagues use to describe Roscoe, chairwoman and founder of the San Diego firm PRA Destination Management.
At 57, Roscoe has risen from being a hotel general manager’s secretary in the ’60s to becoming what many consider to be a heavyweight in San Diego’s business world and beyond it. In May, trade magazine Successful Meetings named Roscoe among 10 female “Power Players” in the industry.
Taking Charge
Among Roscoe’s responsibilities is overseeing the four PRA offices she owns, which had total gross sales of $20 million last year, she says.
Also on Roscoe’s plate is her company’s burgeoning franchise operations, and a slew of leadership positions.
Among them is heading the annual military celebration, Fleet Week San Diego, which starts Oct. 12.
“There are only a very few people in San Diego who have the professionalism and the leadership to be able to manage Fleet Week,” said Joe Craver, chairman of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, who asked Roscoe.
“She is one of my heroes,” Craver said. “She is a great, great lady.”
Roscoe’s goals for her Fleet Week role were finding ways to involve the entire county in the event and having events that recognized all of San Diego’s enlisted military personnel, she says.
On another level, she also wanted to examine the entire event’s organizational structure to see if it could be expanded to involve more volunteers and additional committees. It’s about bringing more people’s strengths to the table, Roscoe says.
Roscoe herself wields an impressive amount of muscle, says Joyce Gattas.
When Gattas, dean of SDSU’s College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts, brought Roscoe in to help spearhead industry involvement with the university’s new hospitality and tourism program, she again saw her friend in action.
Gets The Ball Rolling
Roscoe quickly pulled together an advisory board with members in high levels of the hospitality industry, Gattas says. Roscoe also propelled the development of the program, helping to present the ideas to local hotelier Bob Payne, before he decided to donate $1.1 million in seed money.
Most people in San Diego’s business community answer Roscoe with affirmatives, Gattas says.
“As many of us say, ‘You don’t say no to Patti when she asks you to do something,'” Gattas says. “She’s been good to people all the way through her career and those people have not forgotten her goodness to them, and now they’re all part of her network when she needs support or she needs to get something done.”
Roscoe’s work ethic was instilled early in her upbringing. Born to working-class parents , her Irish father was a bus driver and her Italian mother was a waitress , Roscoe grew up having to earn her own money.
By age 10, she was baby-sitting and at age 14 she began working afternoons and weekends at a neighborhood Dairy Queen.
Although she was a top student, Roscoe couldn’t afford to attend college. However, a local TV station recruited Roscoe. By the end of her five years there, the then-24-year-old was in middle management.
S.D. On The Horizon
However, she and her then-husband had San Diego in their sights. Roscoe had visited as a teen. They moved to the city in 1966. It was a difficult place to find a management position in local media, she says.
She ended up in the hospitality industry, a secretary at what was then called Vacation Village, which has since become San Diego Paradise Point Resort at Mission Bay.
It was there Roscoe met general manager Martin Blatt, for whom she eventually became executive assistant.
From Blatt, Roscoe learned about hotel operations and the hospitality business.
After two years of travel, Roscoe was hired as executive secretary to the general manager of another Mission Bay hotel, the Islandia.
When the hotel was purchased and became the Hyatt Regency Islandia, executives who were making changes were often referred to her if they had any questions.
Promoted
They eventually asked her about how she knew so much, and from there promoted her to manage the hotel’s front office.
It was her first major challenge, Roscoe recalls. She dealt with a cross-section of demographics and perspectives, she says.
Reluctant to do the moving required to prosper in the hotel business, Roscoe was hired to manage the first U.S. office of a Brazil-based destination management company, which had recently moved into the Islandia.
Roscoe didn’t have much experience in destination management, and was flown several times to Brazil to be trained.
“It’s not a complicated business, but it’s complicated to run well,” she says.
At the time, the destination management industry was more developed in South America, Europe and other countries, and was in its embryonic stages in the United States.
In 1981, Roscoe’s company was sold. Two of her clients suggested she go out on her own.
Opens New Business
After taking out a $95,000 loan, Roscoe opened her own destination management business that April. By December, she had five employees, and in 1983, the company had annual sales of $1 million.
By 1984, she had offices in Orange County and Los Angeles, and a second in San Diego.
There are now franchises in seven cities, including Palm Springs, Chicago, New York, San Antonio and Scottsdale, Ariz., and expansion plans involve opening four to six franchises a year.
Developing and maintaining good relationships with the various suppliers, whether shuttle companies or restaurants, remains all important, Roscoe says.
When everything has to taste good, look good, sound good and smell good, and be on time, it’s not easy.
“We’re a tough client, but I think we’re fair,” Roscoe says. “The one thing we do in this business is have fun. If you can’t have fun, you’ll crack up.”
One of the most important things they do is connect with the client before the event, and be sure to let them know as soon as possible if a problem comes up, Roscoe says.
Making Connections
From her time working with Martin Blatt, she learned the strong points of working with professional and community organizations. She’s done it throughout her 20-plus years in destination management.
Roscoe is a past chairwoman of the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, and currently has positions on the boards of San Diego National Bank, San Diego International Sports Council, Mercy Hospital, the county’s Hotel-Motel Association, the YWCA and other groups.
It’s only because of the competency of her PRA team that she can step back from constantly working on the business and put so much time into the outside work, Roscoe says.
“My job now is to keep the PRA name out there, and keep the image and the brand strong,” she says.
Community involvement is also a way for Roscoe to expand her own personal interests. “I wanted to learn more,” she says.
It’s also made for invaluable business contacts, Roscoe says. “Let’s say an international or national association comes to town,” she says. “Chances are, I know the local people.”
Reint Reinders, ConVis president and CEO, considers Roscoe emblematic of San Diego’s visitor industry.
“In a way, it’s kind of a scrappy business where people start small businesses and, through their scrappiness and hard work, grow their businesses,” Reinders says.
Of Roscoe, he remarks, “She has kept her eye on the ball and she has very much responded by hiring the right people, taking care of them, and taking care of her customers. As simple as that sounds, that’s a formula for success.”
He continues: “I’ve always been very impressed and appreciative of her involvement in so many different projects and worthwhile community projects. She cares, and she’s just someone who gets involved and someone who makes it happen. We just don’t have enough people like Patti around.”
