Sept. 18–A group of exploration geophysicists will begin moving exhibits into the George R. Brown Convention Center on Tuesday, just days after the last Hurricane Harvey evacuee left the building. Meanwhile, a gathering of meeting planners will wrap up a successful event at the Marriott Marquis across the street, a feat one official called "incredible."
The conventions — the first major ones in Houston since Harvey's historic flooding — show the city survived the initial threat to its growing convention business despite despairing national news coverage that lasted for days. In the end, not a single scheduled show canceled, said Mike Waterman, president of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
That includes 11 groups the bureau persuaded to keep their commitments with an onslaught of personal assurances that Houston's convention center could pivot back to business after providing shelter to more than 10,000 displaced people. By keeping those meetings on the books, officials managed to save some $50 million in hotel, food and beverage and transportation revenue, Waterman said.
The first group to commit was the Texas Society of Association Executives. The group arrived on Sunday for its New Ideas Annual Conference and also to test Houston for future events and conventions.
"We are the pickiest of the picky," executive director Steven Stout said. "So for them to be brave enough to have our meeting, while they're going through the rebuilding phase, is incredible."
As images of Hurricane Harvey swept the nation, Stout was sent Facebook Live videos of the Marriott Marquis lobby and meeting spaces and the undamaged convention center as well as a time-lapse video of the drive from Hobby Airport to the hotel. Convention officials offered to fly Stout to Houston so he could see the venues himself.
When the Texas Society of Association Executives agreed not to back out, other events kept their dates, too, Waterman said.
"That was really the first domino that fell in our favor," he said.
'You guys can do it all'
As the convention business picked back up in Houston, the shelter at the George R. Brown started winding down.
Over the weekend, the Red Cross moved more than 500 people to a Houston Community College warehouse in south Houston and 159 others to the Chinese Community Center in southwest Houston.
The city, meanwhile, transferred some 200 people to a longer-term facility at the former Star of Hope shelter on Emancipation Avenue.
The George R. Brown shelter officially closed Sunday evening.
The journey had been surreal for Waterman, who watched the center's evacuee population peak at 10,300 on the Tuesday after Harvey's landfall. Houston First Corp. employees at the George R. Brown, volunteers and the Red Cross served thousands of meals.
The convention center staff, practiced at remaking a room, were able to transition sections back into a convention center as evacuees found housing elsewhere.
"We turn that facility frequently," Waterman said. "We have to because we have to maximize that building. So that's a regular occurrence for the staff there."
Don Knox is managing director of Colorado-based Civica Associations, Conferences & Exhibitions — an organization that is hired to run the day-to-day operations for nonprofits — and was impressed by Houston's ability to both house evacuees and host conventions.
"You guys can do it all," Knox said. "You can shelter people and still be open for your own hospitality."
As the 540 convention attendees walked across a sky bridge connecting the Marriott Marquis to the George R. Brown, he said the Houston First employees applauded in appreciation. They clapped and cheered as the group walked through the convention center, downstairs and to dinner outside the building.
"We have 140,000 hospitality employees," Waterman said. "They need businesses to come to Houston."
Waterman touts two ways of helping the city: Make a donation or bring conventions, businesses and meetings to Houston. It gives hospitality workers hours and paychecks.
Still, Waterman and others recognize that parts of Houston will take months or years to recover. The George R. Brown shelter may have closed, but roughly 3,000 area residents are still living in emergency shelters.
A shelter at NRG Center operated by the local nonprofit BakerRipley remains the city's largest, with about 2,100 people living there Sunday night. That facility is slated to close Saturday.
"The shelter was supposed to be just like the GRB — it's a temporary solution to disaster," BakerRipley spokeswoman Frida Villalobos said, adding that relocation plans were a "work in progress."
The Red Cross, meanwhile, did not specify closing dates for its remaining Houston-area shelters.
"This is a fluid situation, and it's hard to offer a closing date," spokeswoman MaryJane Mudd said in an email. "Our goal is to help everyone with their recovery planning, so they can take the next step in the recovery process, whether that is returning to their own home or finding longer term, transitional housing."
'Houston is open'
Pictures of submerged infrastructure still have the potential to hurt Houston's image over the long term. But Patrick Jankowski, senior vice president of research for the Greater Houston Partnership, thinks the positive stories of people helping people will have more staying power.
"I think the world saw what people in Houston really are like," Jankowski said.
"The largest most catastrophic storm in the history of the United States hit Houston three weeks ago," added Waterman, of the convention bureau. "And because the way Houston is designed, because of the spirit of this city, the convention business is back up and running without any cancellations."
Stout, with the Texas Society of Association Executives, said he met friendly concierges, saw a taco festival in Discovery Green and marveled at people kayaking at Kinder Lake.
"I want to spread the message that Houston is open," Stout said.
