The Reno Sparks-Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) board on Thursday gave CEO Phil DeLone a glowing review for meeting goals and awarded him a 10 percent raise and a bonus.
DeLone started at the RSCVA in January 2017 making a base salary of $250,000 but his contract said he could earn up to 40 percent—equal to $100,000—of his salary as a performance bonus.
RSCVA legal counsel Molly Reza reminded the board that tourism agencies of similar sizes pay their CEOs between $350,000 and $550,000 with an up to 20 percent bonus.
“In the negotiation process, the board determined a lower salary with a higher bonus eligibility would create proper incentive for our CEO,” Reza said.
The 10 percent merit increase was retroactive to July 1. Reza said other RSCVA staff have been receiving between a 3 and 9 percent merit and cost-of-living increase annually. DeLone hadn’t received a raise or review since he began as CEO.
“The (personnel) committee thought the increase would align with what had been provided to other staff members,” Reza said.
DeLone’s priorities for the RSCVA centered around visitation/destination awareness, direct room night growth, efficiency of facilities, and organizational sustainability. Examples of goals, which were all achieved during the 2018 fiscal year, included the following:
- Exceeded 1.2 million room nights from the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle markets
- Produced 260,000 future room nights via meetings, conventions, trade show, and sporting event sales
- Maintained high ratings for client satisfaction
- Achieved board approval of a facilities management contract
- Maintained a 55 percent margin for last year’s budget
Board members noted the majority of DeLone’s evaluation wasn’t subjective.
“Most of this was mathematical and that speaks volumes,” said Rick Murdoch, Eldorado Resorts vice president of sales and marketing. “We’re seeing results, so what else is there to say?”
DeLone thanked the board and the community for its support.
“Thank you for the direction and thank you for letting us do our jobs effectively,” DeLone said. “We really appreciate that.”
Moving forward, RSCVA officials said DeLone is expected to receive his annual review upon completion of each fiscal year, which is from July 1 to June 30.
