Episode 429: Tyler Rizzo talks about bridging finance and operations, not chasing expensive pennies, and avoiding the doom spiral
Description
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Tyler Rizzo is the Vice President of Finance at COTALAND. Growing up in Central Florida, he got his start in attractions at Busch Gardens Tampa, then earned a hospitality management degree at UCF’s Rosen College before moving from front-of-house operations into analytics at SeaWorld, revenue analytics at Cedar Fair, and leadership roles spanning analytics and food and beverage. He later consulted at Storyland Studios on pre-concept through opening projects. Today, he’s helping launch COTALAND in Austin, a dense 30-acre park with about 30 rides built alongside Circuit of the Americas, home to the F1 United States Grand Prix. In this interview, Tyler talks about bridging finance and operations, not chasing expensive pennies, and avoiding the doom spiral.
Bridging finance and operations
“I’ve kind of always treated it like an improv group; you never say no.”
Tyler explains that finance succeeds when it partners with operators rather than policing them. He emphasizes open lines of communication, involving department heads in decisions, and never blindsiding colleagues with a spreadsheet they’ve never seen. He also stresses getting into the field, noting how proximity to the park at SeaWorld helped finance teams “walk the walk,” hear guests on rides, and translate spreadsheet cells into real experiences.
That frontline credibility matters. Having carried a radio and worked the fryer, he says operators trust guidance from someone who has lived their constraints. Seasonality, hours of operation, and the realities of running rides and restaurants don’t always show up in a model. By pairing operational tacit knowledge with analytics, Tyler builds plans that are both tight on paper and resilient in practice.
Not chasing expensive pennies
“I’ve had multiple times throughout my career where we chased expensive pennies.”
Tyler cautions against over-correcting for small losses without weighing the bigger picture. He uses examples like shrink in retail or food waste in fries: quantification is essential, but so is the cost-benefit analysis of fixes. If moving T-shirts indoors to cut theft chokes visibility and sales, or new security costs exceed the recovered margin, the “savings” are illusory.
He extends this thinking to the industry’s top- versus bottom-line focus. Cutting hours or labor can protect a quarter, but erode perceived value and long-term revenue. He contrasts firms that invest in people and guest experience with those making knee-jerk reductions, arguing that sustainable performance comes from meeting or exceeding value expectations, not just trimming expense lines.
Avoiding the doom spiral
“The easy button is to absolutely reduce hours, reduce labor, those start to become expensive pennies though when you’re losing your core market.”
When attendance dips, slashing staffing may seem prudent, but Tyler warns it can trigger a negative loop: thinner teams degrade service, which depresses visits further. His advice is to evaluate and realign the product’s value proposition to what guests expect in that market, then execute consistently over time rather than relying on short-term cuts.
He notes this discipline is hardest when micro results are choppy, yet it’s precisely when conviction matters. Whether for a single FEC or a multi-park operator, recovery hinges on a clear multi-year plan rooted in core hospitality, supported by data, and adapted through continuous testing of operating models, pricing, and offerings without sacrificing the guest experience.
To learn more about COTALAND, visit cotaland.com. To reach Tyler directly, connect with him on LinkedIn.
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