Women Making an Impact in San Antonio’s Hospitality Leadership

According to the San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association, hospitality is the third largest industry in San Antonio, representing $16.2 billion annually in economic impact to San Antonio. One of every eight individuals in San Antonio is employed in the hotel industry.

Historically, women have filled the bulk of hourly positions in the hospitality industry, while leadership roles have been traditionally male-dominated. Those trends are starting to change, as evidenced by a May 2023 study conducted by The Penn State School of Hospitality Management, the 2023 Women in Hospitality research report. The report assesses the state of women’s representation in leadership in the hotel industry. Findings show women’s advancement to executive-level roles in 2022 was steady, yet slow.

The study’s key findings include:

• Representation of women at the top levels of hospitality leadership continues to increase, with women making modest gains at the CEO and president levels.

• Women now hold one in four of all chief-level positions at hotel companies, concentrated primarily in human resources and sales/marketing roles.

• At the director level, women and men now occupy an equal number of positions.

The San Antonio hospitality industry reflects these findings, with women continuing to advance into management roles. Read on to meet four of these dynamic local hotel leaders.

By Blithe Wiley | Photography by David Teran