What Do You Do When Summer Stops Selling?
For decades, summer was San Antonio’s tourism bread and butter. So what changed?
Forbes recently named San Antonio one of the worst cities for summer travel. And if you’ve been in hotel management here over the last few years, that probably doesn’t surprise you.
I spent years managing revenue for a luxury hotels in San Antonio, and summer used to be our high-occupancy tourism season—filled with families road-tripping from Dallas, Houston, and West Texas. Sure, it wasn’t our highest-rate period, but it was a dependable stretch of strong demand. Until it wasn’t.
The Heat is More Than a Talking Point
Over the last four years, our summer drive market softened significantly. And in my view, it's simple: when you're sweating through 100+ degree days in Houston or Dallas, you're not looking to vacation in another sweltering city. You want cool mountain mornings. Ocean breezes. Some kind of reprieve. And San Antonio just doesn’t offer that in July.
I brought this up a lot—internally, strategically, defensively. I even tried running correlations between temperature and occupancy. It’s tough to isolate. But anyone who’s ever planned a vacation while standing in the Texas sun knows: extreme heat changes behavior.
So, What Do You Do When the Heat Wins?
We couldn’t move the city or change the forecast. But we could do this: make the hotel the destination.
Here’s what we activated inside the hotel walls:
La Petite Chef immersive dining experience
Family swim time in the morning with kid friendly games and treats, DJ in the afternoon with amazing themed cocktails to cool off
Culinary classes and speaker events
Rotating local art exhibits and cultural programming
Indoor scavenger hunts for families
Lobby pop-ups with unique retail and food offerings
A custom artisan ice cream cart with weekly flavors created by our pastry chef
Rooftop games and evening activations when the sun dipped and it felt a little more bearable
Board games available at the front desk for use in guest rooms or throughout the hotel
Daily “surprise and delight” food and beverage moments, created by our chefs and paired with a signature cocktail designed by our bartenders—small, simple, and completely memorable
We used every space we had and leaned into in-place entertainment—a strategy that positioned the hotel as a staycation-style escape for locals and drive-market guests who didn’t want to wander far from the A/C.
The Real Differentiator? Service Culture
All these activations gave us something new to market—but more importantly, they gave us new ways to connect. Each experience was a chance to build emotional loyalty.
We trained our team to see these moments not as transactions, but as invitations.
When a server remembered your favorite ice cream flavor.
When a front desk associate offered you a board game to take back to your room.
When a bartender shared the backstory of a cocktail pairing you weren’t expecting—those were the kinds of connections that made people feel cared for.
And maybe most importantly: every single employee had something meaningful to invite guests to.
That made it easier to recover from service hiccups. It gave staff confidence. And it helped our entire team build human connection—the kind that leads to five-star reviews and return bookings.
Storytelling Was the Marketing Strategy
The real secret to all of this? We didn’t just do things—we told stories about them.
In a summer season where everyone is saying, “It’s too hot,” we got to say, “Come experience this.”
We highlighted the ice cream cart on social. We told stories about our culinary team’s spontaneous creations. We created a rhythm to our content that reflected what was happening in the hotel, and used that as the foundation for paid ads, press pitches, and internal talking points.
It worked. These stories built intrigue, sparked word-of-mouth, and gave potential guests a reason to book—because they could picture themselves doing something, experiencing something, not just checking into a room.
When your programming is strong and consistent, storytelling becomes natural. And when storytelling is prioritized in marketing, people stop scrolling and start considering.
If You’re in Hospitality (or Any Seasonal Business), Here’s What I’d Ask:
Have your core demand patterns shifted because of factors outside your control?
Can you reframe your offering as an indoor experience, a respite, or a curated escape?
Are you training your team to create moments of human connection—not just service?
Are your marketing channels telling compelling, specific stories—not just listing amenities?
You can’t always fix the macro problems. But you can create loyalty with the people who do walk through your doors—and give them something worth sharing.
And if you’re in San Antonio, don’t take this Forbes list personally. Take it as a cue to innovate.
→ Want help rethinking your activation strategy, storytelling, or service culture training?
