General Manager at The Holiday Inn Resort South Padre Island, Rene Valdez, first visited the island with his family and later moved to SPI from San Antonio.
Valdez currently sits as the General Manager (GM) at The Holiday Inn Resort South Padre Island and serves on the City of South Padre Island's Conventions & Visitors Advisory Board (CVAB).
Aspiring to be an elementary school teacher, Valdez found a job as a kid's camp director in 2001 at the Sheraton Hotel (The Pearl) while he finished school at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
Soon his career in hotel management would take off, promotion after promotion. "Then I realized how much I can make in the hotel business versus being a teacher."
As a GM, Valdez pays attention to the future. "We're trying to do 3-6 months out or longer. I manage people, the employees, the guests. We hope everything goes well with the guests, but sometimes it doesn't, so we have to manage that."
The off-season can make revenue for hotels tricky, but Valdez says that's why the hotel is constantly booking events. "The island is seasonal depending on how long you've been here." This summer, he looks forward to a mini-concert series at the Holiday Inn with locally known artists and artists from Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.
When he isn't working, he enjoys golfing, spending time with his kids, and watching movies.