Just one day before Women’s Day, Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria and Holiday Inn Manila Galleria made a fitting move by appointing Mrs. Patria Puyat as their first female General Manager. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Mrs. Puyat joins the team after leading as the head matriarch of Crowne Plaza Vientiane in Laos.
“I am proud to have been with the InterContinental Hotels Group for over twenty years. The brand has been part of my childhood. And that’s where I started my career in hospitality as a Sales Coordinator at the InterContinental Hotel Manila,” Mrs. Puyat fondly recalls. Her ingenuity, both from her innate creativity and Les Roches International School of Hotel Management education, was demonstrated time and again as a young hotelier. She left the Philippines in 2001, and she always made sure to go back but in 2009 she decided to really see what a career overseas would take her.
When she left the country to lead hospitality professionals in Vietnam, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. Dubai played a pivotal role in Patria’s journey to the top. She shares, “Being a Filipina leader among Middle Eastern men and European women meant I had to work harder than anyone in the room! But it all paid off when I finally broke the glass ceiling and became the Pre-Opening General Manager of Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City.”
Mrs. Puyat’s outstanding contribution to the Filipino community has been recognized on numerous occasions. One such recognition came in 2017 when she was named Hospitality Professional of the Year by a premier award-giving body that honors Filipinos in the UAE for their exemplary work in their respective fields. Despite her numerous accolades, Mrs. Puyat finds fulfillment in giving back to the community. She proudly shares how her time in Laos was closest to her heart, where she taught adolescent girls livelihood skills to empower them to choose their own futures.
The pandemic and distance did not stop this executive from imparting her knowledge and expertise to the next generation of hospitality professionals in the Philippines. As a lecturer at the Enderun Colleges, she continued to nurture and educate despite the challenges.
Now, Mrs. Puyat returns to the Philippines with the same passion and energy that have fueled her throughout her career. As she takes on the role of General Manager for Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Manila Galleria, she lives by three guiding principles: gratitude, respect, and trust. Her brand of leadership is sure to lead the iconic hospitality properties in the heart of Ortigas Center to new heights.