Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria welcomes first female GM

A DAY before Women’s Day on March 8, Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria and Holiday Inn Manila Galleria aptly welcomed Patria Puyat as its very first female general manager.

She brings with her over three decades of industry experience, most recently as the head matriarch of Crowne Plaza Vientiane in Laos.

“I am proud to have been with the InterContinental Hotels Group for over 20 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,” she fondly recalled.

Her ingenuity, both from her innate creativity and Les Roches education, was demonstrated time and again as a young hotelier. She left the Philippines in 2001, and she always made sure to come back, but in 2009 she decided to really see what a career overseas would take her.

She left to lead hospitality professionals in Vietnam, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai played a pivotal role in her journey to the top.

“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,” she shared.

Amid various accolades and commendations, Puyat finds fulfillment in giving back. She considers her time in Laos as closest to her heart. At home, she taught at the Enderun Colleges as a lecturer imparting 30 years’ worth of knowledge and expertise to hospitality students in the Philippines.

She remarked that there are three guiding principles that she lives by: “Gratitude. Respect. Trust.”

Truly, it is through this brand of leadership that Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Manila Galleria shall conquer new heights with her at the helm.