Dear TPID Participants,
Spring in San Antonio marked an exciting season for the hospitality industry as we welcomed families and leisure travelers from across Texas and beyond to experience all that our city has to offer. As previously disclosed by Mario Bass, President and CEO for Visit San Antonio, spring break brought new and fresh energy along with strong numbers in occupancy, surpassing major cities within the state of Texas. We appreciate all our hoteliers who helped create memorable experiences for our visitors. For a more detailed overview of spring break performance and business activity, please see the Sales Section of this newsletter.
We are also excited to welcome The Monarch San Antonio, Curio Collection by Hilton, to our destination portfolio. Located in the heart of the city’s urban core, this exceptional new property adds 200 luxury rooms and suites to San Antonio’s hospitality offering and further strengthens our ability to compete for meetings, conventions, and high-value leisure travel. Investments like these continue to elevate our destination and support long-term growth across the industry.
A key priority for Q3 is the ongoing Tourism Public Improvement District (TPID) reauthorization process. Petitions are currently in the process of distribution by Visit San Antonio to all hotels within the City of San Antonio with 100 rooms or more. Individuals authorized to execute the TPID petition on behalf of a hotel property include the property owner, General Manager, Regional Manager, or an employee of a management company responsible for overseeing hotel operations.
Visit San Antonio remains in the early stages of reauthorization discussions with the City of San Antonio and continues to work collaboratively with stakeholders to support the long-term success and sustainability of the program. Upcoming milestones include the anticipated City Council reauthorization presentation and approval scheduled for September, which will determine the continuation of the district. As part of the proposed reauthorization, an assessment rate of 2% is being recommended. We kindly ask that authorized representatives be on the lookout for these materials and return executed petitions at their earliest convenience.
Summer is right around the corner, and we are well-positioned to capitalize on the season ahead. The TPID Board recently approved an additional $350,000 in funding to help drive improved summer performance and visitation results. We also encourage all partners to take advantage of the opportunity to submit summer-themed packages, offers, experiences, promotions, and events to participate in the upcoming summer marketing campaign: Endless. Refreshing. Unmistakably San Antonio. Please see the Marketing Section for additional details and participation opportunities.
Let’s continue the momentum from the spring into the summer and build on the strong foundation we have created together. Through continued collaboration, strategic investment, and unified support of the TPID reauthorization process, we can further strengthen San Antonio’s position as a premier destination for leisure travel, meetings, and conventions. I look forward to all that we will accomplish together in the months ahead.
All the best,
Benito Villarreal
SATPID Chair
DESTINATION SALES
During FY26 Q2, the team continued to make strong progress toward annual sales and booking goals, achieving 189 event bookings and generating 999 qualified leads. Additionally, 11 citywide events were booked during the quarter, contributing to long-term destination impact and economic development efforts. These efforts resulted in 222,843 room nights booked and 84,148 short-term room nights secured, keeping the organization on pace toward annual FY26 goals across all major performance categories.
The team also maintained a strong industry presence by representing San Antonio at several key conferences and networking events throughout the quarter, including PCMA Convening Leaders in Philadelphia, RCMA Emerge in Lexington, the Transforming Leaders Event in Austin, and Connect Spring Marketplace in Louisville. Participation in these events provided valuable opportunities to strengthen industry relationships, promote San Antonio as a premier meetings and conventions destination, and generate future business opportunities through direct engagement with planners and partners. Overall, the quarter’s results reflect continued momentum in sales outreach, client engagement, and strategic booking efforts designed to drive future visitation and hotel demand for San Antonio.
| FY26 Goal | Q1 FY26 | % to Goal | |
| Event Bookings | 800 | 189 | 59% |
| Leads Generated | 3,600 | 999 | 50% |
| Citywide Events Booked | 75 | 11 | 46% |
| Room Nights | 950,000 | 222,843 | 50% |
| Short Term Room Nights Booked | 288,000 | 84,184 | 56% |
This chart above is a comparison of occupancies year over year of our Spring Break weeks.
For 2026, our first week of Spring Break finished down 3.2% in occupancy, primarily driven by the Pittcon Conference & Exposition, which picked up only a little more than half of the original expected room block. However, transient performance remained strong, with San Antonio finishing 2nd out of 5 in transient occupancy among the Texas competitive set.
The second weekend of Spring Break averaged 87.1% occupancy and carried us into a very busy second week of Spring Break. During that week, occupancy increased 11% year over year, while RevPAR was up 20%. San Antonio finished 1st of 5 in transient occupancy and 2nd out of 5 in group occupancy among the competitive set.
The final weekend of Spring Break ended with an impressive 89.7% occupancy.
Marketing
The second quarter of the year focused on elevating San Antonio’s unique blend of heritage and contemporary creativity, amplifying cultural events, supporting local artists, and driving engagement across key platforms. Through seasonal campaigns, River Walk activations, and targeted storytelling, these initiatives reinforced the city’s cultural identity.
Key Highlights for the Quarter:
America the Beautiful – San Antonio Landing Page
Visit USA, in partnership with Visit San Antonio, launched a destination page showcasing the city as a dynamic blend of history, culture, and modern experiences—from the Alamo and River Walk to vibrant neighborhoods, festivals, and culinary traditions. The page highlights key cultural assets such as La Villita, Market Square, Fiesta, and Día de los Muertos, while reinforcing San Antonio’s UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation. This positions the city as a place where heritage and creativity are part of the everyday visitor experience.
Q2 Seasonal and Thematic Campaigns
- The Winter Campaign, "Warm. Rooted. Unmistakably San Antonio." played a key role in supporting tourism during January and February by positioning the city as a culturally rich, value-driven getaway. By highlighting arts, heritage, and authentic experiences, from DreamWeek to museums, historic tours, and live music—it attracted visitors seeking meaningful travel. Targeting both adults and families, the campaign reinforced San Antonio’s identity as a city where culture is actively lived and experienced, helping sustain a vibrant creative economy.
- The Spring Campaign, anchored in the tagline “Vibrant. Surprising. Unmistakably San Antonio.” positioned the city as a dynamic cultural destination where heritage and contemporary creativity come together. Building on key moments like Fiesta, it highlighted San Antonio’s rich arts and cultural scene—from historic landmarks and UNESCO Missions to live music, mariachi, public art, and local culinary traditions. Through immersive, colorful experiences, the campaign showed that culture here is actively lived and shared, while engaging both adult and family audiences.
San Antonio River Walk Marketing Efforts
Marketing support was provided for key River Walk events, including the Bud Light St. Patrick’s River Parades, Emerald Run 5K, and the Winter and Mardi Gras Artisan Shows. In addition, seasonal blogs were developed:
Original Content: “Made in San Antonio” Series
In Q2, Visit San Antonio continued to support the Made in San Antonio series, designed to celebrate and elevate the city’s creative community. Quarterly spotlights included:
Meetings & Conventions
Visit San Antonio has launched a new LinkedIn Showcase Page dedicated to Meetings & Conventions content as part of our broader strategy to strengthen engagement with planners and further position San Antonio as a premier meetings destination. This new page will allow us to connect more directly with meeting planners, event professionals, and industry partners, while highlighting the city’s venues, hospitality community, and unique attendee experiences.
You can follow the page here: Visit San Antonio Meetings
Summer Marketing Campaign Opportunity
We are gearing up for the Summer Campaign — a seasonal, media-backed initiative running May 11–Aug. 23 that highlights the endless fun, refreshing experiences, and unmistakable spirit of San Antonio. We are collecting summer-themed offers, packages, events, and experiences from members across all sectors to showcase everything the Alamo City has to offer. This is your opportunity to gain visibility and connect with travelers planning summer vacations and weekend getaways. Submit your offer today and help make San Antonio one of the most unforgettable summer destinations in the U.S.
Submit your offers through the Member Portal.
Click here for Member Portal Submission Guide.
Submit your events through the Event Calendar.
ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE
FY2025 Service Plan Assessments
District Assessments are collected by properties and remitted to the City of San Antonio utilizing the same reporting process as Hotel Occupancy Tax. For FY2025, assessments were budgeted at $11 million but closed the year at $10.8 million. The decreased assessments will be covered by savings across the same service plan categories originally adopted with more than 90% dedicated to sales and marketing programs.
FY2026 Service Plan
In December 2025, the San Antonio City Council approved the FY2026 Service Plan, which was previously approved by the Tourism Public Improvement District Board. The 2026 Service Plan projects an estimated $10.892 million in estimated revenue assessments for the District in FY2026 and outlines a corresponding service plan for sales & marketing efforts to align with that projection for FY2026. Visit San Antonio will work with the SATPID board to execute various strategies to best leverage these resources to help drive additional demand for the destination and properties within the District. The below referenced Service Plan outlines the major budget parameters of the sales and marketing programming expected in FY2026.
SATPID FY2026 – Service Plan/Budget (Oct 1, 2025 – Sept 30, 2026)
INDUSTRY DATA
Below is YTD industry data received from Smith Travel Research (STR) specific to March 2026 vs March 2025, as well as calendar year to date information (Jan-March 2026 vs Jan-March 2025) for primary comp cities. VSA and SATPIDC will continue to monitor industry performance as we progress through the Spring and Summer months of the calendar year.
