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How many Hispanic-Latinos currently own hotels in the United States?
According to the recent Latino Hotel and Entrepreneurship Investment Report, “Hispanics through sole or shared ownership make up just 9.1% of the total ownership of accommodation firms in the U.S.” Definitely room for growth with this entrepreneurial group!
To further understand the data and its importance, we spoke with Lynette Montoya, the President & CEO of the Latino Hotel Association, shortly after the non-profit organization, released its first-ever Latino Hotel and Entrepreneurship Investment Report.
“Since I started out in this position, the data of the growing number of Hispanic-Latino population has always been there; however, I did not have any statistics that dealt with the accommodation ownership industry,” says Montoya. “I felt like we really needed that information; we wanted our supporters to see this is something that they are truly missing.”
Montoya shares while there has been recent data regarding Hispanic-Latino home ownership, citing the 2022 NAHREP State of Hispanic Homeownership Report, that it was time for a report about hotel ownership. “We just want to make everyone aware of the hotel ownership side,” says Montoya. The question Montoya wants to especially share with Hispanic-Latino community is, “Did you know that you could be a hotel owner?” She wants the community to see this is an opportunity and to bring more overall awareness with the LHEI report.
Opportunity for Hispanic Women in Hotel Ownership
Most recently, she was a moderator for a panel at Latino Leaders Magazine’s 9th Annual Latino Franchise Symposium in Texas. As a strong advocate for women and Latinas, Montoya explains that she does not want them ignored in the hotel ownership space. “Do not hesitate, if there is any interest to look at this field,” says Montoya. “I want to see more women here.”
This year, during Women’s History Month, she was a panelist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Harrah College of Hospitality’s event on International Women’s Day.
In addition, Montoya talks about how important education is to get Latinas to the next level. “I always put a push on this particular topic to She Has A Deal,” says Montoya. “They have a program that can help Latinas look at hotel ownership in an educational environment.”
Creating a Benchmark for Hispanic-Latinos
As they say, what gets measured gets done! The purpose of the report is to incite change and open opportunities for the Hispanic-Latino community. The six sections of the Latino Hotel and Entrepreneurship Investment include the following areas:
The Demographic Imperative: Latino Growth and Youth
Workforce Growth, Educational Attainment, and Upskilling
Exponential Latino GDP and Buying Power Increases
The Latino Desire for Entrepreneurship
Latino Growth in the Accommodations and Hotel Industries
Hotel Ownership Barriers and Opportunities
Entrepreneurial Nature of Hispanics
Also, Montoya points out that Latinos are leading in numbers regarding Entrepreneurship. For example, according to the LHEI report, one statistic states that Hispanics own almost 1 in 4 businesses that are new. “This is why they need to know about our industry,” says Montoya.
Hispanics own almost 1 in 4 new businesses in the United States
Check out the entire Latino Hotel and Entrepreneurship Investment report here: https://latinohotels.org/lhei_report
Furthermore, you can stay up-to-date with Montoya and the Latino Hotel Association's latest developments, and events on the Latino Hotel Association website.