Hospitality has traditionally been a thriving place for women to work but it has failed when it comes from translating that into seniority where people are more empowered and can make an impactful difference.
Women in the hospitality industry make up 51.2 percent of the global workforce but hold only 30 percent of executive roles, according to industry workforce data reported by Hospitality Investor in March 2025. Thailand’s hotel, tourism, and hospitality sector reflects the same imbalance, and on 3 September, RISE 2026, a new industry platform is aiming directly at it.
“Hospitality has always depended on women. We understand people, build relationships, hold teams together and often carry enormous responsibility. Yet women are still underrepresented in ownership and senior decision-making roles,” said Lily Udomkunnatum, Managing Director, Burasiri Hotel Group, who is speaking at RISE 2026.
RISE 2026: Reshaping Hospitality by Empowering Women, a not-for-profit event organized by C9 Hotelworks, Mrs B Group, and Delivering Asia, convenes on 3 September at SAii Laguna Phuket. Though staged in Phuket, the event is built as a national platform: its speaker roster draws leaders from hotel groups, global hospitality brands, and businesses operating across Thailand.
The program is structured across four themes: Vision and Voice, Systems and Sectors, Emerging Leaders, and Craft, Communication and Self. Speakers include Lily Udomkunnatum of Burasiri Hotel Group; Mary Pakamard, Managing Director & Principal Designer, M2 Plus; Kate Gerits, Director of Operations Thailand for IHG Hotels and Resorts; Pitinut Robbins, Senior Director Thailand for Marriott International; Wichupan Phukaoluan Srisanya, President, Thai Hotels Association, Southern Chapter, and Sara D Anzeo, Sustainable Finance International Consultant at UN Women Asia Pacific, alongside entrepreneurs, designers, and rising voices from Thailand’s hospitality sector.
The slow speed at which the hospitality industry has moved in terms of women in leadership will be a key topic addressed at the event with a focus on talent as opposed to gender.
“I believe empowering women in hospitality isn’t just about creating opportunities, it’s about recognizing the incredible talent that’s already here. We need to stop waiting for change and start making it happen,” said event speaker Mary Pakamard of M2 Plus.
“Thailand’s hotel sector has no shortage of women doing the work of building it, but too few platforms built specifically to put them in front of each other,” added Bill Barnett, Managing Director of C9 Hotelworks. “RISE exists to close that gap, not for one afternoon in Phuket, but as a marker for where the industry needs to go across the country.”
RISE 2026 is supported by SAii Laguna Phuket, the Phuket Hotels Association, UN Women, the Thai Hotels Association Southern Chapter, TDM, and Robb Report Thailand. Registration is required in advance, with a QR code from Eventbrite needed for entry. Tickets are pre-paid at THB 1,000 (approximately USD 30), with proceeds going toward running the event as a not-for-profit platform rather than to any organizing partner.
