Membership Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We have added several new benefits to our membership program starting in 2023. These new services resulted from engaging with members and responding to requests over the past year and taking note of areas where we could provide additional value. A few of the changes you’ll see include:

• More connections and business opportunities. New benefits include member-to-member referrals and access to our member directory.
• New data and reports. Reports from Placer provide market intelligence and visitor data.
• New program for hospitality-allied businesses. As an additional option for hospitality-allied businesses, the Hospitality Partners Program is a B2B program that will offer exclusive discounts for VSA members as well as valuable marketing opportunities.

Take a look at the tiers and select the one that is best for your business. If you need help deciding, contact us for a one-on-one consultation.

While our primary members are hotels, restaurants/bars, attractions, tour operators and other tourism-related businesses, we welcome all who support the hospitality and tourism industry. Our membership base is located in the San Antonio MSA region. If you are located outside of the San Antonio MSA region, please contact us to discuss membership options.

In March 2021, VSA integrated with the San Antonio River Walk Association (SARWA), and effectively absorbed it into its operations. The San Antonio River Walk Association membership program will cease to exist. Former SARWA members will have the option to select any of the tiers in the new Visit San Antonio membership program. If you need help deciding, or if you have further questions, contact us for a one-on-one consultation.

You have the option to update your account contacts through the Extranet. To do this, go to ‘Profile’ > ‘Contacts’ > ‘Add Contact’. To inactivate a contact, click on the pencil icon next to their name, and under ‘Contact Type’, select ‘Inactive’. If you need assistance, please email members@visitsanantonio.com

As a TPID-participating property you will receive a $599 credit towards a hotel membership with Visit San Antonio. This does cover a Silver-level membership; however it is important to note that the Silver tier does not include valuable Platinum benefits such as qualified group sales leads, the convention calendar, group résumés, and reports. You can opt for a Platinum membership to take advantage of full benefits and still receive a $599 discount for being a TPID- participating hotel.

You may pay by credit card or check.  If you are a new member, once you have filled out the application form on our website, a team member will be in touch with you to confirm your organization’s details and will set up your payment option for credit card or check with you. If you are a renewing member, you will have the option to pay by credit card or print your invoice in the member extranet portal and pay by check.  Please contact one of our team members at members@visitsanantonio.com if you require assistance.

Visit San Antonio memberships will be activated and run through the fiscal year (Oct-Sept).

Yes, membership fees will be prorated depending on the quarter during which your organization joins. Fees will be as indicated below:

All memberships will renew on a calendar year.  Invoices will be due in October for all members.

For non-hotel, corporate accounts, members will pay the regular membership fee for their first business and a discounted rate for each additional business when joining at the Silver level or higher. Additional listings for Silver are $150, $250 for Gold, and $350 for Platinum. Restaurants within hotels will pay a separate membership for the restaurant or restaurant group unless the restaurant is affiliated with the hotel, in which case, the hotel will pay an additional listing fee. Please contact us for details.

The hotel may pay a discounted listing fee for any on-site business it owns. For any businesses on site with separate ownership, a standalone membership must be purchased.

Our new Bronze tier aims to lower barriers to accessing our membership program by providing a lower-cost $199 per year option. If this amount is outside of your budget, please contact us to discuss further.

We do not offer membership to individuals. All membership options are for businesses. Once a business joins, its employees may all take advantage of certain benefits, such as receiving news and information, attending meetings and events, and more, depending on the level of membership selected.

Currently, we do not offer a student membership.  If you are a student who would like to get involved in the hospitality industry, contact us to speak with a team member.

Currently, Visit San Antonio only offers annual membership rates, but we may look into the possibility of offering multi-year membership discounts in the future.

Although an Air BnB, bed & breakfast, or inn could be eligible for Platinum membership, the benefits members pay a higher tier fee for may not be ones that smaller-sized accommodations can leverage. For example, Platinum members receive leads for conventions that need lodging for large groups, which a smaller bed & breakfast may not be able to accommodate.

Yes, as a member, your River Walk business will have listings on both the Visit San Antonio leisure and/or meetings website pages and the San Antonio River Walk website, which includes the general listing and the travel planner. We believe this is one of the most valuable benefits for members. Visit San Antonio’s website logged over 8 million web sessions last year.

Members at all levels have the ability to post their event on the Visit San Antonio leisure website. Please visit our Submit an Event page. For events on the River Walk, please submit your event to Maggie Thompson at Maggie.Thompson@visitsanantonio.com. These events will be posted on thesanantonioriverwalk.com. 

Participation and selection is frequently based on client requests and criteria. This may include the market members represent (example: culture, history, or family fun attractions, event type, group interests), location, size, specific requests, and more. 

Our CEO’s Executive Summary newsletter may provide high-level information on conventions and meetings, but for detailed access, members need to sign up for the Gold or Platinum levels.

Sales & Service leads and Group Resumes and Convention Calendars have always been Gold and up and will remain so. However, regarding business opportunities, Silver and Bronze members have the option to participate in the Show Us Your Badge Program. This will allow their business to be part of a group of businesses promoted to convention groups. Members can offer a discount to meeting/conventiongoers as part of this program.

For mobile businesses, we can prepare a report of nearby activity to any publicly-owned entity. The Placer report would include nearby visitor metrics and trends, demographics, and visitor journeys.

Visit San Antonio offers several customizable marketing co-ops which include social media marketing opportunities for members. To learn more contact Sue.DeLopez@visitsanantonio.com or Stacey.Carroll@visitsanantonio.com.

While our social media team does not guarantee a feature, unique events, experience and offerings to entice travel to San Antonio will be highly considered for feature based on the needs of the posts for that season.