Dori Holladay Hospitality Scholarship

The Dori Holladay Hospitality Scholarship will provide scholarship support to students in the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management in the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts who are participating in high-impact experiences, including but not limited to study abroad, conferences, internships or professional trips.

To apply for this scholarship, submit a General Application.

If you do not meet all of these requirements in a given term, you may lose your scholarship eligibility and your scholarship may be canceled.

Requirements:

• All class levels are eligible.
• Recipients must be majoring in Hospitality and Tourism Management.
• Recipients must be pursuing an extra curricular experience including but not limited to: study abroad, attending a conference, going on a trip to enhance HTM experience.

Donor Profile
In Dori’s chosen profession, her motto was “The answer is yes, now what’s the question?” This embodiment of service defined Dori’s calling over her 35 years working in hospitality and tourism. Her warmth and generous personality embraced all those fortunate to know her, both professionally and personally.

The rising star of Dori Holladay began in 1970, as a newly single mother of three, working in her first restaurant job before being promoted to assistant manager. This led to a food and beverage position at the Executive Hotel in the mid-70s, where she quickly rose to a role unheard of for women in this era: the hotel’s general manager. Dori found her calling and never looked back. She managed several hotels in her career, including the Shelter Island Inn, The Lake San Marcos Resort and La Casa del Zorro, where she helped to transform the property from a two-star to a four-star, and ultimately, a four-diamond luxury resort, increasing occupancy from 27% to 68% over her decade-long tenure. To lure travelers from San Diego and away from Palm Springs, she hosted jazz and blue weekends and offered getaway packages, with treats like homemade cookies and milk in a chilled champagne bucket as a goodnight amenity.

The San Diego Business Journal called Dori “a trailblazer of San Diego’s lodging industry.” She had staying power as a creative problem solver and went out of her way to make people who worked for her feel valued because she made the time. “People first. Paper second,” that was Dori’s other motto, and she exemplified this daily in her leadership style.

Through this scholarship, Dori’s family encourages students to apply who share a passion for hospitality, have a spark that will further be illuminated from winning this award and, most of all, see elements of themselves in her story.