Her Story
About Katie
Katie McCarley serves as Director of Operations at Beach Box, where she manages back-of-house operations including housekeeping, inspections, and laundry services for short-term vacation rentals. Based in Galveston Island, Texas, the company maintains around 215 properties primarily along the Upper Texas Gulf Coast and in the Lake Livingston area. McCarley brings more than two decades of industry experience, having begun her career immediately after high school as a reservation agent and progressively advancing through roles in cleaning, guest services, property management, and maintenance. Prior to her current position, she spent over three years as General Manager at SOAR, where she helped build a startup company, and she has been with Beach Box for five and a half years. She is a Certified Tourism Ambassador and has contributed to award-winning operations, including recognition as one of the top vacation rentals in Texas and a Better Business Awards Excellence winner during her tenure at a previous company. McCarley values honesty, integrity, and transparency in her work and emphasizes the importance of staying open-minded and adaptable in an industry facing evolving technology and rising guest expectations.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Katie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to experience, having done this a long time, and always learning something new. I'm open-minded and receptive to new information or changing how things have always been done.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is to just go for it. You might fail, you might not, but you won't know unless you try.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice is similar to what I was told: just go for it. Seek that promotion, advocate for yourself, because no one's going to advocate better than yourself. When you can be confident and stand up for yourself and what you deserve, the sky's the limit.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges are technology and guest expectations. We're always having to move with the technology, and really combating that with guest expectations increasing, and how do we keep guest experience high and people coming back?
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty, integrity, and transparency are most important to me. Those are top of my list always, and really drive what I do and the decisions I make in my career.
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