Luz Maria Torres - Sylvia Mendoza
Luz Maria Torres - Sylvia Mendoza
Luz Maria Torres - Sylvia Mendoza
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
ajatraveler.com<br />
B[IR<br />
n<br />
MEilG 0's<br />
, ll lllltlt|illil][[[Llllll, riltli<br />
I t.<br />
lira "-!<br />
"Fl<br />
'-t<br />
ir<br />
n<br />
r{'<br />
2010-201 1<br />
Collectors'Edition<br />
In G[11<br />
=llrli I r<br />
Featuring the Bestof Baja!
e<br />
o<br />
.E<br />
€ lrl<br />
o<br />
E<br />
= o<br />
U<br />
O<br />
N<br />
O<br />
N<br />
e<br />
J<br />
-<br />
F 'a<br />
1.26<br />
hen <strong>Luz</strong> <strong>Maria</strong><strong>Torres</strong> goes on vacation, she takes notes, She<br />
knows that when dream vacations exceed expectations,<br />
a customer's experience can be magical, As President of<br />
Altamar Investments and co-owner of The Villa Group Fesorts, which<br />
specializes in timeshares, <strong>Torres</strong> works hard to combine the beauty of<br />
a vacation spot with exceptional seruice and luxurious sensations. That<br />
approach benefits tourrsm while providing personal satisfaction,<br />
"Vacations<br />
are very impodant in peoples' lives," says <strong>Torres</strong>. "lt is<br />
necessary for all of us to rest and enloy some leisure time at least once<br />
a year. We function better after great holidays."<br />
Raised in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, she was just sixteen and studying at<br />
the tourism school when she first jumped into the hotel business as a<br />
receptionist. She wanted a summer job that would help her improve her<br />
English. "Having been raised in a tourist town, it became almost normal<br />
to work in the primary industry of the community."<br />
That hotel subsequently became a timeshare resoft. "l moved to the<br />
sales department as a timeshare street promoter (OPC-outside public<br />
contact)-for less hours and more pay."<br />
The company expanded to Puedo Vallada, Jalisco, and asked<br />
her to move with them, After one year, she became OPC manager.<br />
When the company began suffering parlnership problems, she and a<br />
co-worker joined forces, "l was working with Owen Perry, developing<br />
the sales infrastructure. We decided to create our own marketinq<br />
company."<br />
They coJounded Promociones Tropicales, They bought a small<br />
hotel and conveded it to a five-star timeshare resoft. Their magic touch<br />
expanded to Puedo Vallada and Cabo San Lucas. The company grew<br />
into The Villa Group. "We entered into more padnerships that led us to<br />
become developers and sell our own properties,"<br />
The investment and passion paid off, Today, The Villa Group has<br />
many five-star timeshare resods and nearly 2,000 employees, "The<br />
desire to sell something good to your customers, to provide them with<br />
an excellent vacation experience and to give truly honest leadership are<br />
the fundamentals of attracting motivated, intelligent and creative people<br />
that will help develop a good company."<br />
She works on Federal legislation to promote the timeshare lndustry<br />
and national tourism; it has kept her actively involved with Chambers of<br />
Commerce, time share and tourist associations, and the Secretary of<br />
Tourism and Consumer Affairs.<br />
The Villa Group is developing a 3,000 acre resod development<br />
in Loreto, Baja California Sur, blending elegance and warm hospitality<br />
<strong>Luz</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> Tbrres<br />
Vacation Visionarv<br />
By <strong>Sylvia</strong> <strong>Mendoza</strong><br />
with spectacular views, top-notch restaurants, and a Rees Jones golf<br />
course. The surrounding waters are an uncommon brilliant aqua, the<br />
bay is pristine, the mountains are breathtaking, and the five islands<br />
along the Sea of Cor16s form an ecological barrier for every imaginable<br />
sea creature.<br />
"Loreto is such a wonderful place that deserves to be<br />
discovered," <strong>Torres</strong> believes. "lt provides the people who wish to<br />
marvel at its beauty with comfortable accommodations. lt is a place<br />
where they can enjoy wonderful meals and have easy access to<br />
"lively" nature. The project is big, over 40,000 square miles, with<br />
lots of reserved land to preserve. This is a very important task, as it<br />
benefits Mexico's tourism industry, its citizens and visitors."<br />
The Loreto project is just the beginning for this visionary, In<br />
addition, she continues to rise to success in this traditionally male-<br />
dominated business. All along, however, other women influenced her<br />
work ethic and grounded her,<br />
Her mother was a forward thinker and, while having a modest<br />
education, always had a strong desire to learn. Her two daughters are<br />
independent, happy individuals who follow their interests but make her<br />
want to always be a good example, They have seen her praciice what<br />
she preaches: "Work very hard, be intuitive and smar1."<br />
As a young professional, she learned to respect older people but<br />
did not think they had all the answers, were smarter or knew more than<br />
her. "Now that I am older, I keep that clear so I can learn more."<br />
<strong>Torres</strong> has learned other valuable lessons on her journey:<br />
1. Put in a lot of working hours.<br />
2, Sunound yourself with talented people and let them do their jobs,<br />
3. Place the well-being of those you lead first in order to<br />
create a team of successful people,<br />
4. Always keep your ego in check.<br />
5, Control the weakness of settling for the comfortable living<br />
enabled by past $uccesses; always move onto the next<br />
challenge as if it's the first,<br />
The lessons seem to make <strong>Torres</strong> a wiser leader who ultimately has<br />
to make the best decisions for her company. "When you have to make a<br />
decision and think you've thought about it long enough, think about it one<br />
more time. Once the decision is made, the doing is effortless."<br />
Developing good working relationships based on respect and integrity<br />
is also crucial to success, When asked what her greatest achievement is<br />
to date, <strong>Torres</strong> sees beyond the scope of business. "Hopefully, it's having a<br />
positive impact on the people who work close to me." .
d-t"<br />
.f--<br />
','----.*'<br />
_*p--F<br />
'<br />
il.1.<br />
!u<br />
tu'*<br />
';<br />
'' tl<br />
t$;<br />
.i i.T;<br />
'l ,.{<br />
, 'i. i.;t<br />
a<br />
c<br />
a<br />
F 'a<br />
1 1'7