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B[IR 2010-201 1Collectors'Edition

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Luz Maria Tbrres

Vacation Visionarv

By Sylvia Mendoza

hen Luz MariaTorres goes on vacation, she takes notes, She

knows that when dream vacations exceed expectations,

a customer's experience can be magical, As President of

Altamar Investments and co-owner of The Villa Group Fesorts, which

specializes in timeshares, Torres works hard to combine the beauty of

a vacation spot with exceptional seruice and luxurious sensations. That

approach benefits tourrsm while providing personal satisfaction,

"Vacations are very impodant in peoples' lives," says Torres. "lt is

necessary for all of us to rest and enloy some leisure time at least once

a year. We function better after great holidays."

Raised in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, she was just sixteen and studying at

the tourism school when she first jumped into the hotel business as a

receptionist. She wanted a summer job that would help her improve her

English. "Having been raised in a tourist town, it became almost normal

to work in the primary industry of the community."

That hotel subsequently became a timeshare resoft. "l moved to the

sales department as a timeshare street promoter (OPC-outside public

contact)-for less hours and more pay."

The company expanded to Puedo Vallada, Jalisco, and asked

her to move with them, After one year, she became OPC manager.

When the company began suffering parlnership problems, she and a

co-worker joined forces, "l was working with Owen Perry, developing

the sales infrastructure. We decided to create our own marketinq

company."

They coJounded Promociones Tropicales, They bought a small

hotel and conveded it to a five-star timeshare resoft. Their magic touch

expanded to Puedo Vallada and Cabo San Lucas. The company grew

into The Villa Group. "We entered into more padnerships that led us to

become developers and sell our own properties,"

The investment and passion paid off, Today, The Villa Group has

many five-star timeshare resods and nearly 2,000 employees, "The

desire to sell something good to your customers, to provide them with

an excellent vacation experience and to give truly honest leadership are

the fundamentals of attracting motivated, intelligent and creative people

that will help develop a good company."

She works on Federal legislation to promote the timeshare lndustry

and national tourism; it has kept her actively involved with Chambers of

Commerce, time share and tourist associations, and the Secretary of

Tourism and Consumer Affairs.

The Villa Group is developing a 3,000 acre resod development

in Loreto, Baja California Sur, blending elegance and warm hospitality

with spectacular views, top-notch restaurants, and a Rees Jones golf

course. The surrounding waters are an uncommon brilliant aqua, the

bay is pristine, the mountains are breathtaking, and the five islands

along the Sea of Cor16s form an ecological barrier for every imaginable

sea creature.

"Loreto is such a wonderful place that deserves to be

discovered," Torres bel ieves. " l t provides the people who wish to

marvel at its beauty with comfortable accommodations. lt is a place

where they can enjoy wonderful meals and have easy access to

"l ively" nature. The project is big, over 40,000 square miles, with

lots of reserved land to preserve. This is a very important task, as it

benefits Mexico's tourism industry, its citizens and visitors."

The Loreto project is just the beginning for this visionary, In

addition, she continues to rise to success in this traditionally male-

dominated business. All along, however, other women influenced her

work ethic and grounded her,

Her mother was a forward thinker and, while having a modest

education, always had a strong desire to learn. Her two daughters are

independent, happy individuals who follow their interests but make her

want to always be a good example, They have seen her praciice what

she preaches: "Work very hard, be intuitive and smar1."

As a young professional, she learned to respect older people but

did not think they had all the answers, were smarter or knew more than

her. "Now that I am older, I keep that clear so I can learn more."

Torres has learned other valuable lessons on her journey:

1. Put in a lot of working hours.

2, Sunound yourself with talented people and let them do their jobs,

3. Place the well-being of those you lead first in order to

create a team of successful people,

4. Always keep your ego in check.

5, Control the weakness of settling for the comfortable living

enabled by past $uccesses; always move onto the next

challenge as if it's the first,

The lessons seem to make Torres a wiser leader who ultimately has

to make the best decisions for her company. "When you have to make a

decision and think you've thought about it long enough, think about it one

more time. Once the decision is made, the doing is effortless."

Developing good working relationships based on respect and integrity

is also crucial to success, When asked what her greatest achievement is

to date, Torres sees beyond the scope of business. "Hopefully, it's having a

positive impact on the people who work close to me." .

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