SPECIAL REPORT
in Central and South America with the addition of Nayara Tented Camp in December 2019 and has Nayara hotels with partnerships in the Atacama Desert and Easter island in Chile . Ghitis , who still works with one of the original partners , has at least another three properties under development – one in Costa Rica and two in the Caribbean – and he says the phone rings all the time these days with other developers looking to work together .
The two joint venture developments on one of the biggest islands in the Caribbean include a tented camp with about 60 units and another 60-key luxury product in what Ghitis calls glorious locations on the high point of the island . “ We ’ re hoping that these are going to be the two most spectacular hotels in the Caribbean ,” he states .
Ghitis , now 63 , says one of the keys to his success has been being a good listener , doing what travel advisors suggested and picking everyone ’ s brain without any preconceived notions . Now , the other motto for Nayara is to make sure that no guests ever leave unhappy , and Ghitis empowers his team to do whatever is necessary to succeed .
“ As a brand , customer service is an obsession ,” Ghitis says . “ People even joke with me that it ’ s a religion – that we are a sect because all we talk about is customer satisfaction . And that ’ s the foundation of all our success .”
His timing getting into the business was fortuitous , Ghitis says , because the internet was starting to explode with reviews . “ Someone called me and said , ‘ Hey , did you see that TripAdvisor named you the
Pool Views from Nayara in Chile on Easter Island
View from suite at Nayara Atacama Desert in Chile
seventh most romantic hotel in the world ?’ And my answer was , ‘ who is TripAdvisor ?’” The word got out and spread like wildfire .
NAYARA MISSION The underlying philosophy and mission at Nayara is to go beyond sustainability towards regenerative travel – not just slowing environmental impacts but actively restoring nature to its previous glory through reforestation projects and investment in the local community .
For example , a mountain in Costa Rica was being decimated by cattle ranchers and the Nayara team stepped in to plant 20,000 trees . After failing at their reforestation
efforts , the team found an Australian expert who knew how to sequence the plan and today the site is thriving and Ghitis is moving forward with a tented camp development . “ There were no butterflies , no birds , nothing ” he recalls . “ Nowadays , you go up to the look into camp and there are sloths , monkeys , birds . There is everything , which proves that if we bring the forest , the rest of the wildlife will follow .”
The team is also involved with local institutions and local charitable organizations and encourages guests to visit them as well as support them financially
52 hotelsmag . com June 2022