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About Us
in Latin America and the Caribbean."
Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality S.A. is a company based in San Jose, Costa Rica, dedicated to the management and development of hotels, lodges and other tourism related projects in Latin America and the Caribbean that have an ecological, conservationist or sustainable aspect to it. Currently, Cayuga manages 6 hotels in different regions of Costa Rica and Nicaragua representing sales of close to 8 Mio US$ and offering direct employment to more than 300 locals. Cayuga's staff has been evolved in Ecolodge and boutique hotel management in Costa Rica and Nicaragua since 1999.
Our Vision
We will be recognized as the worldwide leader in sustainable hospitality management of small upscale lodges and resorts, consistently exceeding the expectations of our hotel owners, guests and employees.
Our Mission
Cayuga redefines the standards of upscale hospitality, creating a symbiosis of luxury and sustainability that is lived by our guests and employees alike through the concept of Experience, Learn, Connect and Relax. The focus of our culture is personified by its highly motivated and skilled employees that are inspired to create legendary and authentic service experiences.
Our Standards of Excellence
- Quality: we are committed to quality in everything we do. We strive for 100 percent client, employee and guest satisfaction.
- Sustainability: all of our decisions are based on our commitment to the environment, our communities and the profitability of all the projects we work with.
- Integrity: we follow the highest ethical standards and are proud of all of our actions. We take responsibility for our actions.
- Growth: we are a learning organization. We seek to constantly renovate ourselves and give everybody in the organization the opportunity to improve and grow professionally and personally.
- Pro-activity: we are always one step ahead of the game. We choose and influence all of our results.
- Attitude: we smile. We are enthusiastic. We are all about empowered people with positive attitudes and balanced lifestyles.
- Determination: we believe in finding solutions and making things happen. We always find a way to get things done effectively.
- Authenticity: we create unique experiences and strongly believe in our concept of: Experience - Learn - Connect - Relax.
- Team Work: we are a team of eagles flying in formation.
The owners of the company are Andrea Bonilla and Hans Pfister, both graduates of the Cornell Hotel School in Ithaca New York and dedicated conservation tourism professionals. Cayuga offers a solution to developers and owners of tourism operations that are looking for qualified hospitality management that will allow them to step back from day to day operation.
In 2010, Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality won the prestigious Conde Nast World Saver Awards in the category of Small Hotel Chains
Hans Pfister
Hans Pfister is the President and co-owner of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality. Hans brings over 20 years of experience in the hotel business in all capacities from trainee to General Manager, and currently focuses on marketing, finance, strategy and new projects. Born and raised in Germany, Hans' career began with the European tradition of apprenticeship as an introduction to the industry, rounding out his education and training with a degree from Cornell's School of Hotel Administration and experience in various properties in Europe, Asia, North- and Latin America. In addition to his native German language, Hans speaks English and Spanish fluently, and is proficient in French. Hans has been on the board of directors of the Costa Rican hotel chamber (CCH) and has served as representative of the private sector (CANATUR) in the Marketing Committee of the Costa Rican Tourism ministry (ICT). Hans is a frequent speaker at sustainability related conferences and was invited to share Cayuga's experiences in the field of sustainable hospitality at the Harvard Business School and Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. Currently Hans is serving a three year term as Regional Vice President of the Cornell Hotel Society responsible for Mexico, Central and South America. His company won the Conde Nast World Saver Awards 2010 in all categories on a worldwide level in the category of small hotel chains
Andrea Bonilla
Andrea is Vice President of Operations and co-owner of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality. She was born and raised in Costa Rica. Her passion for service and the hotel industry in general lead her to Cornell University where she got a BS in Hotel Administration. Andrea brings over 15 years of industry experience to Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality, from training positions and internships from the Hampton Inn, Costa Rica to MGM studios, Disney World. As part of her experience, she worked for a year as Operations Manager at Breezes Beach Club in Zanzibar, Africa. She then moved to the Osa Peninsula where she lived for almost five years working as Administrative and General Manager of Lapa Rios and where her passion for sustainability was fully developed. Andrea has been instrumental in the opening process of properties such as the Harmony Hotel, Arenas del Mar, Latitude 10 and Morgan's Rock and Jicaro Island Ecolodge in Nicaragua. Being from Costa Rica, her native language is Spanish, and she speaks fluent English and Italian and is proficient in French. Andrea is very proud of Cayuga and her team for winning the Conde Nast World Saver Awards 2010 in all categories on a worldwide level in the category of small hotel chains as well as Travel + Leisure's Environmental Leadership category for the Global Vision Awards 2010.
Jorge Arrieta
Jorge holds a masters degree in International Business Administration from UIA, Texas and an undergraduate degree in tourism. He has over 20 years of experience in hotel operations and consulting. Before joining Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality, Jorge was a professor of tourism at the Universidad Internacional and served as program director of an internationally sponsored program to increase the level of tourism related skills in rural areas of Costa Rica. Jorge worked at the Lapa Rios Ecolodge as Administrative and General Manager for five years and was then promoted to Director of Operations for Cayuga. His focus is on the 'back of the house' at the Cayuga properties and support services to the operations and managers. Jorge is fluent in Spanish and English.
Maria Jose Castro
Maria Jose joined Cayuga's team in 2006, taking on the role of Operations Manager for the Harmony Hotel, as her first assignment. She was then promoted to Operations Manager at the Cayuga Corporate level, where she supported our Hotel Managers with the implementation of systems and standardized processes. Maria José has proven success at bringing great attention to detail and service excellence to the day to day operations, working hand in hand with the Reservations and Housekeeping departments. In addition, she has developed into a marketing expert for Cayuga and helped to develop the Cayuga Collection of Hotels, Resorts and Lodges. Since early 2012, she has taken on the new challenge of Performance Director with a focus on guest experiences, supervising and supporting the property managers. Maria Jose has a Bachelor's Degree in Hotel Administration from the Universidad Interamericana de Costa Rica, is fluent in English and Spanish, and understands German.
Michelle Libby
Michelle is Cayuga’s Sustainability Director. Prior to joining Cayuga Michelle worked with The Nature Conservancy developing, managing, and leading conservation programs in several countries around the world. Michelle is in charge of overseeing the implementation of sustainability efforts at the various Cayuga hotels and ecolodges. She has work experience in Latin America, Asia Pacific, and the Caribbean in areas rang ing from local conservation strategy development, stakeholder analysis, and organizational capacity building to managing multicounty, regional conservation programs in Mesoamerica. Aside from her responsibilities with day to day sustainability at Cayuga, Michelle is establishing the Equilibrium Foundation, a non-profit organization that is active in the areas where the Cayuga hotels are located and dedicated to propelling a more harmonious way of living with the natural world. Michelle studied Anthropology and History at Franklin and Marshall College and later received her Master degree in Latin American Studies from Tulane University. She is fluent in Spanish and English.
JosÉ LÓpez
Jose holds a Bachelor's degree in Hotel Administration from Lynn University in Boca Raton. He worked in beach hotels and nature resorts as well as small upscale cruise operations. He soon discovered his great passion for Food and Beverage, and persuied the Grand Diplome at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris, France. After graduating as Chef de Cuisine and Pastry, he had the opportunity to travel and work in fine restaurants in Europe, Asia and Africa, where he was exposed to new products, techniques and flavors. Jose has operated successful restaurants in Costa Rica, and has represented our country in distinguished cooking competitions abroad. He joined Cayuga as Culinary Director and oversees the Food and Beverage operations at all hotels. He is fluent in English and Spanish and conversational in French and Portuguese.
Ana Maria Baldioceda
Ana María recently joined Cayuga as Team Director. Ana ensures all of our hotel operations work towards meeting Cayuga's crucial goals by following sustainable recruitment and human development practices. She coordinates career development opportunities that enable our team of collaborators to reach their full potential both as individuals as well as professionals. Ana graduated in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management, where she worked in various areas within the hospitality field both before and after graduation. Once in Costa Rica, Ana worked several years for well recognized companies, where she acquired further expertise in customer service and human relations. Ana is fluent in Spanish and English and is proficient in French.
Jose Pablo SÁenz
Born in San José, Jose Pablo obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management at the Ulatina. Upon graduation he worked for 4 years in different hotel operations, among them the Four Seasons in Whistler, where he gained ample experience in guest relations and customer service. Jose Pablo joined the Cayuga Corporate team in 2011 as Guest Experience Coordinator, working with those departments that interact directly with our guests; his goal is to create unique and meaningful experiences for them every day! His innate ability to synergize with team members and true passion towards guest interaction makes him ideal for the job. Jose also enjoys surf and water sports in general, as well as direct contact with nature. He is fluent in Spanish and English.
Monica Acosta
Monica is our Marketing Coordinator at Cayuga. She was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica and obtained a Bachelor´s Degree in Hotel Administration from the Universidad Interamericana de Costa Rica and is currently working on her Master´s Degree. Monica formed part of the opening team of the Four Seasons Hotel in Península Papagayo in Guanacaste and has worked in different departments within the organization for almost eight years. As Lead Concierge she enjoyed assisting guests with their vacation´s logistics and provide customer service at the highest level. Her current role at Cayuga is to coordinate and execute all corporate marketing efforts for the hotels that are managed by Cayuga as well as the properties that form part of the Cayuga Collection marketing alliance. She is fluent in English & Spanish.
Fabian Palma
Fabian studied hotel and restaurant management at the ULACIT University in San Jose, Costa Rica. He has been working in the hospitality industry for over 10 years. He started out as an entrepreneur in the restaurant business and has a strong Food & Beverage background. He worked as the hotel manager for Cruise West on board of the Seattle based Pacific Explorer cruise ship and re-launched the Harmony Hotel in Nosara as General Manager as his first assignment for Cayuga. Fabian has become an expert in Hotel openings as he was also responsible for the opening of Arenas Del Mar Beach & Nature Resort located in the rain forest of Manuel Antonio where he currently serves as General Manager.
Jairo Quesada
Jairo, our Guest Service Manager at Arenas Del Mar, was raised an born in San Carlos, Costa Rica which is known for its dairy industry and the Arenal Volcano. He has almost 10 years of hospitality experience and is a great example the possibilities of a fast career path in the hospitality industry. Starting as a receptionist, he worked his way up to management positions in Mexico and now Costa Rica. He is passionate about customer service and his great strength is the connection with the staff at the hotel.
Marijke Mulder
Marijke was born in Golfito, a small port town across the Gulf from Lapa Rios Ecolodge. She grew up in Belgium and came back to the Osa Peninsuala when she was 16. She started at Lapa Rios in a junior position at a very young age and worked her way through different departments showing great dedication to sustainability and customer service. Marijke has spent months at a time travelling around the world but was always brought back to the Osa’s natural beauty. She taught at local schools and volunteers for community groups like the scouts and sports teams. In 2008, Marijke started to work in management positions at Lapa Rios, became part of the executive management team as Operations Manager in December 2009 and on September 2011 beacame Lapa Rios’ first “local” General Manager. In addition to Dutch and Spanish, Marijke is fluent in English and is able to communicate in French and German.
Irene Morales
Before joining Cayuga, Irene’s career has been mostly focused on conservation. She has worked with the Nature Conservancy for over five years and among other things was in charge of the implementation of projects in protected areas with a focus on biodiversity conservation as well as community based organizational capacity building. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Costa Rica in Business Administration and Marketing and a Masters degree in Forest Resources from Penn State University. Irene is fluent in Spanish, English and French and 100 percent committed to sustainability. The challenge of heading the Harmony hotel in Nosara is her first assignment in the hospitality industry and she has been very successful in raising the bar and making Harmony the most distinguished and sustainable hotel in Guanacaste.
Sofia Chinchilla
Born and raised in Costa Rica, Sofia has over 10 years experience in tourism and hospitality. Her expertise lies within Food & Beverage management, events, sales, guest service and operations. She has worked most of her career for Marriott in Costa Rica and Walt Disney Resorts in Orlando. Sofia has a strong passion for sustainability, the outdoors and nature. She started as a management trainee with Cayuga and covered the maternity leave of the General Manager at the Harmony Hotel. She enjoyed Nosara and the work at Harmony so much that she stayed on and took on the position as Operations Manager in order to complete her training for a future General Management position with Cayuga. She is fluent in English and Spanish.
Federico Gurdian
Federico was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica. He graduated from the prestigious Glion Hotel School in Switzerland with a BA in Hospitality Management. Upon completion, he worked for international hotel chains in Costa Rica, Mexico and China where he obtained strong hands-on experience in hospitality. He is very passionate about nature and the outdoors, as well as the hospitality industry in general. He thoroughly enjoys the interaction with clients. His first assignment was to implement a new hospitality management software at the Harmony Hotel in Nosara. Currently he is in charge of the Food and Beverage department at the Harmony Hotel taking this operation to the next level. He is fluent in Spanish and English.
Silvia Vargas
Silvia was born and raised in San José, Costa Rica. She had her first experience with Cayuga when she did her university internship and after graduating from Hospitality Management at the Universidad Latina in San Jose in 2009, she began to work with as a Project Coordinator for Cayuga. One year later she was promoted to General Manager of Latitude 10 Resort in Santa Teresa. She has a strong passion for the hospitality industry as well as for sustainability. Silvia is fluent Spanish and English and conversational in Italian.
Howard Coulson
Howard was born and raised in the northern Nicaraguan town of Estelí. He has a degree in Hotel Management and Tourism from INTAE and over 10 years of management experience in hotels and restaurants in Granada, the city he now calls home. The management of Jicaro Island Ecolodge is Howard’s first assignment with Cayuga and he is excited to learn from his colleagues in Costa Rica about the sustainability aspects of the operation. He is fluent in Spanish and English and able to communicate in basic French.
