Livia Martinez

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2022
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Current

Employment History

• Angsana Laguna Phuket, Thailand; Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Phuket; Banyan Tree Mayakoba, Playa del Carmen, Mexico; The Westin Resort & Spa Cancun; Sheraton Mexico City Maria Isable Hotel; Sheraton Macuto Resort, Vargas, Venezuela

Birthplace

• Valencia, Venezuela

Education

• Associate’s Degree, Hospitality Management, Hotel Escuela de Venezuela; Hocking College, Hospitality Exchange Program

Languages Spoken

• Spanish, English, some French

“I’m the master of ceremonies,” says Livia Martinez, enthusiastically describing her responsibilities as Resort Manager of Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas. “I have my eyes on the entire operation and the whole team. It’s all about making things happen backstage so that everything up front goes precisely as planned.”

Recruited to oversee the Resort’s operations in 2022, Martinez has a lot to make happen, not least coordinating with five managers to get the most from the more than 600 team members who deliver the services and amenities Four Seasons guests anticipate. That number includes some 100 landscapers who tend the endemic botanicals across the Resort grounds while also taking care of the surrounding community of Costa Palmas.

“The landscaping was the first thing to really impress me here,” Martinez says as an aside. “It’s authentic, not tropical like at some hotels. We call it the ‘e-scape’.”

Martinez’s style is to keep communications open and “go everywhere and connect with everyone,” typically on daily tours through every corner of the property, the better to see how operations are running and ensure that guests and employees alike can see her as well. She wants managers to be strong leaders and decision makers, she says, and for those in their respective departments to grow their talent and think for themselves.

Anyone who need a little extra oversight or input will get it, she says. “I’ll take people by the hand and walk them around to make sure they know what they’re doing and why they’re here.”

All of that walking is about taking care of the team so the team can take care of guests. Martinez describes herself as “passionate” about being present and delivering service that creates memorable experiences that people will take with them and share.

“In this industry, you need to be up to date and on top of what the competition is doing and what travellers desire. Our guests are so well travelled. They’ve seen it all, so it’s important for us to deliver things at a level all their own.”

Martinez says service has always been in her DNA. Growing up in Valencia, Venezuela, she attended high school with no idea where her future might lie, though others had ideas. “My mother wanted me to be a doctor, and my father hoped I’d follow him into engineering, but I was worried about career opportunities,” she remembers. “Hospitality offered something that was right in line with what I wanted to do.”

After wrapping up high school first in her class, she studied hospitality management at a local university. She finished first in class again and also landed an international internship. Meantime, at age 17, she started as a phone operator at a hotel in Vargas, Venezuela, and quickly realized she wanted more interaction.

“I always wanted to meet the people I spoke with in person, so I tried to do a 360°: Whatever guests asked from any department, I made sure to find out how to get it and deliver it to them.” People wanted to see the face behind her voice, she says. “It took me almost a year to ask for a position at the front office. The managers weren’t sure I’d be able to stand all day, but it was right where I wanted to be.”

Martinez’s climb up the management ladder proceeded on the rooms side of operations, first in her home country, then with an international hotel group at addresses across Mexico, where she worked for 13 years. Then in 2015, she was invited into a management-training program of another international hotel company, which unfolded at a resort in Phuket, Thailand. The move paid off: In 2018, she was promoted to hotel manager, setting her up for her current role.

What eventually drew Martinez to Four Seasons? “Everything came together. I know the culture here from my previous time in Mexico, and I’ve always liked how the company is so people-focused.” She always wanted to reach a level of true luxury because of the service it provides, she says. “Finally, here I am: This Resort has it all.”