The hotel team consists of global industry veterans as well as professionals immersed in the Los Cabos hospitality landscape
(LOS ANGELES; July 27, 2015)—Thompson Hotels proudly announces the seasoned executive team leading the charge at The Cape, a Thompson Hotel. The first Mexico-based property from the luxury lifestyle brand, the 161-room boutique resort recently opened on the shores of Los Cabos’ Monuments Beach on June 26, 2015. Spearheaded by General Manager Eduardo Segura, Director of Sales and Marketing Jorge Villarreal, Director of Food and Beverage Carlos Echaiz, and Spa Director Katia Chavez, the veteran team boasts decades of combined experience in the hospitality industry, a unique understanding of the Baja destination, and an intimate knowledge of the luxury travel sector.
General Manager Eduardo Segura‘s lifelong passion for hospitality was ignited with a scholarship to study abroad in Ithaca, NY at the prestigious Cornell University. Upon graduating in 1982, Segura began a 16-year career with the Camino Real Hotels group, working across the brand’s numerous Mexican properties, including Camino Real hotels in Mexico City, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Las Hadas, and Monterrey. Following his passion for extreme sports and nature, Segura later relocated to Los Cabos to help open and co-manage Cabo Dolphins & Cabo Adventures, a land and sea expedition company dedicated to showcasing the abundance of natural wonders in the destination. His comprehensive understanding of the Los Cabos tourism market—gleaned both as a professional working in the region and as a local resident—later brought him to the Los Cabos Tourism Board, where he served as director from 2012 until 2015. In early 2015, he was invited to lead the opening team at The Cape. “I’ve always been excited by the prospect of redefining what upscale tourism means for the Los Cabos market,” says Segura. “The Cape is shepherding in a new era of Los Cabos luxury.”
A protégé of the late visionary hotelier Edward Steiner, Director of Sales and Marketing Jorge Villarreal helped redefine the concept of luxury accommodations in the Los Cabos market through his work at the Presidente Inter-Continental, as well as the One&Only Palmilla. Villarreal was the opening director of sales and marketing for Mexico and Latin America at the One&Only Palmilla, where he served from 2000 through 2010. A graduate of hotel management from the Universidad Iberoamericana, with a supervised program from Cornell, Villarreal has also held the director of sales and marketing role at Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Cancun and was the corporate director of sales and marketing at the Villa La Estancia Riviera Nayarit in Nuevo Vallarta and Villa La Estancia Los Cabos Resort & Spa, providing him with an overview of the greater Mexican hospitality market. Villarreal returned to Los Cabos in 2015 and now serves as an integral part of the executive team at The Cape.
Director of Food and Beverage Carlos Echaiz brings with him a worldly outlook, holding degrees in both hotel and food and beverage management from the Universidad de Chile and having opened luxury dining concepts throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. His early career includes the opening of the first Ritz-Carlton property in South America, The Ritz-Carlton Santiago, the reopening of the InterContinental Santiago in 2006, and the opening of the Rosewood Mayakoba, Riviera Maya in 2007. Trading solid ground for open waters, Echaiz joined Celebrity Cruises to manage the culinary teams aboard the cruise line’s luxury fleet of ships, including the Eclipse, Silhouette, and Reflection. Echaiz additionally spent two years as the director of food and beverage at the Gansevoort Turks and Caicos, rounding out his luxury portfolio. Now at The Cape, Echaiz brings his culinary knowledge to the Baja region, working with local farms and fishermen to showcase the distinct flavors of the destination.
After completing her degree in business administration from Universidad de Occidente in 2002, Spa Director Katia Chavez pursued her passion for wellness and hospitality, joining the One&Only Palmilla in 2003, where she met her current colleague, Director of Sales and Marketing Jorge Villarreal. Prior to joining The Cape, Chavez was the spa manager for several Secrets Resort & Spa and Dreams Resort & Spa properties, including Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort & Spa from 2009 to 2011, the world-class Dreams and Secrets spas by Pevonia in Huatulco from 2011 to 2013, and most recently the Secrets Puerto Los Cabos Golf & Spa Resort.
