Episode 029: How This ‘Accidental’ Hotelier Rebuilt the Rainforest

And Was Voted #1 in the World While Doing So

Apr 25, 2025

Eco but Elevated

Hello everyone! Earth day has always been a special date in my house. It was my grandmother’s birthday, and it looked liked my daughter (who is named after her) was going to be born on the same day. (Spoiler alert—she had other plans.) But it’s also become increasingly important to me as I’ve gotten older and understood what it truly represents.

That’s why I’m super excited to have Leo Ghitis on the show this week. Leo is the owner of Nayara Resorts, a curated collection of award-winning properties in some of the world’s most desirable and remote destinations. Nayara is a true leader in eco-luxury travel, with the company’s mission going beyond sustainability and towards regenerative travel.

Why should you listen?

I don’t say this lightly—I left this conversation truly inspired by Leo. Not only do I want to immediately book a trip to one of his incredible resorts in Costa Rica, Panama or Chile, but for the first time, maybe ever, I have real hope for the future of this world. If more people like Leo were in charge, imagine the impact. Here are some of my favorite highlights from our chat:

Being Sustainable is Good for Business: As Leo explains, many travelers (particularly the younger generations) want to spend their money at hotels that care about the environment. Nayara has also received countless accolades from prestigious brands such as Travel + Leisure and TripAdvisor that prove their focus on sustainability is attracting the right kind of attention (not to mention, nightly rate).
Costa Rica’s Green History: Leo’s first visit to Costa Rica was love at first sight. As he tells it, the word ‘green’ was common in Costa Rica well before it became part of the world’s lexicology. Listen to him talk about how the country had lost most of their forests, but through an intentional decision as a country and a community, they have successfully repopulated a majority of them. Today, the country has designated more than 25% of its lands as protected areas
The Importance of Working with the Right People: At this stage in life, Leo explains that it’s important for him to do business with people who share his belief in social responsibility and sustainability. A great example is the story he tells about partnering with a local bank on a housing community he created for Nayara employees. It allows associates to take ownership of a new home, skip the down payment and immediately start paying a mortgage and building equity. The best part? Ownership is not contingent on employment. Employees could literally quit the next day and it would still be their home.
‘Accidents of Life’: This was a theme that surfaced repeatedly in our conversation. These are the moments or opportunities we can’t predict or plan for, but somehow guide us to exactly where we’re meant to be. Leo is the first to admit the times in his life when he had “no idea”. Hear him tell these personal stories and how they led him to Nayara.
Set 10 Year Goals: When Nayara set out to reforest a decimated mountain, they planted more than 30,000 trees and plants. But each time it rained, the mountain would wash out—mudslides destroying their hard work and sweeping the new greenery away. That was when Leo decided to hire an expert. For this project and his broader sustainability efforts, Leo shares the importance of having a 10 year plan and hiring someone, such as a consultant, who will hold you accountable.
Favorite Quote from the Episode: “[It] gives me so much hope towards the future because what I've learned, in my short 15 years that I've been doing this, is that if you plant trees, if you bring the forest, you don't have to do anything else. Mother nature takes care of everything. And we're seeing it. Our three hotels [in Costa Rica] had limited wildlife not too long ago. [Now, they’re] teaming with wildlife. Anywhere you walk, any place you see, it's full of all kinds of birds and monkeys and sloths. And we didn't do anything! All we did was protect the wildlife and plant lots and lots and lots of trees.”

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Remember Your Favorite Travel Stories

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Last Week on Suite Success

I had so much fun reconnecting with Chris Holdren last week, former CMO of Caesars Entertainment and a friend from our time working together at Starwood. Chris is the unofficial king of brand partnerships, and I loved his behind-the-scenes insights on game-changing deals with Apple, Delta, the NFL, American Express, Emirates and more. His episode titled, The Branding Test That Built a Billion-Dollar Hotel Empire, is available wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

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Until next week, here’s to your suite success.

xx Katie

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