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RESORTDEVELOPER.COM vacation industry review
JANUARY – MARCH 2015
PLAZA HOTÉIS
By Betsy Sheldon
Carlos Schmidt, superintendent director of the company
(and grandson of the founder), sees the strategy as a can’t-
lose prospect. He says the move will only ensure better
bookings and more business. “We think there’s an opportu-
nity to have even higher and more stable occupancy,” says
Schmidt. “We believe that with our vacation club product, we
can improve the occupancy year-round.”
In the Beginning
It all started more than a century ago, when Schmidt’s great-
grandfather brought his family from Germany to settle in
the community of Santa Cruz do Sul, a town of German
immigrants, where beer-making, tobacco production, tradi-
tional crafts, and the customs of Germany were part of the
cultural landscape. As a young man, Schmidt’s grandfather
went into the development business, building his first hotel,
Plaza Itapema Resort & Spa
Roberto Rotter, Carlos Schmidt, and
Interval International’s Fernando Martinelli
Plaza Itapema Resort & Spa
Adding Timeshare
to the Mix in
Brazil A thriving development company that
started with a young German immigrant has
certainly found its groove, with seven
popular resorts and hotels — all recipients
of
awards — in some of Brazil’s most
desirable business and leisure destinations.
But instead of sticking with the status quo,
based in Porto Alegre in the
state of Rio Grande do Sul, is doing
something new: It’s adding a vacation club
to an equation that has summed up to
success for the company for nearly 60 years.