1. WOMANOFTHEMONTH
LOVE OF LIFE,
IS WHAT FUELS
MY LIFE!
Vice President of Marketing,
The Grand Ho Tram Strip
MARY MENDOZA
Appreciating a successful career and living a dynamic and positive life, Mary Mendoza typifies the modern
day woman. For Mary, even sleeping and resting is a luxury that her time budget cannot afford. Much of
her time is spent on working and enjoying the pleasure of discovering new horizons. She assumes that a
person’s life must be made of meaningful days!
I AM FASCINATED BY MY
WORKING LIFE.
For over two decades, you have been
working in the tourism industry, which
seems to have shown where your greatest
passion lies. How and where did such a
passion stem from?
Thanks to good fortune, I realized and
settled with my passion at quite a young
age, which others would spend years, or
even a lifetime, solving. As a little girl, I was
always fond of beautiful things and exposed
a gift to see the bright side in everything,
subsequently sharing it with others. By then,
my fate had already been sealed with the
field of marketing and tourism without me
recognizing it, and it was only after several
occupations did I encounter and become
fascinated with it.
Back in the early 2000s, casino-related
tourism was on the rise and made a significant
contribution to Macau’s economy, marking
the beginning of my marketing and PR career
in the tourism, hospitality and gaming sector.
My experience was further enhanced through
my later career in a number of Integrated
Resorts. The work eventually became both
my obsession and guidance.
So, what has brought you to Vietnam, and
particularly, The Grand Ho Tram Strip?
My work allowed me to experience and learn
the best practices approach from several
Integrated Resorts. I had the privilege to get
an in depth knowledge on business models
used in some of the most popular tourism
locations in the world, such as the USA,
Europe, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore,
Thailand, Malaysia, plus emerging tourism
markets in Southeast Asia. By exchanging
insights with field experts from Las Vegas and
other mature destinations, I was equipped
with a solid foundation of knowledge, and
flexibly applied such knowledge into the
real world, while I think globally I act locally
by tweaking it to fit the local culture, in
order to advice solutions that are suitable
in the marketplace. The Integrated Resorts
business in Vietnam, I’ve discovered, is still
unfamiliar to most people and thus require
change management by mentoring teams to
understand the vision of the company and
to clearly articulate strategies we need to
implement. The Grand Ho Tram Strip (Ho
Tram Project Company Limited) employs
99% of Vietnamese staff, this is a great
opportunity for me to help develop local
team members’ career and prepare them
for the next level. My primary goal as a
leader of marketing teams (Sales Marketing,
Casino Marketing and Brand Marketing &
Communications) is to mentor, motivate and
move my team by giving aspirations to make
a positive difference to Vietnam’s tourism
industry through our business strategies.
With such profound knowledge and
experience, you must be quite confident
despite being unfamiliar with The Grand
Ho Tram Strip in particular and the
Vietnamese market in general?
Myconfidenceisoutofthequestion,ofcourse,
but it is not the only element to make the
brand shine, exercising operational efficiency
and driving growth. What really matters
is the leadership, vision and harmonious
cooperation from top management and down
to its team members. Our Chairman has set
clear vision that every leader in the company
aspire to achieve. I, as one of the leaders,
set marketing strategies to implement our
vision; I then guide my teams to accomplish
our goals. My vessel of confidence comes
from hard work, preparation and getting
things done.
Despite being in Vietnam a short time, the
working environment here has really grown
on me. We have talented team members at
The Grand Ho Tram Strip; we also have
team members that requires mentoring and
development. I also took the opportunity to
gather feedback through focus groups and
meetings from various departments as well
as from our customers; this allows me to
strategically prepare a blueprint.
What about The Grand Ho Tram Strip’s
upcoming second tower, will it include
new and improved services?
While The Grand Ho Tram Strip is an award-
winning luxury resort that offers high quality
services to families who seek relaxation and
entertainment, we also boast state-of-the-
art business meetings convention facilities
with a capacity of 1,800, The Bluffs is a
highly coveted golf course ranked 74th in
the world. The second tower, however,
is oriented towards more entertainment
activities. The upcoming “The Beach Club
Ho Tram Strip” with over 500 rooms will
have box office cinemas with a capacity of
70 seats and terraced grass amphitheater will
accommodate between 1500 and 2000 guests,
a water park, and themed restaurants which
are additional components to our integrated
resort model.
How will domestic customers and the
resort tourism market in Vietnam benefit
from these refreshing investments?
As Vietnam’s premier leisure destination
with an integrated resort model, we aspire
to be recognized as the premier leisure
destination in Asia and continually deliver
to that level of service standard. Both the
domestic market and foreign tourist market
are equally important to us. The domestic
tourism market is now able to experience
state-of-the-art facilities serviced with a
local touch that is familiar to them while it is
serviced in a global standard.
As for its contribution to the local economy as
well as the Vietnamese tourism market, The
Grand Ho Tram Strip has been doing exactly
thatsincethebeginning.Wearenowholdinga
99% local Vietnamese team-members, which
will be further increased when our rooms are
doubled in late 2017. In addition, The Grand
Ho Tram Strip’s advertising campaigns also
include information about Ba Ria-Vung
Tau Province as well as its neighboring
provinces, which will be broadcast to the
world through popular tourism websites and
the sharing of our guests’ experience. We’ve
also partnered with the local authority and
related organizations to promote Vietnamese
tourism and tourist destinations in several
international tourism fairs.
NO TIME TO WASTE
Along with your trusted duties, perhaps
you’ve set out some personal goals for the
near future?
There are two major goals I have on my
list as priorities. First and foremost, for my
departments such as Sales & Marketing,
Casino Marketing and Brand Marketing
& Communications to achieve the
desired revenue figure and an effective
brand positioning that can be seen and
experienced through our campaigns
and activities. I am putting everybody
to take part in creating a harmonious
working environment where they can
freely perform, set out and complete
their objectives. I want to be closer to my
subordinates, regardless of gender and age,
to listen, to share and help them succeed
in their careers. The second goal of mine is
to succeed in making Vietnam shine in the
eyes of the world through The Grand Ho
Tram Strip’s positioning as a destination
for leisure, business and enjoyment for every
tourist. After all our goal at Ho Tram Project
Company Limited is to help the government
initiative to increase tourism in Vietnam to
10% of GDP in the foreseeable future.
Have the discrepancies in the work
culture and the local elements imposed
any obstruction to your collaboration and
personnel management process?
I’m quite pleased with their enthusiasm and
friendly working style here. I understand
that working in a new environment will take
a great deal of sharing from both sides, but
sometimes I feel that people are separated
from me, perhaps because I’m their
superior. My advice to my team members
and colleagues is simply to take heart and
share their thoughts with me, so that we can
be on the same page and collaboratively find
the equilibrium that’s best for the company
and our wellbeing.
I am fascinated by how we collaborate with
each other despite our differences, taking
actions on how we can get from here to
where we want to be by understanding and
accompanying each other throughout the
journey. This is the challenge I am facing.
Personally speaking, as a single lady who
works in an unfamiliar environment, what
worries you?
Not much that I can think of, perhaps due
to my hefty workload. One major challenge
exists, however, is, to better manage my
budgeted time so as to balance my work and
spend more time discovering the country,
culture and people of Vietnam. Being in a
new country, a new land is always fascinating,
for there is the opportunity of broadening
once knowledge with the local culture,
cuisine and people, which will be of great
assistance to my kind of work. I particularly
enjoy “bánh xèo” (a type of rice pancake
with various fillings), other street food and
Vietnamese coffee. I’ve always visited plenty
of Vietnamese locations like Can Tho or Cu
Chi. I’m planning on traveling to Nha Trang
soon for its exotic diving activities.
Is your way of life directed towards
special things?
I’m an active woman who enjoys life, and
“love of life is what fuels my life” is the
quote I created and lived by. Whenever I
experience stress or work pressure, I’ll relax
by walking along the pristine beach of Ho
Tram Strip or enjoy a game of golf at our
property The Bluffs. I am also a book lover,
a member of several culinary associations,
a wine curator, and a frequent visitor to the
city theater. Resting is a luxury I cannot
afford, as I spend my time enjoying life and
not wasting a second. I lead a happy life and
seek achievements in how many lives I have
touched including through my work. I always
remind myself: “Do only what you love to do,
what’s meaningful for you and those that you
care about”, so I count my blessings.
Thank you for your sharing. 
Text:XUÂNNTT-TranslatedbyHOÀTÔN-CreativeDirector:HIEPLEDUC-Photo:VINHVLK