Women to watch 2013: Doriana Zohil

Doriana Zohil, president of MAC Furnished Residences, followed a lifelong passion for real estate to a venture that provides luxury condo units for short-term rentals.

It was a risk that paid off, to her delight. Her business plan was, “Planting a seed of one condominium at a time and watching it grow and flourish to 75 and growing.” Once it took off, she was able to recreate the business in the Caribbean, opening luxury villas in St. Maarten, Anguilla and St. Barts.

Zohil’s career has allowed her to combine her great loves: real estate, Toronto and the Caribbean. Of Toronto she says, “I am very proud of my adopted country Canada, in particular Toronto, I love showing it off when assisting Guests that are settling in to their new environment.” She then took the model that worked so well here and relocated it to the Caribbean. “It was a perfect fit,” she says.

Part of her success can be traced the company’s philosophy, which is “based on personalizing each Client’s requests.” MAC staff members will help with any of the clients’ travel needs every step of the way.

“From the time we ‘meet and greet’ every arriving Guest, to making them feel like they’re right at home, it’s not just business for us, it’s personal!”

And her guests appreciate her efforts. “I love it when our Guests say they don’t want to go back home, they want to stay with us at MAC,” she says.

MAC is named after her daughters, Maggie and Cristina, and they seem poised to follow in their mother’s footsteps. This is a good thing, as Doriana is set to grow the business even further.

Perhaps shockingly, given the rate at which her business is expanding, Doriana believes, “Don’t rush things, good things will come to you when you’re ready for it and able to handle it.“