Christian Salazar Guerrero

About Christian Salazar Guerrero

Businessman, lover of music, art and culture, visionary, self-taught, real estate specialist by experience and entrepreneur by inheritance

“You work hard you make your own luck” is the phrase that not only identifies Christian Salazar, a prominent Costa Rican businessman who carved out his career based on effort, hard work, self-learning and a lot of dedication; It also frames your objectives, goals, and challenges.

He inherited from his father, Luis Gerardo Salazar, a “door-to-door” salesman, the skill and passion for business. Although he did not complete his university studies, today he is one of the most prominent businessmen in his county.

Born in San José, Costa Rica, on February 23, 1979, he studied elementary school at the Elías Jiménez Castro School and high school at the Liceo de Costa Rica. He did audiovisual studies at the University of Veritas. He also studied art at La Casa del Artista, since since he was a child he had skills for painting.

From a very young age and due to the motivation of his father and mother, Rosibel Guerrero, he studied English, so he always looked for jobs that would help him put the foreign language into practice. He worked for more than five years in call centers; however, this did not quench his thirst for an entrepreneur that he carried with him since the day he was born by inheritance from his father.

Being tired of working for so many years in call centers, which he considers very exhausting and his passion for surfing and the beach, motivated him to travel more frequently to Jaco, where he met many people, found a job and an opportunity to learn .

Changing jobs, cities, and a bit of his lifestyle led him to be more visionary, so although the job he landed as a messenger at a Development company was somewhat easier than what he was used to doing, and he had less economic remuneration, he explored the opportunities that it could offer him.

In this company he learned about real estate, vacation rentals, tourism, and over the years it became the place that gave him the impetus for his development as an entrepreneur.

After five years working in this company, the project ended, he saw the opportunity to continue operating the condominiums that is how in 2008 he created his own company: Costa Rica Holiday Rentals.

In the beginning, Costa Rica Holiday Rentals were only Christian and his brother Daniel Salazar, who, with two minibuses and eager to get ahead, started in the tourism business, offering tours and transportation to tourists from the airport to different destinations of the country.

With the passage of time the business grew to the point that they had to hire drivers to dedicate themselves together with their brother to the marketing and administrative matters of the company. They came at one point to employ five more people, however, the landscape changed with the arrival of digital platforms that offered a similar service, something that did not take Christian by surprise, who, as a visionary entrepreneur, foresaw this scenario. , which allowed him to reduce his operating costs.

This decision included selling the minibuses that had the same employees and continuing to work with them through outsourcing.

Over the years, he built a portfolio of properties and met more investors, which has led to potentiate his brand today.

In addition to being a businessman, he is a founding member of the Rotary Club of Garabito, founder of the Pueblo Garabito political Party, for which he was municipal councilor for four years (2016-2020). He is also the founder of the National Chamber of Vacation Rentals, a body of which he is currently president.

He considers himself a very family person, in a stable de facto union since 2008 with Hellen Morales. He is the father of a 10-year-old girl: Alana Valeria, who, since his arrival on August 29, 2010, changed his life and turned him into a different person.

His favorite hobby is working and in his free time he dedicates to himself to nurturing his knowledge, studying on his own.

A music lover, your work day can’t start without first tuning in to a station or just putting on a song. Coastal food, seafood and coffee are one of its weaknesses.

Then the vacation rental and property management business grew, allowing Christian and those who work with him to have more staff.

He is proud to carry the Costa Rican “pura vida” in his blood; In the not too distant future, he does not rule out taking a more incidental role in Costa Rican politics, although for now he prefers to focus on his role as a businessman.

In addition to his vacation rental and real estate businesses, he is a partner in a business management company and the owner of a fast food restaurant.

For Christian, the success of an entrepreneur is perseverance, having conviction, being reasonable, not being afraid, being humble and knowing how to take advice.

He works together with his partner, which he considers an advantage, since most of the time they spend together and share the same goal, not only as a family, but as entrepreneurs.

His greatest strength as an entrepreneur has been the vision of always having something more to achieve and his desire to continue to improve himself. He knows no limits or comfort zone, he is always generating new ideas, always seeking to be in the right place, at the right time, because for Christian Salazar “punctuality is courtesy of kings”.

Language: English - Spanish