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Mario Otero (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1986) has been part of the Baleària team since 2004.
He knows the company very well, having worked in different roles — reservations management, sales and boarding and disembarkation operations — before joining the Baleària Caribbean project in 2011. Mario has lived in Miami since the route between the United States and the Bahamas opened, and for the past few months he has been leading this international project for the shipping company.
Q. You have been involved in the Baleària Caribbean project from the beginning. What motivated you to go?
A. I like challenges, I am ambitious and I could not pass up the opportunity to be part of this project. Discovering new cultures and seeing how our services were adapted on another continent meant I did not have to think twice.
Q. How would you assess the route since it opened?
A. Very positively. Since we opened the route, we have carried almost 850,000 passengers, rising from 80,000 in the first year to more than 133,000 in the last financial year, which represents growth of 60%. Over these years we have made more than 2,800 crossings with different company vessels: Maverick, Pinar del Río, Bahama Mama and Jaume I. These seven years in the Caribbean have also taught us a great deal. We have adapted our services to two completely different cultures, and our regular customers recognise the company’s continuous improvement and its constant focus on their satisfaction.
Q. Are there differences between what US and Bahamian passengers expect?
A. For passengers from the United States, who are generally less familiar with ferry services, service quality and convenient processes are paramount. Grand Bahama customers place greater value on reliability and the convenience of being able to take their purchases home. Satisfaction among both groups is very high, as they value both the service we provide and the value for money, with very positive ratings.
Q. What challenges do you face in your new responsibilities as manager?
A. Working for and responding to our customers’ needs. Our services bring territories closer together, and it is very important to me that customers know about the social responsibility initiatives we carry out in the places where we operate.
Although originally from the Basque Country, Mario, who moved to Dénia as a teenager, considers himself Valencian. “It is not easy spending Sundays without paella,” he says when recalling what he misses most in the United States: family, friends and sharing a home-cooked meal.
In his spare time, he enjoys cycling and burning off energy at the gym.
Q. What expansion plans are there for the Caribbean?
A. In addition to continuing to connect Grand Bahama with South Florida every day, we aim to open new connections with other Bahamian islands, particularly Bimini, where we previously operated in 2013. We are also interested in expanding our business model in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Q. What would you highlight about the Baleària Caribbean team?
A. Teamwork is fundamental. The close relationship between all departments and the working environment mean that we see ourselves as a family, including our partners and agencies.
Q. What motivates you most about your work?
A. Seeing our customers happy is a great motivation, but above all it is seeing what a strong team we make, as colleagues provide tremendous support day to day.
Q. What values would you highlight about working at Baleària?
A. The professional opportunities it offers, as well as internal training, corporate social responsibility, commitment to the environment and continuous improvement to provide the service our customers deserve.
