Influential Woman · Hospitality

Sarah M. Torres

Dual Director of Front Office, Moxy Hotels

Los Angeles, CA

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Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Member Concierge Association in LA

Her Story

About Sarah

I lead a large-scale hotel operation with hundreds of rooms and multiple teams at the Moxy in downtown Los Angeles. On a daily basis, I oversee operational excellence, manage labor, and standardize policies across the hotel. I audit front office operations including check-ins and scheduling, and I run extensive reports to ensure everything is running smoothly. But I think my most critical role is really training the managers under me that report to me. I've rotated responsibilities so that throughout my 5-day week, I'm teaching different managers different skills - one day I'll be teaching someone purchasing, another day I'll spend time teaching them how to read a P&L. Really developing and mentoring the managers under me is a big part of my job. On an executive level, I collaborate with the other directors on big groups that come in. I'm part of several committees at the hotel that drive associate engagement and revenue. I have close relationships with the Director of Revenue and weekly meetings on what our week-to-week looks like and how to drive demand. It's really about improving engagement, structure, and performance across all of our operations and driving measurable results in revenue, culture, and our service standards. I'm incredibly proud that I've achieved a great work-life balance in this demanding industry - I now work Monday through Friday, 8 and a half hour shifts, which is almost unheard of in hospitality operations. I invested in building a strong, self-sufficient team during my first year, and that foundation has allowed me to take vacations, enjoy my weekends, and truly have time for my personal life.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Sarah

01What do you attribute your success to?

I've had great mentors throughout my career who have taken me under their wing, people I can always call and run ideas by. Sarah Park, who was my Director of Rooms at the Edition and is now a hotel manager in New York, has been one of my greatest mentors. She really changed my perception of what a woman in a corporate business position can be - you don't have to be this serious, unemotional person afraid that people might think you're too emotional. She is very transparent and leads with her heart, and she's been a great mentor for me through it all. I think mentorship and women mentors are so important for women in any industry because it's a different experience. I also attribute my success to understanding that all of your experiences culminate to your success - they are all pieces of a larger puzzle that will be your career. Everything is an experience, everything is an opportunity to learn and grow. Even in negative situations or when you're being coached, if you take that as something that will help you grow, it will help you grow. I've learned the most when I was faced with situations where I didn't have the resources or the mentorship, and there were so many people willing to help me during those challenging times.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

A lot of the time we think that we have to fragment our experience, especially when it's been progressive. I used to work at a cell phone store selling cell phones in not the best neighborhood in LA, and understanding that all of your experiences are you - they culminate to your success, and they are all pieces of a larger puzzle that will be your career or even your personal goals. Don't try to segment any part of you. Understand that everything is an experience, everything is an opportunity to learn and grow, and take it that way. See the positives and see how it benefits you, even in negative situations, even in situations when you're being coached. If you take that as a positive or as something that will help you grow, it will help you grow. My career path has taken me somewhere where I didn't expect to be, and I originally wasn't so excited about it, but then understanding now in my position that everything I've done has really got me to where I am today. Find a mentor, whoever they admire, and don't be afraid to ask for that guidance and ask for that mentorship. You don't know what you don't know, but figure it out. You're stronger than you think you are.

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