About Us | Rakuen Sol

Q: Who founded Rakuen Sol?

Rakuen Sol was founded by Hendel Villamizar, an anesthesia provider with Latin roots, born and raised in Miami, and his wife Reiko Higuchi, who is from Japan. The brand name reflects their heritage: Rakuen means paradise in Japanese, Sol means sun in Spanish. It is a DBA of Rakuen Management Group.

Q: What is the Rakuen Standard?

A 47-point quality review every active listing must pass. It covers safety essentials (smoke and CO detectors, fire extinguisher, first aid kit), guest essentials (bath and beach kits, 24/7 support), and cleanliness standards. Properties that fail the review are removed until remediated.

Q: How are Rakuen Sol properties different from typical vacation rentals?

Rakuen Sol is founded and operated by a couple who have spent years traveling between the United States and Japan with young children. Every property is prepared the way they would want to arrive: clean floors and baseboards, a guidebook covering the unit's quirks, a stocked kitchen with the basics, quality linens, and a host who responds. The standard comes from personal experience as guests, not a management checklist.

Warm Greetings

Mucho Gusto

ようこそ

My wife Reiko is from Japan and I have Latin roots, born and raised in Miami. Between us, we have spent years traveling between the United States and Japan with two young children, seven or eight suitcases, and everything a family of four needs for months at a time.

We have stayed in enough properties to know within 60 seconds whether a host cares. We have also felt what it costs a family when a host does not. A door that would not open in the cold after a 14-hour flight. Hair left on the shower wall. A host who went silent at midnight.

We named the brand Rakuen Sol because it tells our story in two words. Rakuen means paradise in Japanese, a nod to Reiko's heritage and the hospitality standard Japan holds as self-evident. Sol means sun in Spanish, a nod to mine. Together, the name is the story of our family.

We built Rakuen Sol because we never want a guest to feel like a tool for revenue. Every guest who stays with us worked hard to get here. We know that, and we prepare for your arrival the way we would want to arrive ourselves.

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Meet Your Hosts

Two people with different origins, the same standard.

Hendel Villamizar

Co-Founder

Hendel is an anesthesia provider. That is his day job, and it is what funds the build. He has Latin roots and grew up in Miami, in a household where his mom worked two or three jobs to keep things moving. He did the same through high school and college, working one to three jobs at a time, pulling student loans partly to help cover her bills.

He knows what a vacation costs because he paid his own way for every one he ever took. That shapes how every property is prepared: the guest worked for this trip, and the space should show that someone else worked to receive them.

Reiko Higuchi

Co-Founder

Reiko is from Japan, and she brought omotenashi (おもてなし) into how Rakuen Sol operates. Omotenashi is not a service mindset. It is a preparation discipline: anticipating what the guest will need before they think to ask for it. It is the reason the turnover checklist exists, the reason arrival notes get updated between stays, the reason nothing is left to chance.

She is a mother of two. The family splits the year between the United States and Japan. She has been a guest in more properties than most hosts will ever visit, and she carries that experience into every hosting decision.

They prepared this place the way they would want someone to prepare for their own family.