With over 16 years in the executive search and focusing principally the investment real estate space, I’ve dabbled in recruiting for middle and senior level hospitality positions with a few investor clients here and there – but not with the commitment and steadiness of what our company has experienced for the past two years.
And when I say “commitment,” I refer to the true definition of the word, emphasizing the “CO” prefix. It’s a two-way street! My team has remained dedicated to filling several very senior level positions on both the development and construction side. One is for a large, well known, hospitality REIT and the other for a privately held global developer of luxury hotel properties. In both cases, due to investment tides that sometimes take the hiring team away from the candidate pursuit (and causes delays) or internal soul searching by the executive teams in order to find the right “fit,” have caused the searches to drag-on for close to a year. And in other cases, my hospitality clients have taken a very “long view” approach to building their mid and senior management teams to be careful of incumbents’ ability to grow & learn as well as identify traits that allow for new hires to complement the existing skills – this means a slower, more methodical hiring approach. Long story short, major hospitality owners are committed to getting their leadership formula right and in turn, my recruiting team is right there with them!
Why and why now? As stated in my previous post, “Hospitality Rising” the reasons are obvious. Limited inventory and supply, increased demand exasperated by other industries that are growing leaps and bounds in an increasingly global economy that has caused a dramatic shortage of professional talent at the 8-15 year level of experience. Likewise, the long-view approach reflects a generally more optimistic and long term horizon for hotel investors – not simply a “cash grab” for the current economic swing. Hotel owners and operators seem to be confident that their economic upswing will far outpace the general real estate market, which most experts say is due for a leveling off in 24-36 months.
I’m hoping to catch-up with many of you during the upcoming ALIS Conference in Los Angeles on January, 26-28. I look forward to seeing you then, but do not hesitate to contact me in advance so that we can schedule 5-10 minutes together. Until then, Wes
Written by: Wes Easly
Founder and Managing Principal at ibr Search
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