Pre-Opening Hiring Is Its Own Discipline

A hotel opening is often described in terms of construction, design, procurement and operations. But behind all of that is another critical process: building the team that will eventually bring the property to life.

Pre-opening hiring is not simply about filling positions before a hotel opens. It is about finding people who can operate effectively while the operation itself is still taking shape. Unlike an established hotel, there are no settled routines to fall back on, no fully formed team and often no certainty that the plan will remain unchanged.

A Different Kind of Environment

The people required for a pre-opening need more than technical competence. They need to be comfortable working in an environment where responsibilities can evolve, timelines can move and decisions often have to be made before everything is in place.

For a leadership professional, the role can extend well beyond the eventual job description. An HOD may be involved in establishing departmental processes, recruiting and training the team, coordinating with vendors and consultants, preparing SOPs, participating in operational planning and solving problems that would normally be handled by an established structure.

Consider a hotel that is approaching its opening but is still dealing with delayed equipment, incomplete areas of the property and a team that is being assembled at different stages. The leader coming into that environment cannot simply wait for the conditions required to perform the job to become available. They have to work through the uncertainty and help create those conditions themselves.

That is one of the fundamental differences between operating an existing hotel and helping build a new one.

Timing Is Part of the Hiring Strategy

Pre-opening recruitment also cannot be treated as a flat list of vacancies. Different positions become critical at different stages of the project:

• Leadership and HODs: Come in early enough to shape departmental structures, establish processes, build teams and contribute to operational planning.
• Operational Teams: Build progressively as the property moves closer to opening, with recruitment aligned to training, mobilisation and operational readiness.
• Specialist Roles: Bring in according to the specific requirements of the property, project stage and areas that need to be established before opening.

The challenge is finding the right balance. Hiring too late leaves leadership teams trying to build an operation under severe time pressure. Bringing people in too early, without a clear project roadmap, can create unnecessary cost and leave key hires waiting for the operation to reach the stage where they can be effective.

The recruitment plan therefore needs to follow the project’s actual development rather than simply the number of vacancies that appear on a manpower plan.

Experience Is Not the Same as Commitment

This is perhaps the most important consideration in pre-opening hiring.

A candidate may have several pre-openings on their CV. That is valuable experience, but it does not automatically mean they are the right person for the next one.

Pre-opening work can involve long periods of uncertainty, changing timelines, incomplete infrastructure, evolving expectations and significant pressure, particularly for leadership teams. The person joining the project needs to be prepared to take it through its journey — from preparation and team building to opening and the stabilisation that follows.

A candidate who sees the role as a six- or nine-month assignment may have the experience required to get the hotel open. But the property may need someone who wants to stay long enough to see the operation settle, the team mature and the foundations built during the pre-opening translate into a functioning hotel.

The real question, therefore, is not simply: “Has this person done a pre-opening before?”

It is: “Is this person genuinely suited and committed to taking this particular project through its journey?”

A candidate having pre-opening experience is not the same as a candidate being right for your pre-opening.

Where Specialist Recruitment Makes a Difference

This is where a specialist recruitment approach becomes important.

At HRorion, we look at a pre-opening requirement as a project rather than simply a collection of vacancies. Understanding where the property is in its development, what the opening is expected to achieve, what kind of operating environment is being created and what the leadership team will be expected to deliver helps us assess candidates in the context of the actual assignment.

That means looking beyond whether a candidate has the right title or a previous pre-opening on their CV. Career trajectory, leadership style, expectations, motivation, mobility and willingness to commit can all influence whether someone is likely to remain effective through the different stages of a project.

For a pre-opening property, the right match is not necessarily the person with the longest list of similar openings. It is the person whose experience, capability, temperament and commitment align with what this particular project will demand.

Hiring for the Journey, Not Just the Opening

Pre-opening hiring is therefore its own discipline.

The objective is not merely to find people who can perform a particular job once the doors open. It is to identify people who can navigate the uncertainty before opening, contribute to building the operation, work through the pressure of the project and remain committed long enough to help establish a successful hotel.

Because ultimately, a successful opening is not the finish line. It is the beginning of the operation the team was hired to build.

If you are planning a hotel opening or building a leadership team for a new property, HRorion can help you assess the hiring requirement around the project itself — not just the vacancy.

A successful opening is not the finish line. It is the beginning of the operation the team was hired to build.