Dilys Search Answers
Senior hospitality leadership is one of the hardest talent pools to crack. The people who are genuinely excellent at running a hotel, a restaurant group, or a hospitality operation at a VP or GM level are almost never looking — and the organizations that secure them are the ones with a structured, direct approach to getting in front of them.
Start a Search or book a call first →Canada's hospitality sector is operating in a prolonged talent shortage at the leadership level. The candidates who can lead a complex hospitality operation — managing revenue, guest experience, F&B, service quality, and people simultaneously — have been in short supply since the pandemic accelerated attrition from the industry. The ones who stayed and performed are well-employed, well-compensated, and selective about their next move.
A posting does not reach the best hospitality leaders. They are not circulating through LinkedIn job boards or responding to recruiters who contact them with generic outreach. Reaching them requires a direct, credible, sector-specific approach from someone who understands the operating environment they live in and can make a compelling case for the opportunity.
Dilys Search brings the same structured, CEO-led search process to hospitality leadership that we apply in seniors living and healthcare — both sectors where leadership is operationally consequential and the cost of a wrong hire is real. We understand what excellence looks like in a complex service environment, how to assess leaders who operate under pressure, and how to present a mandate compellingly to candidates who have choices.
Hotel ownership groups, restaurant groups, hospitality management companies, private clubs, and multi-unit hospitality operators recruiting senior leaders — General Managers, VPs of F&B, VPs of Operations, Directors of F&B, or other senior roles where the hire will directly affect the quality and commercial performance of the operation.
The hospitality leadership talent market has a specific problem: the people who are best at it are the least visible.
A hotel GM or VP of F&B who is performing well in their current role is not updating their LinkedIn profile. They are not talking to recruiters who reach out with generic messages. They are managing operations, developing their teams, driving revenue, and thinking carefully about what their next move should be before they make it.
Getting in front of those candidates requires a direct approach. One that is credible, sector-specific, and positions the opportunity clearly enough that the conversation is worth their time.
This is what a structured executive search does in hospitality — and it is what Dilys Search brings to senior hospitality mandates.
What Dilys Search assesses in hospitality leaders
The surface credentials — tenure, brand affiliation, revenue managed, team size — are the starting point. What the assessment actually covers is more specific to the operating reality the candidate is walking into:
How do they operate under service pressure? Do they stabilize a team or make it more fragile? Can they hold commercial accountability alongside service quality accountability simultaneously? Are they a builder or a maintainer? How do they manage owners and investors? What does their track record look like when operations were genuinely difficult — not just when the season was good?
These are the questions that distinguish an excellent hospitality leader from a plausible one. We ask them before the client ever meets a candidate.
The connection between Dilys Search and Athena
Dilys Search is part of Dilys Group, which also operates Athena — a bilingual frontline staffing agency serving hospitality clients across Ontario and Quebec with event staff, banquet teams, kitchen support, and hospitality operations coverage.
When a hospitality organization needs both senior leadership search and frontline staffing support, Dilys Group can coordinate both through one relationship. This is especially relevant during leadership transitions, when a GM or VP departure creates simultaneous instability at the leadership and operational level.
For related reading, see why hospitality organizations struggle to hire experienced GMs and how organizations reduce the risk of a bad executive hire.
General Managers, Hotel General Managers, VPs of Food & Beverage, VPs of Operations, Directors of F&B, Executive Chefs in senior leadership roles, and other C-suite or senior leadership positions in hotels, restaurant groups, private clubs, and multi-unit hospitality organizations.
We recruit into operationally complex environments — not generic executive roles. The same discipline we apply in seniors living and LTC, where leadership quality is directly consequential, applies in hospitality. We assess candidates for operating fit, leadership depth, and the specific demands of the environment — not just sector labels and title history.
Yes. We operate Canada-wide. Hospitality leadership search is conducted across Ontario, BC, Alberta, Quebec, and other provinces.
Confidential searches are part of our standard practice. We can reach candidates with a blind mandate approach, disclosing the organization only when mutual interest is confirmed and a confidentiality agreement is in place.
Yes. Athena, our frontline staffing division, serves hospitality clients across Ontario and Quebec with temporary event and operations staff. When a hospitality client needs both senior leadership and frontline coverage, we can support both through Dilys Group.
If you are recruiting a GM, VP, or other senior leader for a hospitality organization, start the conversation. We will assess the mandate and give you an honest view of the candidate market before you commit to anything.
Start a Search or book a call first →