Director, Guest Experience and Hospitality Excellence

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa•Las Vegas, NV

About The Position

The Director of Guest Experience and Hospitality Excellence leads Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas’s guest experience and Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star strategy. The role serves as the voice of the guest and partners with leaders across Hotel, Food & Beverage, Casino, Security, VIP Services, Marketing and other operating areas to design and continuously elevate the end-to-end guest journey, from arrival through departure. The Director translates Forbes Travel Guide standards and the property’s service philosophy into practical operating standards, service behaviors and quality-assurance routines. The role is the primary liaison to Forbes Travel Guide and leads education, coaching, assessment and readiness strategies to achieve and sustain exceptional service standards. During pre-opening, the Director builds the service excellence infrastructure, including standards, training and coaching capabilities, quality-assurance processes, readiness plans and a team of service excellence trainers/coaches. Following opening, the role leads guest feedback, service recovery and continuous experience improvement, using guest insights and service data to inform operational priorities and improve the guest journey.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration or a related field.
At least five years of progressive leadership experience in luxury hospitality, casino operations, guest experience or service excellence, with demonstrated success delivering elevated guest experiences.
Experience leading service standards, quality assurance, guest experience and coaching programs.
Ability to obtain and maintain required gaming licenses.
Ability to work a flexible schedule based on operational needs, including nights, weekends and holidays.
Deep understanding of luxury hospitality, Five-Star service standards and high-touch guest experiences.
Strong strategic and operational mindset, with the ability to translate a guest experience vision into practical standards and measurable results.
Ability to influence and partner with senior leaders across a complex, multi-department resort environment.
Leadership, coaching and facilitation skills, including the ability to develop leaders, trainers and teams at all levels.
Analytical skills, including the ability to translate guest feedback, quality-assurance findings and service trends into actionable improvements.
Excellent communication, interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with executive presence.
Highly organized, proactive and resilient, with the ability to build programs, manage competing priorities and thrive in a fast-paced pre-opening environment.
Ability to meet the physical demands of standing and walking for extended periods and occasional lifting and moving of items weighing up to 50 pounds.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.
Forbes Travel Guide experience.
Experience in a pre-opening, transformation or complex integrated resort environment.

Responsibilities

Lead the property’s guest experience and service excellence strategy, owning the end-to-end guest journey from arrival through departure.
Lead the property’s Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star strategy and serve as the primary liaison to Forbes Travel Guide.
Translate Forbes standards into practical service behaviors, operating standards and departmental expectations.
Partner with leaders across Hotel, Food & Beverage, Casino, Security, VIP Services and other operating areas to identify friction, elevate service and embed standards in daily operations.
Represent the voice of the guest by bringing guest expectations, feedback and emerging needs into operational and executive decision-making.
Partner with Marketing and Player Development to support exceptional VIP and high-touch guest experiences.
Establish and oversee quality-assurance processes, including inspections, observation, mystery shopping and assessment readiness.
Partner with operating leaders to address performance gaps and reinforce Five-Star service standards.
Build and lead a team of service excellence trainers/coaches responsible for standards education, coaching and property readiness.
Develop a scalable train-the-trainer approach and lead the departmental trainer network to drive consistency across the property.
Train and calibrate quality-assurance inspectors to support consistent evaluation of service standards.
Partner with Training and operational leaders to integrate service excellence into onboarding, ongoing education and leadership development.
Build the pre-opening service excellence function, including its team structure, standards library, coaching approach, quality-assurance routines and readiness calendar.
Develop the infrastructure needed to prepare leaders and team members to deliver the property’s service promise from opening day.
Partner with operational leadership during pre-opening to incorporate service expectations into departmental processes, training and opening-readiness plans.
Support recruitment and selection efforts where appropriate to reinforce a strong service culture and guest-focused mindset.
Lead the post-opening approach to guest feedback, service recovery and continuous experience improvement.
Analyze guest feedback, quality-assurance results, online reviews and service data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
Translate insights into actionable priorities with operating leaders and establish reporting that drives accountability for service quality.
Ensure guest concerns and recurring service issues inform improvements to the guest journey, operating practices and service standards.