The time is now.

Less than two years (724 days) until the beginning of the 2012 Olympics to be held in London and the hospitality and hotel industry are preparing for the intake of the vast amount of sports tourists from the 205 nations around the world due to take part in the summer games. The demand for accommodation, services and facilities during this time will inevitably be extremely high.

Lloyds TSB forecast that the London Olympics will generate £10bn in revenue for the British economy as a whole and revenue from tourists attracted by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are projected to add up to an additional £2.1bn. The time is now that the hospitality industry needs to recruit world class executives, CEO’s, COO’s, VP’s and Presidents in finance, development, marketing and sales for what will be a world event. Competition will be fierce to attract the international clientele in the luxury hotel sector, thus it is imperative that the appointment of these executives are right.

It is with confidence that experienced international search firms such as MSE, operating at the forefront of the hospitality industry for over 12 years, are able to solve these leadership problems many independent and international hotel and hospitality companies will face in the upcoming days, months and years until the games begin. With the capabilities to source exceptional individuals with the expertise and experience the hospitality industry needs and wants MSE should be the first port of call in any hospitality company’s executive recruitment process.

Graduate Intake Fuels Future Talent Growth

MSE work on retained search basis identifying top talent for the International Hospitality and Tourism Industry we represent candidates at senior director and board level, graduates may believe they are under our radar by a decade but are they?

Search companies track the success of the new comers throughout the different and diverse sectors of the industry identifying the senior executives of the future?


We are aware of talented candidates who may not possess the seniority that our clients seek presently however we keep in contact with them from time to time to monitor their development and progress ready to represent them when the time comes.


The International Hospitality Industry has been criticised in the past for not being as competitive in attracting high calibre graduates as industries such as financial or legal services. The Hospitality industry has moved forward considerably and offers a wide range of careers throughout the different sectors - Leisure, Hotels, Entertainment, Restaurants, Travel and the industry's support sectors such as Real Estate, Distribution, Advisory and Technology.


Time was when anyone outside the hospitality industry referred to a career within the industry it was assumed that the roles were low paid with anti social hours. Not so now the opportunities are extensive with a global reach offering experience in diverse disciplines with the ability to develop a rewarding career.


"Oaks from Little Acorns Grow"

MOVING FORWARD

Election over and coalition in place the international Search sector is continuing to experience a positive upturn. The last 24 months despite its challenges has enabled many organisations to take affirmative action to improve the performance of their management and staff in addition to that of the quality of their service and product offering.

A new government will undoubtedly increase confidence and enable companies to create and implement mid term plans although there is no doubt that the challenging times are not over yet. We still witness foolhardy activity in certain sectors of the Hospitality, Leisure and Travel industry where individuals seek to increase their own remuneration without regard for the economic situation of their company or the wellbeing of their customers. This shortsightedness will only result in lack of confidence in the business impacting significantly on growth and their own future earnings potential

MARKET INSTABILITY

The world of international executive search is not reacting as one might expect to the recent disruption caused by volcanic ash and the present uncertainty a hung parliament in the UK. Despite all this and the instability of the international stock markets Management Search Executive continues to experience an increase in requests to handle senior executive mandates albeit client companies remain price competitive. This all goes to prove that the need to identify senior top talent still rests with the Executive Search firms. In the international hotel and hospitality sector niche boutique search companies such as MSE can add value to their clients' organisations through their in depth and thorough research and creative methodology which does not rely upon databases however demands the activity of their high calibre consultants combined with their extensive global network.

Volcano Erupts and Air Travel Halts

Just over 100 years ago there was no air travel and transport was by land or sea; its hard to understand how life ran so normally without the ease and speed of international air transport. Yet here we are with multiples of countries where there are no airports open and we are told by the press that the impact on travel is the worst since 9/11. Closed or partly closed as we blog are the following airports: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Norway, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Sweden and UK . Closer to home at MSE Paul Sanett, Development Director for Hilton Worldwide and partner of our colleague Ariel Freeman is finally on his way back to the UK having been stranded in Iceland for the last 48 hours. Karen Skelton, our International Hotel and Hospitality Associate had her trip to Milan postponed as all flights were cancelled from Gatwick Airport.
Whilst at breakfast with a client at the Lanesborough Hotel, London this morning one guest was overheard to ask if could have a list of all directly accessable European Airports open from London in order to return home and received a short response ....Zurich.
Taking a broader view there will be winners and losers from this force majeure; hotels are reporting overbooking as stranded passengers seek accommodation, tourist attractions are also likely to reap the benefit as visitors search for entertainment to keep them occupied during this unforseen natural disaster and of course buses, boats and trains are experiencing record bookings as passengers try to get home come what may by any means they can.

MSE THE STORY and so to Berlin

MSE were out in force during the IHIF and the ITB events earlier in the month. There is still a high demand for talented hospitality senior executives particularly from the Resort Hotel Companies and from the Hotel Owning Companies. The ongoing development of new brands is putting greater pressure on the hotel chains to develop talent internally and where the demand exceeds supply they are looking to the search firms to identify top talent from their competitors. MSE has recently been working with the major multinationals and prestigious Luxury Resort Chains and has successfully completed several senior Executive Search Assignments including Board and Corporate mandates in Europe, the Indian Ocean and UK.

Our Real Estate and Advisory specialists are keen to speak with senior decision makers who are in hiring mode as they have arguably the best talent pool in this sector of the industry. Clearly many companies have significantly reduced the size of their teams and will find themselves in a very competitive arena in order to find high achievers in the not too distant future. Please contact us on +44 (0) 20 7395 3790

The MSE STORY cont.

MSE's international assignments stretch across the world and include locations in Asia, Indian Ocean, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Eastern Europe, North America, the Caribbean, South America and of course the UK. We have successfully completed a Joint Venture partner with one of the major international consultancy firms, two high profile General Managers, one for a top Leading Hotel of the World and the other to open a resort property for one of the major multinational's high end brands.

Our creative approach to Executive Research identifying top talent for the International Hospitality industry provides us with the cutting edge. We possess the know how and experience to provide solutions for the luxury hotel market.

MSE receives worldwide requests for board level roles, Chief Executive Officers,Chief Sales and Marketing Officers,Chief Operating Officers, Finanace Directors and General Managers. If you wish to discuss your hiring requirement or your require us to undertake a Hospitality Executive Search assignment contact us at any time.