Hiring the right Chief Operating Officer (COO) can transform a hospitality organization. As the operational leader responsible for execution, growth, profitability, and organizational performance, the COO plays a critical role in driving long-term success.
JWB Hospitality is a hospitality COO recruiter specializing in executive search for restaurants, hotels, resorts, private clubs, hospitality management companies, and hospitality brands nationwide.
We help ownership groups, founders, investors, and executive teams identify and secure exceptional operational leaders capable of scaling organizations, improving performance, and building high-performing teams.
Whether you're preparing for growth, improving operational efficiency, expanding into new markets, or strengthening leadership, JWB Hospitality provides a proven executive search process designed to connect you with top hospitality talent.
Chief Operating Officers are among the most influential leaders within a hospitality organization.
The right COO can:
The wrong hire can impact culture, growth, and financial performance across an entire organization.
At JWB Hospitality, we understand the unique leadership demands placed on hospitality COOs and conduct executive searches designed to identify candidates with both strategic vision and operational execution capabilities.
We help restaurant groups recruit COOs capable of scaling operations, improving profitability, and developing leadership teams.
Hotel ownership groups and management companies hire a COO to run operations across a portfolio: setting service and brand standards, managing General Managers across properties, controlling labor and costs, and driving RevPAR and GOP. A hotel COO search targets leaders who have run multi-property hotel operations and can work with both ownership and brand. JWB Hospitality recruits hotel COOs for independent hotel groups, boutique and lifestyle portfolios, and hotel management companies. See also our hotel executive search services.
Resort organizations require experienced executives capable of overseeing complex operations, multiple departments, and diverse revenue streams.
Private clubs seek operational leaders who can balance member experience, financial performance, and long-term strategic planning.
Management companies require executive leaders capable of driving consistency and performance across multiple properties and markets.
Private equity firms, family offices, and hospitality investors often engage executive search firms when seeking transformational leadership talent.
The most successful hospitality COOs combine strategic leadership with operational expertise.
Our evaluation process focuses on:
Strong candidates have demonstrated success leading large-scale hospitality operations and improving performance across multiple business units.
Exceptional COOs build leadership teams, create accountability, and develop future executives.
We assess experience with:
Many organizations engage a COO recruiter when preparing for expansion. We evaluate candidates on their ability to scale operations while maintaining quality and culture.
Hospitality COOs must align operations with ownership objectives and long-term business goals.
Every search begins with understanding your organization, leadership team, business objectives, and growth strategy.
We work closely with stakeholders to define the ideal executive profile and search criteria.
Our team evaluates the hospitality executive landscape and identifies leaders with relevant experience and proven results.
The strongest COO candidates are rarely active job seekers.
Through targeted executive search and industry relationships, we engage high-performing leaders who are often inaccessible through traditional recruiting channels.
Candidates undergo a comprehensive assessment process focused on:
Clients receive a curated shortlist of highly qualified executives along with detailed candidate insights and recommendations.
We support clients throughout the offer process to maximize acceptance rates and ensure successful executive placements.
Hospitality executive recruitment is our sole focus.
We identify leaders beyond traditional job boards and active candidate pools.
Many executive leadership transitions require discretion and confidentiality.
We conduct executive searches throughout the United States.
We focus on helping organizations make strategic leadership hires that support long-term success.
A hospitality COO recruiter specializes in identifying and recruiting Chief Operating Officers and senior operations executives for hospitality organizations.
Restaurant groups, hotel companies, resorts, private clubs, hospitality management companies, and investor-backed hospitality brands frequently hire COOs to drive operational performance and growth.
What does a hotel COO do? A hotel COO oversees operations across a hotel company's properties: General Managers, service standards, labor and cost control, and financial results such as RevPAR and GOP. The role reports to ownership, asset managers or the CEO.
How do you hire a hotel COO? Most strong hotel COOs are already employed, so ownership groups usually use a confidential executive search rather than a job posting. JWB Hospitality's COO searches typically take 45–120 days. They run on contingency at 20% of first-year base salary, with a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Most executive COO searches are completed within 45 to 120 days depending on the complexity of the role and market conditions.
Yes. Confidential executive search is a core component of our recruiting process.
Absolutely. JWB Hospitality conducts executive searches throughout the United States.
The right Chief Operating Officer can transform an organization by improving operations, developing leaders, driving profitability, and supporting growth.
JWB Hospitality helps hospitality organizations identify, attract, and secure exceptional COO talent through a proven executive search process.
Schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your executive hiring needs and learn how JWB Hospitality can help you secure top hospitality leadership talent.
JWB Hospitality
Executive search for restaurants, hotels, resorts, private clubs, and hospitality brands nationwide.