Consumer | Retail
Keller is a leading executive search firm sourcing top-tier talent for businesses in the travel and hospitality industry. Our unparalleled search services focus on supplying our clients with executive talents capable of navigating the sector’s most pressing challenges.
In recent years, companies in the travel and hospitality industry have faced rapid global expansion and shifting customer expectations. The evolution of technology has also brought new challenges to the industry’s operations, prompting many companies to shift towards seamless end-to-end booking processes and personalized customer communications. This has led to an increase in demand for digitally savvy and diverse professionals who can adapt to new technologies and sustainable practices.
Keller understands the problems faced by travel agencies, hotels, and restaurants in recruiting skilled talent and has the tools and resources to source the highest caliber candidates to meet their needs. This, combined with our personalized approach and attention to detail, sets us apart from other executive recruitment firms.
Keller works with companies and organizations in the hospitality and travel industry that are looking to fill open executive and leadership roles. However, we don’t simply place candidates; we follow a rigorous hiring process that aims to find the perfect fit for our customers’ long-term success. We do this through:
We commence every executive search with an in-depth assessment of our client’s organization. This allows us to understand the company from the inside out and ensures we only source professionals who have the correct mindset and technical expertise to successfully integrate into the existing team.
When we evaluate potential candidates, we look beyond their track record and skills. Our team also assesses candidates on other more intricate factors, such as personality, management style, and motivational drivers, when determining which individuals fit our client’s requirements. Additionally, we leverage advanced tools to improve the outcomes and efficiency of the recruitment process, for example, applicant tracking, talent analytics, and diversity hiring techniques.
Keller has access to a wide network of connections and senior-level candidates with the cutting-edge digital and e-commerce skills needed to serve and succeed in the tourism industry. This is largely due to NPAworldwide membership and vast database of industry experts, which gives us access to individuals who are not actively seeking new jobs but are open to strategic career opportunities.
Apart from our executive recruiting expertise, our team of headhunters also possesses in-depth knowledge of the tourism industry. This allows us to provide sound advice to clients on improving processes and workflows that help boost employee engagement and retention. We also offer assistance with succession planning, salary benchmarking, leadership assessment, and executive coaching, among other HR functions.
Each search is unique. Therefore, we take the time to understand our client’s company culture as well as the complex issues faced by organizations in the tourism industry at the beginning of every engagement. We use these insights to form a bespoke recruitment strategy tailored to our client organization’s needs.
Once we have a clear idea of what to look for in potential candidates, our recruiters start mapping the market for talent that aligns with the requirements. We are committed to supplying our clients with a diverse talent pool and helping them foster teams that are innovative, skilled, and inclusive, so we do not discriminate against candidates based on their gender, age, or ethnicity.
Another part of our process for finding the best fit for our client is thoroughly assessing each potential candidate. This involves extensive background and reference checks, psychometric assessments, and competency reviews. We compile all the professionals who pass our evaluations into a curated shortlist for our client to consider.
When Keller had just entered the recruitment arena, we relied on a single, standardized approach to filling vacancies. Although it allowed us to locate individuals for a variety of roles, this method overlooked some important factors that influence a placement’s success, namely, personality, work ethic, leadership style, and team dynamics.
This shortcoming resulted in some failed placements, including one for a high-profile client that made us realize a change was necessary. We rallied our recruitment team and developed our current approach, which is focused on both technical skills and cultural alignment. This means we tailor our recruitment strategy to meet our clients’ specific needs, ensuring the professionals who join their team are the right match for both the job description and organizational culture.
This customer-oriented approach has increased our placement success rates by a significant margin and garnered us worldwide recognition for delivering high-quality candidates for critical roles.
Learn how to make your company a better place to work and improve employee retention and performance by reading Keller’s latest Insights below.
Our recruiters are seasoned professionals with hands-on experience sourcing candidates across the tourism, hospitality, and travel industry. Their academic qualifications and in-depth knowledge of the kind of people this sector needs to thrive enable them to find the top talent for open roles across the following fields and many others not listed here:
As a leading boutique executive search firm, Keller’s travel recruiters go far beyond simply matching skilled candidates to job openings. Our executive recruiters partner with boards and investors to forecast the leadership capabilities their businesses will need next quarter, next year, and many years out. We also dig into revenue models, guest-experience data, and emerging travel tech to map out factors that can support profitable growth. These insights allow us to craft an extensive candidate profile to guide us during the search.
Part of what makes Keller stand out as a premier travel industry executive recruiter is our access to a vast database and discreet global network of top-tier talent across every critical function in the industry – from strategy and P&L stewardship to digital distribution, loyalty, sustainability, and experience design. That said, our reach is not confined to a fixed set of job titles. If our partner companies in the travel sector require a certain expertise, Keller can headhunt it.
Our talent acquisition process is backed by years of research and can be tailored to meet the growing needs of our clients. Our specialist team performs rigorous competency interviews, behavioral assessments, and 360-degree referencing that test candidates on real-world KPIs. This results in a shortlist of highly capable job seekers with rare skill sets and a deep understanding of the industry, its nuances, and complexities. We only present the best talents who arrive ready to drive business outcomes; whether that means launching a leisure travel division in a new market, architecting a contact-free guest journey, or monetizing data across multiple touchpoints.
At Keller, we are committed to providing high-value executive search services to our clients. Our extensive network of connections and industry professionals allows us to supply clients with a larger pool of candidates who are passionate about serving in the tourism industry. In addition, our experience in the field helps us give clients sound advice on HR processes and workflows, compensation packages, and solutions to attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent.
Keller is also dedicated to continuous learning to help us stay ahead of the curve and provide services that are relevant to our clients’ immediate and future needs. This means we regularly engage in professional development activities, attend conferences and webinars, and actively monitor the market to keep tabs on where the best talent is currently employed. This allows us to cut down on the time spent searching for individuals with the knowledge and experience to meet the demands of an ever-evolving industry.
Keller is committed to keeping our clients and all potential candidates safe during the search process and exercises professionalism and confidentiality throughout the search. As such, our team will never reveal any sensitive information about the search, the client, and the candidates before, during, or after the recruitment process. We keep all our clients’ and candidates’ data stored securely and uphold all applicable data-protection laws within their locales.
While we are dedicated to finding the right talent for our client’s business without compromising on quality, we recognize that no recruitment approach is infallible and that unexpected circumstances can arise at any point during the search. As such, we offer to redo the process at no cost to the client if the executive can no longer hold the position within the first 210 days of hiring.
Ready to find your next exceptional leader? Contact Keller’s team of seasoned headhunters today to embark on your journey toward business success in the tourism industry.
"Keller's knack for finding leaders who fit our culture is unmatched. They took the time to dig into our goals and came back with someone who's not only skilled but also a perfect match for our team's vibe. Since bringing them on, we've noticed a real boost in how we handle peak travel seasons. They made hiring feel less like a chore and more like a win."
- Benjamin L., Chief Executive Officer
"I was blown away by how well Keller understood our needs right from the start. They zeroed in on what makes our company unique and delivered a shortlist of candidates who were all top-notch - it was tough to choose just one! The executive we hired has already streamlined our operations in ways we didn't think possible. Working with Keller felt like having a partner, not just a service."
- Harper P., Chief Revenue Officer
"Keller stepped in when we were stuck trying to fill a tricky spot on our leadership team. They didn't just find us a candidate - they found someone who really gets the travel world and brought fresh ideas we hadn't even considered. The whole process was smooth, and now our marketing efforts are hitting new heights thanks to their pick. I'd tell anyone in the industry to give them a call."
- Michael T., Director of Regional Operations