POSITION OVERVIEW
The Vice President, Hospitality Operation – Southeast Asia & Oceania is a senior regional executive responsible for the overall operational leadership, business performance, service excellence, and sustainable growth of the Group's hotel portfolio across Southeast Asia and Oceania.
As part of a global hotel group headquartered in China with operations across 25 countries, the Vice President will play a critical role in aligning Group strategy and operating priorities with regional execution.
The position provides executive leadership to regional, country, and hotel management teams and serves as a key bridge between Group Headquarters in China and operations across Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The successful candidate will be a commercially driven and highly experienced international hospitality executive with strong multi-country operating experience, cultural intelligence, and the ability to lead complex hotel portfolios across diverse markets.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Regional Operations Leadership
- Provide executive leadership and strategic oversight of hotel operations across Southeast Asia and Oceania.
- Lead and provide direction to Regional Operations leaders, Country Heads, Area General Managers, and Hotel General Managers.
- Drive consistent execution of the Group's business strategy, operating standards, and brand promise.
- Establish a high-performance operating culture focused on accountability, commercial performance, guest experience, and operational excellence.
- Conduct regular portfolio, country, and hotel performance reviews.
- Identify operational risks, performance gaps, and emerging market challenges and ensure timely corrective actions.
- Develop scalable regional operating capabilities to support continued portfolio growth.
Financial and Business Performance
- Assume executive accountability for the operational and financial performance of the regional hotel portfolio.
- Drive achievement of key performance indicators, including revenue, Gross Operating Profit (GOP), EBITDA, RevPAR, occupancy, Average Daily Rate (ADR), market share, and competitive performance.
- Lead the annual business planning, budgeting, and forecasting process for regional operations.
- Partner with Finance, Commercial, Revenue Management, Sales, Marketing, and Asset Management teams to maximise portfolio performance.
- Drive productivity, cost optimisation, and operating efficiency while protecting guest experience and brand standards.
- Develop and oversee performance improvement plans for underperforming hotels.
Guest Experience and Service Excellence
- Champion a guest-centric operating philosophy across the regional portfolio.
- Ensure consistent delivery of the Group's service standards, brand promise, and guest experience.
- Monitor guest satisfaction, service quality, online reputation, and key customer experience metrics.
- Lead regional service excellence and guest experience improvement initiatives.
- Translate guest feedback and operational data into measurable improvement actions.
- Promote innovation in hospitality operations and service delivery.
Operational Governance and Brand Standards
- Ensure compliance with Group policies, operating standards, brand requirements, and standard operating procedures.
- Drive operational consistency across the portfolio while allowing appropriate localisation for individual markets.
- Establish robust regional operating governance, reporting, and performance management frameworks.
- Partner with Group Headquarters to develop and continuously improve operating policies, standards, and best practices.
- Ensure high standards of safety, security, food safety, hygiene, regulatory compliance, business continuity, and operational risk management.
Leadership and Talent Development
- Build and develop a strong regional hospitality leadership team.
- Lead, coach, and mentor General Managers and senior operational leaders.
- Identify and develop high-potential hospitality executives.
- Establish robust succession plans for critical regional and hotel leadership positions.
- Promote leadership mobility and talent deployment across countries and hotel properties.
- Partner with Human Resources to strengthen leadership capability, employee engagement, organisational culture, talent retention, and workforce productivity.
- Create an inclusive, collaborative, and culturally intelligent leadership environment.
China Headquarters and Regional Alignment
- Serve as a key strategic and operational liaison between Group Headquarters in China and regional hotel operations.
- Translate Group strategy, priorities, and operating expectations into effective regional execution.
- Provide clear, timely, and commercially relevant reporting to Group senior leadership.
- Communicate regional market dynamics, business risks, opportunities, and operational realities to Headquarters.
- Build strong relationships with senior executives and key stakeholders across the Group.
- Navigate complex cross-cultural and matrix organisational environments with maturity and diplomacy.
Hotel Openings, Transitions and Portfolio Growth
- Provide executive operational leadership for new hotel openings, hotel conversions, acquisitions, management transitions, and portfolio integrations.
- Partner with Development, Technical Services, Design, Finance, and Project teams to ensure operational readiness.
- Support operational due diligence for potential hotel investments and management opportunities.
- Ensure new hotels achieve operational stability and agreed performance objectives within defined timelines.
- Develop operating structures and capabilities to support future expansion across Southeast Asia and Oceania.
Hotel Owner and Strategic Partner Relations
- Build trusted, long-term relationships with hotel owners, investors, joint venture partners, and strategic stakeholders.
- Represent the Group in senior-level owner and partner discussions.
- Provide transparent and commercially focused communication regarding hotel performance and operational priorities.
- Manage complex stakeholder expectations and resolve critical operational or commercial issues.
- Balance owner objectives with the Group's brand standards, governance requirements, and long-term strategic interests.
CANDIDATE PROFILE
The successful candidate will be an accomplished international hospitality executive with substantial experience leading complex, multi-property and multi-country hotel operations.
The individual will combine strong operational expertise with commercial acumen, financial discipline, and exceptional leadership capability.
The candidate must be equally comfortable engaging with Group executives in China, hotel owners and investors, regional leadership teams, and Hotel General Managers.
A high degree of cultural intelligence and the ability to operate effectively across Asian and international business environments are essential.
EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
- Minimum 15–20 years of progressive leadership experience within the international hotel, resort, or hospitality industry.
- Significant senior leadership experience managing multi-property and multi-country hotel operations.
- Prior experience as a Regional Vice President, Area Vice President, Vice President of Operations, Regional Head of Operations, Chief Operating Officer, or equivalent senior hospitality executive.
- Extensive operating experience across Southeast Asia and/or Oceania.
- Proven track record of managing a significant hotel portfolio across multiple countries, brands, or ownership structures.
- Strong executive-level P&L and financial management experience.
- Demonstrated success leading Hotel General Managers and senior regional leadership teams.
- Strong understanding of hotel commercial, revenue management, and operational performance drivers.
- Experience in hotel openings, conversions, acquisitions, and operational integrations is highly preferred.
- Experience working with a China-headquartered organisation or significant China-based stakeholders would be highly advantageous.
- Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, Finance, or a related discipline.
- MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification would be advantageous.
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
- Fluency in Mandarin Chinese and English is mandatory.
- Strong executive-level verbal and written communication skills in both Mandarin and English.
- Ability to communicate effectively with Group Headquarters in China and international regional stakeholders.
- Proficiency in a third language is highly preferred, particularly a language relevant to Southeast Asia, Oceania, or the Group's international markets.
TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
Extensive regional and international travel is required. The successful candidate must be comfortable travelling frequently across Southeast Asia, Oceania, and China to support hotel operations, engage with Group Headquarters, and manage key owner and stakeholder relationships.
