Pre-Opening Recruitment
for hotels and restaurants that open on time, at standard.
From the general manager to the last line hire, sequenced to the opening date.
Sustera recruits complete opening teams for luxury hotels, resorts, fine-dining venues and restaurant groups across the GCC, Europe and Türkiye. We start with the leadership, recruit department heads who will build their own teams, and deliver the line team in waves timed to training and, in the Gulf, to visa lead times. One agreement covers the whole opening, with one point of contact from the first brief to the first guest.
Start a Conversation →Hotels, resorts,
restaurants and new concepts.
Every opening is recruited as one project rather than a list of vacancies, because the order in which people arrive decides whether the standard holds.
Hotel & Resort Openings
New-build and converted properties for international brands and independent owners: the pre-opening general manager, heads of department across rooms, food and beverage, culinary, finance, sales and People & Culture, then supervisors and the line team in cohorts matched to the training programme.
Restaurant & Concept Launches
Flagship openings, new concepts and groups entering a new market: head chefs and kitchen brigades, restaurant and bar managers, service leadership and floor teams, and the operations directors who open several venues in sequence. Seasonal openings on the Turkish and Mediterranean coasts run on the same method, on a faster clock.
Roles at every level, from line-level to C-suite. See the full placement scope.
What makes a pre-opening
different from filling a vacancy?
An opening has no operation to absorb a late hire or a wrong one. Four realities shape how we plan every search.
Sequence decides the opening
The general manager and the heads of department come first, often a year or more before the doors open, because they recruit and train everyone else. Supervisors follow, then the line team in waves. Hire in the wrong order and the people who should be building systems are interviewing instead.
Visas set the clock in the Gulf
Every international hire needs a sponsored visa with its own lead time, and the sponsoring entity often does not exist until late in the project. We build those lead times into the opening calendar from the first brief, so an accepted offer becomes a trained employee on the opening date rather than a name waiting for paperwork.
Opening specialists exist
There are professionals who have opened two or three properties and want to do it again, and they are the fastest route to an opening that holds. We know who they are because we have placed them before, and we know which of them are ready for the next pipeline before it is announced.
The standard must survive the first season
An opening is remembered for its first months. We recruit for composure under ambiguity and for the ability to build rather than maintain, and we stay in contact with you and every placed leader through the opening period, so integration problems are raised early and quietly.
How does an opening
with Sustera work?
One agreement, one calendar, one point of contact. No upfront fees; you are invoiced per placement, only when each hire starts.
Discovery
A conversation about the property or concept, the opening date, the brand standard and what is already in place: owner’s representative, operator, brand opening team, sponsoring entity. No obligation at this stage.
Framework agreement
One agreement covering every role in the opening, with fee levels agreed per seniority in writing before any search begins. No minimum volume, no exclusivity.
Opening calendar
A role-by-role plan working backwards from the opening date: who must be in post when, which hires need visas and by what date, and how the line team arrives in cohorts matched to training. The plan is yours, whoever recruits against it.
Search in waves
Leadership first, department heads next, then supervisors and the line team. Every candidate is interviewed in depth and presented with our written assessment; every placement carries our replacement guarantee, and we stay close through the opening.
Investment model, guarantee table and the six deliverables of every search → For Businesses
What clients say about their openings.
"We were opening a new property in Riyadh and needed department heads who could build teams from nothing, in a market many candidates had never worked in. Sustera understood the brief the first time and presented people who had opened hotels before and wanted to do it again. Our pre-opening leadership team was complete ahead of schedule."
General Manager · Luxury Hotel Pre-Opening, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Hospitality · Pre-Opening Leadership Team"We needed a ten-person team: front of house, kitchen, and guest relations, ready before our summer opening. Sustera delivered candidates who didn't just have the right experience. They understood the energy a luxury property in Greece demands. The speed was exceptional. The quality is what we remember."
General Manager · Luxury Resort, Greece
Hospitality · Seasonal Opening TeamReading before
an opening.
The 12-Month Pre-Opening Recruitment Calendar for a GCC Hotel
The month-by-month hiring calendar for a Gulf hotel opening.
Read →Building a High-Performance Opening Team for a New Restaurant or Hotel
Sequencing an opening team so standards are protected from day one.
Read →Hiring for the European Summer Season: Building a Team That Holds Standard for 120 Days
The seasonal opening, from Bodrum to Mykonos.
Read →Joining a Pre-Opening Team: What It Does for a Hospitality Career
What candidates weigh before they join an opening, and why it matters to you.
Read →Pre-opening recruitment,
answered.
Earlier than feels necessary. The general manager is usually appointed a year or more before the opening, heads of department follow so that each can recruit and train their own team, and the line team arrives in waves in the final months, timed to training and visa lead times. Our pre-opening recruitment calendar sets this out month by month for a Gulf hotel; we adapt it to each project at the briefing stage.
Both. Some clients brief us on the leadership team and recruit the line team through the heads of department we placed; others ask us to run the entire opening, from the general manager to the last line hire. One framework agreement covers either, and you are invoiced per placement as each person starts.
Every international hire needs a visa sponsored by an entity that exists and is licensed to sponsor, and the process has its own lead time. We confirm the sponsoring entity and its readiness at the briefing stage, build the lead time into the calendar for every role, and brief candidates on what to expect between offer and start date, so the opening is not waiting on paperwork.
Yes. Beach clubs, resort restaurants and seasonal properties on the Turkish coast and in the Greek islands open every spring, and we recruit their leadership in winter and their teams in late winter and early spring. The method is the same as a hotel opening on a shorter clock. See hospitality recruitment in Türkiye and in Europe.
More questions? → Frequently Asked Questions
Content reviewed by Beyzanur Ateş, Founder · September 2026
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- Email (businesses) info@susteraconsultancy.com
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Based in Dubai, UAE. Serving Europe, GCC & Türkiye.