Director, Guest Experience & Hospitality Excellence

Coming soon to the Las Vegas Strip, Hard Rock Las Vegas will be a fully integrated luxury resort offering world-class hospitality, gaming, dining, entertainment and retail. Positioned on the 50-yard line of the Strip, the resort will feature a nearly 700 ft. guitar-shaped hotel that will change the Las Vegas skyline. The finished complex will feature over 3,700 hotel rooms, approximately 175,000 square feet of gaming space, two spas, multiple pools, live entertainment venues and dozens of restaurants, lounges and retail outlets.

JOB TITLE: Director, Guest Experience & Hospitality Excellence 

DEPARTMENT: Human Resources

Job Summary:

The Director of Guest Experience & Hospitality Excellence leads the property’s guest experience and Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star strategy at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. This role serves as the voice of the guest and partners with leaders across Hotel, Food & Beverage, Casino, Security, VIP Services, Marketing and other operating areas to design and continuously elevate the end-to-end guest journey. 

The Director translates Forbes Travel Guide standards and the property’s service philosophy into practical operating standards, behaviors and quality-assurance routines that can be consistently executed across the resort. The role serves as the primary liaison to Forbes Travel Guide and leads the education, coaching, assessment and readiness strategies required to achieve and sustain exceptional service standards. 

During pre-opening, the Director will build the property’s service excellence infrastructure, including standards, training and coaching capabilities, quality-assurance processes and a team of service excellence trainers/coaches. Following opening, the role will expand its focus on guest feedback, service recovery, experience insights and continuous improvement to ensure the guest experience evolves with the business. 

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:  

• Lead the property’s guest experience and service excellence strategy, owning the end-to-end guest journey from arrival through departure. 

• Lead the property’s Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star strategy and serve as the primary liaison to Forbes. 

• Translate Forbes standards into practical service behaviors, operating standards and departmental expectations. 

• Partner with leaders across Hotel, Food & Beverage, Casino, Security, VIP Services and other operating areas to identify friction, elevate service and embed standards into daily operations. 

• Serve as the voice of the guest, bringing guest expectations, feedback and emerging needs into operational and executive decision-making. 

• Partner with Marketing and Player Development to support exceptional VIP and high-touch guest experiences. 

• Establish and oversee quality-assurance processes, including inspections, observation, mystery shopping and assessment readiness. 

• Partner with operating leaders to address performance gaps and continuously reinforce Five-Star service standards. 

• Build and lead a team of service excellence trainers/coaches responsible for standards education, coaching and property readiness. 

• Develop a scalable train-the-trainer approach and lead the departmental trainer network to drive consistency across the property. 

• Train and calibrate quality-assurance inspectors to ensure consistent evaluation of service standards. 

• Partner with Training and operational leaders to integrate service excellence into onboarding, ongoing education and leadership development. 

Pre-Opening Leadership 

• Build the service excellence function from the ground up, including the team structure, standards library, coaching approach, quality-assurance routines and readiness calendar.  

• Develop the infrastructure required to educate and prepare leaders and team members to deliver the property’s service promise from opening day.  

• Partner closely with operational leadership throughout pre-opening to ensure service expectations are incorporated into departmental processes, training and opening-readiness plans.  

• Support recruitment and selection efforts where appropriate to reinforce a strong service culture and guest-focused mindset. 

Post-Opening Leadership 

• Lead the approach to guest feedback, service recovery and continuous experience improvement. 

• Analyze guest feedback, quality-assurance results, online reviews and service data to identify trends and improvement opportunities. 

• Translate insights into actionable priorities with operating leaders and establish reporting that drives accountability for service quality. 

• Ensure guest concerns and recurring service issues inform improvements to the guest journey, operating practices and service standards. 

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration or related field required; advanced degree preferred.  

• Minimum five years of progressive leadership experience in luxury hospitality, casino operations, guest experience or service excellence, with demonstrated success delivering elevated guest experiences.  

• Experience leading service standards, quality assurance, guest experience and coaching programs; Forbes Travel Guide experience strongly preferred.  

• Proven ability to build and lead teams, influence senior operational leaders, and translate guest feedback and service insights into meaningful operational improvements.  

• Experience in a pre-opening, transformation or complex integrated resort environment preferred.  

• Ability to obtain and maintain required gaming licenses and work a flexible schedule based on operational needs. 

• operationally required. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:  

• Deep understanding of luxury hospitality, Five-Star service standards and high-touch guest experiences.  

• Strong strategic and operational mindset with the ability to translate guest experience vision into practical standards and measurable results.  

• Proven ability to influence and partner with senior leaders across a complex, multi-department resort environment.  

• Exceptional leadership, coaching and facilitation skills, with the ability to develop leaders, trainers and teams at all levels.  

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate guest feedback, quality-assurance findings and service trends into actionable improvements.  

• Excellent communication, interpersonal and relationship-building skills with a strong executive presence.  

• Highly organized, proactive and resilient, with the ability to build programs, manage competing priorities and thrive in a fast-paced pre-opening environment. 

Work Environment:

• Physical demands include standing, walking, and noise exposure for extended periods. 

• Position requires occasional lifting and moving of items weighing up to 50 pounds.  

• May be exposed to casino-related environmental factors including secondhand smoke.  

• Must be able to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays.  

The Company gives preference in all of its employment practices to Native Americans. First preference in hiring, promoting and in all other aspects of employment is given to members of the Native American and Indigenous Tribes who meet the job requirements.