Hospitality Executive Coaching
For hotel, restaurant and service leaders who got promoted for running the operation, and now need to lead through others.
Hospitality executive coaching is one-on-one coaching for general managers, directors, owners and executives in hotels, restaurants and other service businesses. It is delivered by ICF-credentialed coaches who have run hospitality operations themselves. That shared context means sessions start on your real challenges: delegation, accountability, owner relations, executive presence and leading a team that never closes.
5,000+ combined coaching hours · ICF PCC and MCC coaches · ACTC team-coaching certified · 25+ years in hotels and restaurants
Who is hospitality executive coaching for?
It is for leaders whose results now depend on other leaders. Most clients are at one of these turning points:
- Newly promoted GMs and directors moving from running a department to running the whole operation
- Strong operators who are stuck because they still fix everything themselves, and the team waits for them
- Leaders with a bigger span: multi-unit, a new property, a new owner or management company
- Executives preparing for the next role: succession, a regional seat, a C-suite move
- Healthcare and service leaders who want hospitality-level service culture on their teams
Companies usually sponsor the coaching, and HR or the owner joins the goal-setting. Individual leaders can also engage HLC directly.
How is it different from generic executive coaching?
The difference is context, not advice. Your coach already understands 24/7 operations, guest recovery, labor pressure and owner expectations, so no session is spent explaining the business.
We do not tell you how to run your hotel or restaurant. We coach how you lead it:
- Industry experience: our coaches spent 25+ years in hotels and restaurants, instead of learning your industry as they go
- Built for your teams: shift-based, guest-facing teams, not frameworks designed for office work
- Leading through others: the focus is how you lead department heads and managers, not only your individual performance
- Visible results: success means behavior change your team and sponsor can see
What clients work on most: delegation without losing standards, holding people accountable without micromanaging, executive presence with owners and boards, clear communication under pressure, and making the shift from operator to leader.
What happens in a coaching engagement?
HLC engagements follow our D²E³ method: Discover, Design, Execute, Evaluate, Evolve.
- Discover: intake conversation, stakeholder input and an optional DiSC, Big Five or 360 assessment.
- Design: two or three development goals, agreed with you and your sponsor, with what success will look like.
- Execute: virtual 1:1 sessions on a rhythm that fits your schedule, focused on real situations from your week.
- Evaluate: check-ins with your sponsor on visible progress.
- Evolve: a plan to keep the new habits going after coaching ends.
What you discuss stays confidential. Sponsors see goals and progress, not session content.
Your coaches
All three coaches ran hospitality operations before they coached them.
Clifton Carmody, PCC, ACTC, Founder and Managing Director: 25-year hospitality veteran across hotels and restaurants, an ICF Professional Certified Coach, and certified in Advanced Team Coaching (ACTC). Coaches GMs, directors and owners on delegation, accountability and the operator-to-leader shift.
Edward Vicedo, MCC, ACTC, Leadership Coach & Partner: led teams in Michelin-starred restaurants and celebrity-driven hospitality brands. ICF Master Certified Coach with the Advanced Certification in Team Coaching. Coaches executives and leadership teams on alignment, presence and sustainable performance.
Jannine Enrusco, ACC, Executive Coach & Leadership Development Partner: 12 years as a restaurant general manager in Los Angeles, Sydney and San Francisco, and an ICF Associate Certified Coach. Coaches managers and rising leaders, with a focus on helping women step into senior hospitality roles.
How much does hospitality executive coaching cost?
HLC's 1:1 executive coaching starts at $7,500. Most clients work with us on a retainer, with a session rhythm set around their schedule.
- 1:1 executive coaching: starting from $7,500, virtual 1:1 sessions on a cadence set with you
- Assessment add-on: $500 for DiSC or Workplace Big Five with a 90-minute debrief
- 360 feedback: quoted per engagement
Price depends on length, number of stakeholders, assessments and whether sessions are in person.
Frequently asked questions
How long does hospitality executive coaching take?
It depends on your goals. Most clients work with us on an ongoing retainer, long enough to practice new behaviors on the job and for the team to notice the change.
Is virtual coaching effective for hotel and restaurant leaders?
Yes. The coaching is about how you lead, so it works without the coach on property, and it fits around shifts. In-person sessions are available on request.
Will my coach tell me how to run my operation?
No. Your coach understands the operation, but the work is on your leadership: decisions, delegation, communication and accountability.
Is coaching confidential?
Yes. Your sponsor agrees on the goals and sees progress. What you say in sessions stays between you and your coach.
What's the difference between coaching and leadership training?
Training teaches a group new knowledge. Coaching helps one leader apply it, changing specific habits in their own role.
Can a company sponsor coaching for a manager?
Yes. Most HLC clients are sponsored by their employer. HR or the owner helps set goals at the start and joins progress check-ins.
Ready to lead through your team, not around it?
Tell us about the leader and the goal. A discovery call, usually about 45 minutes, is enough to decide whether coaching fits and what the engagement would focus on.