
Rikin Lakhani
Practice Lead, Emerging Brands at The Elliot Group; hospitality executive and recruiter with 26+ years in the industry, including roles at Seasons 52, Barcelona Wine Bar, and Marcus Samuelsson Group.
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Jun 10, 2026
The Hidden Challenges of Hiring in Hospitality: Beyond Resumes
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A
1:38AnthonyHOST
So from where you sit across from all of the chairs that you see, operator, recruiter, all those components, is hiring actually harder or operators just running the same playbook and expecting a different result?

Rikin LakhaniGUEST
I think that candidates have an entirely different mindset of the companies that they're looking for.

Rikin LakhaniGUEST
Sounds like a broken record, but ever since COVID happened, you're now not just hiring the candidate, you're actually talking to the entire family and their ecosystem.

Rikin LakhaniGUEST
people don't want to relocate that the person who you're interviewing you have to think about they also have to make the case at home for why this is a compelling opportunity it's not that's the money anymore on the flip side to it The playbook on the executive side is broken.

Rikin LakhaniGUEST
I can't tell you how many times over the last nine years, at least from the executive search side, you'll hear about the same, all these companies asking for the same brands.
A
3:51AnthonyHOST
So do you think like those C-suite leaders that you're working with and you guys work with some great leaders across the industry, do you think there's awareness of that gap or do you think they're still trying to fix the structural problem with recruiting?