Head of Guest Services

SilverDoor; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

SilverDoor is seeking a transformational Head of Guest Services to lead our globally distributed guest support, ensuring a consistently exceptional experience from booking to post-stay support.

You will define global service standards, drive operational excellence, and shape the guest journey by collaborating with Property Operations, Supply Chain, Technology and Client Services to remove friction and elevate service across all regions.

Qualifications

• 8+ years' experience in guest services, hospitality or customer experience leadership.
• Proven experience managing multi-region or globally distributed teams.
• Track record of leading through regional managers/leaders.
• Experience within serviced apartments, hospitality, or the travel/corporate travel sector.
• Commercial and P&L awareness.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver the global Guest Services strategy, ensuring consistent service delivery and guest support across all regions.
• Establish and maintain global Guest Services standards, processes and service expectations.
• Design and continuously improve how SilverDoor engages with guests throughout their stay, identifying opportunities to remove friction and enhance the service experience.
• Represent the Guest Services function in cross-functional initiatives, ensuring the guest perspective is reflected in business decisions.
• Work collaboratively with Client Services, Property Operations, Supply Chain, Technology and other stakeholders to help shape the overall guest experience, recognising that accountability is shared across multiple functions.
• Benchmark competitor service models and identify opportunities to enhance SilverDoor's guest support offering.
• Build, lead and develop high-performing Guest Services teams across SilverDoor's global offices.
• Line manage regional Guest Services leaders, providing coaching, performance management and career development.
• Develop resource planning models using data on demand, seasonality and business growth forecasts to ensure appropriate staffing levels globally and in the most cost-efficient way, taking advantage of off-shore capabilities, where possible without impacting service quality.
• Roll out consistent global onboarding, training and development programmes for guest-facing teams.
• Create a positive, customer-first culture and lead by example through a consistently service-led approach.
• Ensure cross-market collaboration and seamless handover between regions to deliver true 24/7 guest support through knowledge sharing, cross-training and robust processes to provide a consistent experience around the world.
• Own the complaints and escalation process, ensuring guest issues are resolved quickly, consistently and effectively.
• Lead guest communications during operational disruptions, safety incidents and crisis situations.
• Ensure response times, resolution times and service quality targets are consistently achieved across all regions.
• Conduct regular quality assurance reviews to ensure global consistency and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Lead the review and analysis of Guest Services cases to identify trends and root causes, working closely with Supply Chain, Property Operations and other stakeholders to implement preventative actions and reduce recurring issues.
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, remove manual activity, champion AI and automate workflows while maintaining a personalised guest experience.
• Partner with Technology to shape guest-facing tools, self-service capabilities and booking platform enhancements that improve both customer and team experience.
• Work closely with Supply Chain and Property Operations to ensure apartment and building standards consistently meet guest expectations.

Skills

Guest experience leadership

Organisational skills

Stakeholder management

Multi-region management

Presentation & negotiation

Time-zone collaboration

Job description

Responsible for leading SilverDoor's global Guest Services function, ensuring a consistently exceptional service experience for guests from booking through to post-stay support. The role is accountable for defining global service standards, leading international Guest Services teams, driving operational excellence, and continuously improving how SilverDoor engages with and supports guests throughout their stay. Working collaboratively with Property Operations, Supply Chain, Technology and the wider Client Services function, the Head of Guest Services will help shape the overall guest experience while owning the delivery of world-class guest service.

• Define and deliver the global Guest Services strategy, ensuring consistent service delivery and guest support across all regions.
• Establish and maintain global Guest Services standards, processes and service expectations.
• Design and continuously improve how SilverDoor engages with guests throughout their stay, identifying opportunities to remove friction and enhance the service experience.
• Represent the Guest Services function in cross-functional initiatives, ensuring the guest perspective is reflected in business decisions.
• Work collaboratively with Client Services, Property Operations, Supply Chain, Technology and other stakeholders to help shape the overall guest experience, recognising that accountability is shared across multiple functions.
• Benchmark competitor service models and identify opportunities to enhance SilverDoor's guest support offering.

Leadership & People

• Build, lead and develop high-performing Guest Services teams across SilverDoor's global offices.
• Line manage regional Guest Services leaders, providing coaching, performance management and career development.
• Develop resource planning models using data on demand, seasonality and business growth forecasts to ensure appropriate staffing levels globally and in the most cost-efficient way, taking advantage of off-shore capabilities, where possible without impacting service quality.
• Roll out consistent global onboarding, training and development programmes for guest-facing teams.
• Create a positive, customer-first culture and lead by example through a consistently service-led approach.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure cross-market collaboration and seamless handover between regions to deliver true 24/7 guest support through knowledge sharing, cross-training and robust processes to provide a consistent experience around the world.
• Own the complaints and escalation process, ensuring guest issues are resolved quickly, consistently and effectively.
• Lead guest communications during operational disruptions, safety incidents and crisis situations.
• Ensure response times, resolution times and service quality targets are consistently achieved across all regions.
• Conduct regular quality assurance reviews to ensure global consistency and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Lead the review and analysis of Guest Services cases to identify trends and root causes, working closely with Supply Chain, Property Operations and other stakeholders to implement preventative actions and reduce recurring issues.
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, remove manual activity, champion AI and automate workflows while maintaining a personalised guest experience.
• Partner with Technology to shape guest-facing tools, self-service capabilities and booking platform enhancements that improve both customer and team experience.
• Work closely with Supply Chain and Property Operations to ensure apartment and building standards consistently meet guest expectations.

Performance, Reporting & Brand

• Establish and monitor global Guest Services KPIs, including NPS, CSAT, review ratings, response times and resolution performance.
• Prepare executive-level reporting for senior leadership, highlighting trends, risks, opportunities and recommendations.
• Work closely with Marketing to protect and strengthen SilverDoor's reputation across public and client-specific review platforms, including supporting responses to negative Trustpilot and Google Reviews.

Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years' experience in guest services, hospitality or customer experience leadership
• Proven experience managing multi-region or globally distributed teams
• Track record of leading through regional managers/leaders
• Experience within serviced apartments, hospitality, or the travel/corporate travel sector
• Commercial and P&L awareness

Skills

• Proven guest/customer experience leadership
• Strong organisational skills
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
• Team and multi-region management
• Strong presentation and negotiation skills
• Cultural awareness and ability to work effectively across time zones