How to hire in travel and hospitality technology

Why hiring in travel and hospitality tech is different

Travel and hospitality technology sits between two industries. Customers are hotels, restaurants, property managers, travel sellers and airlines; the product is software, data or payments. The people who do best in these companies usually understand both sides, and there are not many of them.

Four things make hiring harder than in general software:

• Small, connected talent pools. In specialisms such as hotel distribution, revenue management or air distribution, experienced candidates often know each other and your competitors.
• Domain knowledge that takes years to learn. Integrations with property management systems, channel managers, GDS and payment providers shape most roles, from sales to engineering.
• Operational customers. A hotel goes live on new software with guests in the building, so onboarding and support staff need operational credibility.
• Several markets at once. Many vendors sell across the UK, the US and Europe, with different languages, notice periods and pay norms in each.

Step 1: define the role around the problem

Most failed hires trace back to a brief that describes a job title rather than a problem. Before you advertise or brief a recruiter, write down what the person must achieve in their first year and what would make the hire a mistake.

1. Outcome: what must be true in twelve months, for example a new territory at a target pipeline, a migration completed or churn reduced.
2. Segment: who the customers are, such as independents, groups, enterprise chains, property managers or travel sellers.
3. Must-haves: the two or three things a candidate cannot learn in the job, such as a language, an integration or a sales motion.
4. Trade-offs: which you would give up first, sector experience or functional depth.
5. Package: base, variable or commission, equity and location, set against market evidence before the search starts.

Step 2: decide where the talent comes from

For each role there are usually three sources: competitors and adjacent vendors, the customer side of the industry, and adjacent sectors with similar problems. The right mix depends on the role. The table shows how we usually weigh them.

Step 3: set pay with evidence

Offers fail late when the budget was set from an old hire or a general survey. Check the band for the role, seniority and market before the search starts, and agree how variable pay and equity will be presented.

Our salary guide publishes UK and US base salary bands for engineering, product, data, sales, customer success and marketing roles in travel and hospitality technology, with the source for each band. Pounds and dollars are never converted, so each market stands on its own figures.

Step 4: run a process good candidates will finish

The best candidates in this sector are usually employed and often talking to more than one company. A slow or unclear process loses them. Agree the process before the first interview:

1. Name every interviewer and the question each one is there to answer.
2. Keep it to three or four stages, including any task or presentation.
3. Commit to feedback within two working days of each stage.
4. Test the work the person will actually do, such as a discovery call, a go-live plan or a system design, rather than generic questions.
5. Sell the role at every stage: the product, the team and why the problem matters.

Step 5: close the offer and plan the start

Plan for notice periods from the first conversation. In the UK one to three months is common, in DACH three months often applies, and in the US two weeks is the norm. Senior commercial hires may also carry restrictive covenants. Our market pages cover what to plan for in each country.

Between offer and start, stay in touch: a counter-offer from the current employer is most likely in the first weeks after resignation.

How to choose a recruiter for a travel or hospitality tech hire

Whether you use us or another firm, these are the questions worth asking before you brief a recruiter on a specialist hire:

• Sector depth. Can they name the companies, products and integrations in your space without being told? Ask what they recently placed in your segment.
• Function depth. Do they understand the role itself, such as quota setting, onboarding metrics or system design, well enough to screen properly?
• Where candidates come from. Will they map competitors, the customer side and adjacent sectors, or rely on adverts and their database?
• Market coverage. Can they recruit in every country you need, with the right languages?
• Process and evidence. What will you receive at each stage, and how quickly? Ask for average time from brief to offer.
• Engagement model. Is the search contingent, exclusive or retained, and what does each include? See how our tiers compare.
• Confidentiality. How will they approach candidates who know your competitors, and what will they share before a candidate engages?