From June 2017 to June 2018, Stephane Meunier served as General Manager of Hotel Campanile at the Cocobay Resort complex in Da Nang, Vietnam, reporting directly to Jin Jiang Hotels in Shanghai.
A new property, a new concept, a new team
Cocobay was a large hospitality development taking shape in Da Nang, and the Campanile property inside it needed a General Manager who could build an operation from nothing — not inherit one. That meant recruiting and training a 65-person team, launching a brand-new finger-food F&B concept, and standing up two F&B outlets under an international brand reporting structure spanning Vietnam and China.
Getting a property like this to opening day meant working closely with the construction and engineering teams on-site for months before a single guest checked in — coordinating F&B outlet build-outs around an active construction schedule.
Zero turnover — a result worth talking about
Of everything Stephane has led, this project stands out for one number in particular: zero staff turnover across the opening. In an industry where new-property openings often burn through F&B staff in the first year, holding a 65-person team together through a brand-new concept launch says as much about hiring the right people upfront as it does about leadership on the ground.
Stephane eventually left the role to support his wife through cancer treatment — a decision that speaks to priorities as much as career, and one many hospitality professionals will recognize.
What this means for hiring today
New-concept openings are some of the hardest F&B hires to get right, because there's no existing team culture or menu to fall back on — everything has to be built from a standing start. SG Recruitment Consulting draws directly on this experience when advising hotels on pre-opening F&B leadership hires.
Planning a new property opening?
Let's talk about the F&B leadership you'll need to launch strong and keep your team together.