Director of Food And Beverage

An Exceptional Leadership Opportunity

Director of Food & Beverage

Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort is one of Italy’s most iconic luxury hotels, celebrated for its unique beachfront setting, rich heritage and distinctive connection to Venice.

As we continue the hotel’s repositioning into a leading luxury lifestyle destination, we are seeking an inspirational, commercially astute and highly visible Director of Food & Beverage to lead and elevate our complete food and beverage operation.

Reporting directly to the General Manager, this pivotal leadership role has responsibility for all restaurants and bars, breakfast, in-room dining, beach and pool service, banqueting, weddings, conferences, private celebrations and major events.

About the Role

As Director of Food & Beverage, you will define and deliver the hotel’s complete dining and events experience, ensuring that every outlet and occasion reflects the unique spirit of the Excelsior: relaxed, elegant and effortlessly refined.

You will oversee the Adriatico Terrace, Elimar Beach Bar & Restaurant, Blue Bar, Pool Bar, breakfast and in-room dining, together with banqueting and service across the hotel’s extensive indoor and outdoor event spaces.

These include the iconic Sala Stucchi, Red Carpet Room, Tropicana, Corte Moresca, historic function rooms, terraces and beachfront locations.

Combining strategic thinking with a hands-on leadership style, you will maintain a strong presence throughout the operation and inspire a culture of creativity, accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire all Food & Beverage teams to deliver exceptional service and consistently high luxury hospitality standards.
• Shape and elevate the hotel’s dining identity, ensuring each outlet has a distinctive concept while remaining connected to the overall Excelsior experience.
• Drive service excellence across restaurants, bars, breakfast, in-room dining, beach and pool service, banqueting and events.
• Act as a visible and engaging host, building authentic relationships with guests and maintaining a strong presence throughout the operation.
• Work closely with the Executive Chef to ensure exceptional food quality, presentation, consistency and innovation.
• Develop and support outlet managers and departmental leaders, fostering a culture of pride, ownership, accountability and professional growth.
• Champion intuitive, personal and unscripted service that creates memorable experiences for every guest.
• Oversee the planning and execution of weddings, gala dinners, conferences, product launches, private celebrations and high-profile events.
• Lead Food & Beverage operations during the Venice Film Festival and other major periods, ensuring flawless coordination, flexibility and discretion.
• Ensure seamless collaboration between Food & Beverage, Culinary, Events, Sales, Rooms, Finance, Purchasing and all operational departments.
• Drive revenue growth through effective pricing, menu engineering, outlet positioning, upselling and the development of compelling guest experiences.
• Identify opportunities to increase average spend, outlet capture and event profitability while protecting the guest experience.
• Prepare and manage departmental budgets, forecasts, payroll, productivity, cost of sales and overall financial performance.
• Maintain effective controls across purchasing, inventory, stock management, waste reduction and beverage operations.
• Monitor guest satisfaction, online reputation and service recovery, taking timely action to improve performance.
• Ensure the highest standards of presentation, atmosphere and service flow throughout every outlet and event space.
• Lead daily operational meetings and coordinate Food & Beverage activities across the resort.
• Develop seasonal concepts, activations and experiences that bring the energy and lifestyle of the Lido to life.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve operational efficiency, sustainability and service delivery.
• Ensure full compliance with food safety, hygiene, health and safety, licensing and company policies.
• Act as a visible ambassador for Hotel Excelsior Venice and its continued repositioning.

About You

You will be an accomplished Food & Beverage leader with significant senior-level experience in luxury hotels or resorts.

You will possess:

• Senior Food & Beverage leadership experience within a luxury hotel, resort or high-end hospitality environment.
• Strong operational knowledge across restaurants, bars, banqueting, in-room dining and resort Food & Beverage operations.
• Proven experience managing large-scale events, weddings,