Case Study: Motel manager placement in a remote boutique property
Sapphire Coast, NSW · Boutique Hotel Manager · Placed & Retained in 6 Weeks
The Problem
A 30-room boutique property on the Sapphire Coast had been unable to fill their Hotel Manager role for over 3 months. The obstacles were real niche boutique luxury experience required, a regional location with a thin local talent pool, and a $90K package with no relocation support built in. Previous agency placements had resulted in short-tenure hires who left within months, creating a painful cycle of churn and operational disruption.
Job boards hadn't worked. Traditional agencies hadn't worked. The owners needed a different approach entirely.
The Roamio Approach
Headhunting, not advertising. Rather than posting and waiting, we went direct — identifying and approaching candidates via LinkedIn who weren't actively looking. The successful candidate was headhunted. They weren't in anyone else's pipeline.
We engineered the relocation. No high-calibre candidate was going to relocate to a regional market at $90K without friction being removed. We advised the client to provide on-site accommodation for the first 4–6 weeks and personally assisted the candidate in securing long-term local housing. That single move made the difference between a yes and a no.
Full immersion before the search. Before approaching a single candidate, Kristian spent a full week on-site — learning the operations, understanding the culture, and getting clear on what the business actually needed beyond the job description.
Radical transparency throughout. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday check-in calls as standard. A live client portal with every candidate visible in real time. No black box. No guesswork.
The Result
6 weeks to fill. The placed candidate passed their 6-month probationary period and moved into a permanent full-time role - breaking the client's cycle of short-tenure placements for the first time.
Case Study: Finding the Right Pour, VM Placement in Regional NSW
Hunter Valley / Regional NSW · Winery Restaurant Venue Manager · Placed & Retained in 4 Weeks
The Problem
A family-owned winery in regional NSW had spent 15 years building something remarkable. What started as a passion project had grown into one of the region's most beloved hospitality destinations - a 200-seat restaurant that drew crowds from across the state, operated at high volume every weekend, and carried the full weight of a serious wine program alongside it.
The business had outgrown what the founders could manage alone. They needed a Venue Manager. Not a generalist. Not someone who could run a suburban bistro. Someone who could read a P&L, manage COGS under pressure, lead a high-volume floor team, and speak about wine with the authority the venue demanded.
The local talent pool had nothing. Job boards returned candidates who looked acceptable on paper but had never stood in a 200-seat regional restaurant on a slammed Saturday service and made it look effortless. Previous attempts through local advertising had wasted months and produced nothing worth presenting.
The role required someone exceptional. And exceptional people rarely apply to job ads.
The Roamio Approach
We went to where the talent actually was. Rather than waiting for applications, we went hunting. Through direct LinkedIn outreach and targeted network sourcing across NSW, we identified candidates who weren't looking - professionals already performing at the level this venue needed.
The brief went beyond the job description. This wasn't just a Venue Manager role. It required a rare combination - sommelier-level wine knowledge, high-volume service experience, and genuine commercial literacy. We built the candidate profile around what the business actually needed to grow, not just what the role description said.
We found the right person in Northern NSW. The successful candidate was a working sommelier and experienced Venue Manager based in Northern NSW - exactly the profile the venue needed and exactly the kind of person who would never have appeared on a local job board. We approached them directly, presented the opportunity compellingly, and managed the relocation south.
Commercial fit was non-negotiable. Every candidate we presented could demonstrate real experience reading a P&L, managing wage costs, and running COGS discipline in a high-volume environment. The winery had built something too valuable to hand to someone who would learn on the job.
The Result
4 weeks from brief to placement.
The placed candidate relocated from Northern NSW, brought sommelier credentials and venue management experience the business had never had access to before, and stepped into a role they were built for.
For the first time, the founders had a Venue Manager who could run the floor, protect the margins, and handle a slammed regional weekend service without the owners having to be there for every shift.
Case Study: Leading the Pass, High Volume Beach Front Pub
Newcastle, NSW · Beachfront Pub · Executive Chef · Placed & Retained in 3 Weeks
The Problem
A recently refurbished beachfront pub in Newcastle had become one of the city's most demanding hospitality operations. In summer, the venue pushed 800 to 1,000 covers per day. On top of that, the owners had built out a dedicated function centre - two kitchens running simultaneously, side by side, each with their own service demands and neither able to afford a bad day.
The business needed an Executive Chef. Not a head down, apron on cook. A genuine kitchen leader - someone who could command a brigade of 19, run split kitchen operations across two services, manage food costs with commercial discipline, and never let the standard drop regardless of how many covers were flying.
The owners had built something exceptional. But they were drowning in the operational demands of a venue this size and had no bandwidth left to run a proper search themselves. Weeks had passed. The role remained empty. Every day without the right Executive Chef was a day the business was running below its potential.
The Roamio Approach
We activated our network, not just a job board. Rather than starting from scratch with a generic advertisement, we reposted the role directly into Roamio's internal LinkedIn network - a targeted audience of hospitality professionals who trust the source. The right candidate wasn't browsing job boards. They were already in our world.
The candidate found us because we were where they were looking. The successful candidate was already performing at the highest level coming off a role at another very high-volume venue and had recently resigned, making their timing perfect. They weren't desperate. They were selective. And the way this opportunity was presented gave them a reason to say yes.
We moved fast because the business needed us to. Three weeks from brief to placement. In an operation running 1,000 covers on a summer Saturday, every week without an Executive Chef is a week of risk - to the food, to the team, and to the reputation the owners had spent years building.
The brief was about leadership, not just cooking. Anyone can find a chef who can cook. We were looking for someone who could walk into a brigade of 19, earn respect on day one, manage two kitchen operations simultaneously, and protect the margins while doing it. That profile narrows the field significantly - and that's exactly where we focus.
The Result
3 weeks from brief to placement.
One year later, he's still there.
In a industry where kitchen leadership turnover is endemic - where Executive Chefs last months not years - this placement has held. The brigade of 19 has stability. The split kitchen operation runs. The beachfront venue handles its summer peaks without the owners having to step back into the kitchen to hold things together.