Services
I have been passionate about the hotel industry for over 30 years. My passion is my profession. My areas of expertise are in sales, marketing, distribution, e-commerce, revenue management, and system landscapes.
Customized solutions for your requirements
Interim Management: An efficient solution to fill temporary personnel gaps or manage crisis situations.
As an interim manager, I bring extensive expertise and fresh perspectives to support your business through critical phases:
- Restructuring & Change Management: I work closely with your teams to implement organizational improvements, ensuring everyone understands and embraces the changes for lasting success.
- Project & Crisis Management: My hands-on approach helps navigate challenging situations while keeping projects on track and within budget.
- Revenue & Process Optimization: I develop targeted strategies to drive growth and enhance operational efficiency, directly impacting your bottom line.
Commercial Hotel Services: My consulting in this area focuses on customized solutions that directly contribute to revenue generation and cost minimization.
- Sales Strategies: Development and implementation of effective sales strategies to tap into new markets and deepen existing customer relationships. This includes training the sales team to optimize sales processes and increase closing rates.
- Marketing Consulting: Analysis of current marketing activities, target group identification, and development of campaigns across various channels (digital and traditional). This encompasses design and implementation of marketing campaigns that maximize ROI, as well as clearly defined hotel branding and positioning.
- Revenue Management: Creation of pricing strategies based on market and data analysis. This includes dynamic pricing adjustments, forecasting, and category sales to maximize RGI and RevPAR.
- E-Commerce Optimization: Consultation on improving online presence, including optimization of booking platforms, utilization of social media, and search engine marketing to increase visibility, promote direct bookings, and reduce dependency on OTAs.
Coaching & Mentoring: Development of employee profiles, coaching, and targeted hiring to optimally fill positions and nurture talent.
My consulting in this area aims to enhance team performance, develop talent, and ensure healthy growth by preparing managers for tomorrow:
- Individual Coaching: Development of tailored programs for personal and professional advancement of employees to strengthen their skills and leadership competencies.
- Team Development: Conducting workshops to improve team dynamics, communication, and collaboration.
- Personnel Recruitment: Support in recruiting suitable talent, including the creation of job profiles and conducting interviews.
- Talent Management: Development of strategies for employee retention and succession planning to ensure hotels maintain the necessary skills and talent to achieve their objectives.
Hotel Software Consulting: I help you find and implement modern and innovative system landscapes along the customer journey that increase your efficiency and revenue.
As your technology consultant, I partner with hotels to transform their digital landscape, ensuring both guest satisfaction and operational excellence:
- System Assessment & Integration: I evaluate your current technology stack and guide you through selecting and implementing the right solutions, creating a seamless experience across your entire guest journey.
- Smart Data Solutions: Together, we’ll develop strategies that turn your data into actionable insights, enabling personalized guest experiences while optimizing your business decisions.
- Team Empowerment: I ensure your team fully embraces new technologies through targeted training, maximizing the return on your technology investments.
MICE Business Development 2.0: Revenue improvement requires individualized MICE strategies. I work with you to develop new business fields, optimize processes, and train your banquet and events sales team.
In the MICE segment, I have specialized primarily in the following areas:
- Organization and Processes: Optimization of internal and cross-departmental workflows, evaluation of digitalization and automation solutions to reduce existing manual processes
- Pricing and Proposal Development: Conducting competition checks regarding pricing and customer journey, developing pricing and sales strategies for the events and group segment including minimum revenue requirements, advance booking periods, upselling
- Training and Coaching: Evaluating and implementing training needs and development opportunities for the MICE team, focusing on proposal qualification, customer wow-factor, follow-up, sales closure, and „exit interviews“
- Customer Journey in MICE: Review of meeting-relevant content on own website and partner websites, potential integration of online booking solutions, and promotion of direct business on own website
Hotel Openings, Rebranding & Franchise Integration: Market screening, strategy development in business hotels, long-stay/apartments and resorts, as well as integration into franchise systems and hotel cooperations.
As your strategic development consultant, I help hotels position themselves optimally in the market through comprehensive analysis and targeted implementation:
- Market Intelligence: I conduct thorough assessments of your location potential, competitive landscape, and target audiences, creating a solid foundation for your strategic decisions.
- Operational Excellence: Working closely with your team, I develop customized hotel concepts and transparent financial plans that ensure sustainable success and memorable guest experiences.
- Partnership Strategy: I guide you through evaluating and selecting the right franchise or cooperation partners, managing negotiations, and ensuring smooth integration that aligns with your business goals.
About me
The hotel industry is not just my profession, but my passion. With over 30 years of experience in international hospitality, I have specialized in the areas of sales, marketing, distribution, e-commerce, revenue management, and system landscapes. I would like to share my comprehensive knowledge and enthusiasm in these commercial fields with you.
Your Benefits
Deep Industry and Market Understanding
I know the hotel industry inside and out, maintain a robust network, and can therefore specifically address your needs.
Interdisciplinary Thinking
Developing solutions from different perspectives is my strength.
Integrative Team and Communication Skills
I bring teams together and promote open communication.
International Network
Benefit from my robust network in the industry.
Goal-Oriented Action
I consistently transform your objectives into reality.
Enthusiasm for Challenges
I view every obstacle as an opportunity for improvement.
Business-Fluent English
My communication is always at the highest level to facilitate international cooperation.
Experience Pays Off
January 2025: Founder and Managing Director of Dirk Führer Interim Hospitality Services
January 2025: Advisory Board Lagom Hospitality
2023 – 2024: Vice President Sales & Commercial Marketing at HRG Group
2019 – 2023: Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Vienna House Hotel Management GmbH (10/22 Acquisition by HRG Group)
2018 – 2019: Founder and Managing Director of Xpert4hotels Hospitality Consulting, specialized in interim management solutions for hotels
2017 – 2018: Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Managing Director of Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences
2016 – 2017: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Worldhotels AG
2014 – 2016: Founder and CEO of Meeting Platform Okanda AG, the first online portal for booking small meetings with instant availability
2010 – 2014: Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Steigenberger Hotels AG (now H-World)
2002 – 2010: Area Director Sales & Marketing for Hilton Hotels in Central Europe
1998 – 2002: Senior Director and Head of Corporate & Leisure Sales at Radisson Hotels
Additionally, I worked for two years as Brand Manager for the tourism brand Meier’s Weltreisen and spent over ten years in various leadership positions at Starwood Hotels & Resorts (now Marriott) in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
My commitment extends beyond professional activities: I have volunteered on the board of the GCB – German Convention Bureau and served as a member of the examination board of the IFH as well as in the expert circle of the HSMA.
Testimonials
Dirk Führer’s leadership quality is absolutely outstanding. He understands how to develop a clear vision and communicate it effectively. I particularly appreciated how, during the turbulent phase of our merger & acquisition process, he consistently managed to guide our employees and thus our company to top operational performance with calmness and skill.
Dirk Führer is a doer who executes all measures efficiently and on time. He combines strategic foresight with excellent operational implementation, all while maintaining a keen focus on cost management.
What sets Dirk apart is his ability to work both strategically and operationally. Dirk has a unique talent for motivating teams and creating an environment where each individual gives their best. Furthermore, he is able to structure organizations in a way that ensures efficient processes and quick goal attainment.
Working with Dirk was a thoroughly enriching experience. He understands how to think strategically while efficiently solving complex challenges. Particularly impressive was his ability to communicate clearly, form a strong team, and motivate all participants to achieve peak performance. Through his clear structure and goal-oriented approach, every commercial project with him was led to success.
Thanks to his experience and talent, Dirk Führer has the remarkable ability to make decisive, forward-thinking decisions and communicate them clearly. Under his leadership, we were able to sustainably achieve our financial goals and establish a stable, efficient workforce structure. Additionally, with his support, we successfully modernized our commercial systems landscape and digitized the Guest Journey.
During our time working together at Hilton, Dirk always impressed me with his unwavering commitment, his willingness to give his best for the company, and going the extra mile. His ability to communicate effectively and lead with confidence truly sets him apart.
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