Luxury hospitality operations

Let's make great hospitality repeatable.

I help luxury hotels and private membership clubs strengthen front-of-house operations, develop leaders, and turn service standards into daily execution.

Steve Muhic, founder of MUHISET Hospitality Consulting
Steve Muhic Hospitality Operations Consultant
14 years Luxury hospitality leadership
120+ Employees directed
100% Forbes departmental scores
10 locations Multi-property portfolio

Experience

Luxury hotels, private clubs, and high-profile environments.

Fourteen years across hotel and private-club operations, including Front Office, Front Services, Bell, Valet, Doorman, VIP service, and restaurant experience as a host and maître d’, along with openings, task forces, and multi-property leadership.

Montage Beverly Hills San Vicente Bungalows San Vicente West Village Sunset Tower Hotel Mr. C Beverly Hills Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows Ritz-Carlton San Francisco The Golden Globes and Academy Awards
Selected distinctions

Served as Director of Front Office at San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood and later served as interim Director of Front Office and operations training consultant for San Vicente West Village in NYC. Multiple 100% Forbes departmental scores, No. 1 TripAdvisor ranking in West Hollywood, and front services leadership for exclusive events hosted by HBO, Netflix, Disney, Vogue, Tom Ford, and CAA.

About

Fresh eyes. Practical follow-through.

I work alongside managers and teams across morning, evening, and overnight shifts to see how service unfolds for guests and employees. I coach in real time, using role-play and simple analogies to make service behaviors easier to understand and remember.

The goal is to help the team understand not just what a standard asks them to do, but the feeling it is meant to create for the guest, so recognition, judgment, timing, and empathy become more natural in the moment. I build practical systems the team can sustain long after I leave.

Request résumé

Selected results

Better service, stronger leaders, tighter operations.

New York City San Vicente West Village

Rebuilt Front Office training, leadership, and operating infrastructure.

During a 60-day engagement, completed every initiative identified in the initial 10-day assessment while strengthening training, communication, accountability, and labor controls.

  • Created and implemented a standardized nine-day onboarding program for Front Desk agents
  • Established daily pre-shifts with a standard agenda, weekly and monthly employee recognition, and role-play focused on handling guest concerns with empathy
  • Achieved 100% retention of the entire Front Desk team while recommending four promotion candidates, three of whom advanced into Coordinator roles
  • Implemented labor-accountability controls that reduced avoidable payroll costs by 85%
West Hollywood San Vicente Bungalows

Led Front-of-House operations as Director of Front Office across a high-volume private club, restaurant, and hotel.

Directed guest-facing operations while building systems that improved service flow, labor efficiency, team development, and day-to-day execution.

  • Drove Front-of-House technology and communication initiatives that became the blueprint for subsequent San Vicente locations in Santa Monica and New York.
  • Reduced vehicle retrieval wait times by 50% while eliminating three valet shifts per week and reducing annual direct labor costs by approximately 2.6%
  • Managed nightly seating plans for up to 400 covers
  • Developed frontline employees who advanced into supervisory and management roles
West Hollywood San Vicente Bungalows & Hotel 850

Returned for a four-month leadership development engagement supporting newly appointed Front Office and Valet leadership.

Focused on service standards, labor and payroll controls, financial acumen, guest relations, concierge and maître d’ responsibilities, and ownership and executive communication.

  • Trained a newly appointed Club Manager and newly promoted Valet Manager
  • Revised and expanded a comprehensive 60-page Front-of-House Operations Manual that standardized service and operating procedures
  • Established a foundational operating template later used for subsequent San Vicente locations in Santa Monica and New York
Los Angeles, CA LAZ Parking

Multi-Property Hospitality Portfolio

Directed a multimillion-dollar portfolio of luxury hotel and private-club accounts, overseeing property managers and more than 120 Valet, Bell, and Front Services employees.

  • Managed financial performance, labor planning, budgets and forecasts, client relationships, and operational standards across the portfolio
  • Oversaw managers and operating teams supporting 120+ employees across multiple hospitality service accounts
  • Directed front services staffing and logistics for VIP, entertainment-industry, and award-season events
  • Led operational transitions, manager development, and performance improvements across the portfolio
Santa Monica Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows

Prepared Front Services leadership and staff for an upcoming Forbes evaluation.

Completed a 30-day on-property training engagement focused on service standards, leadership execution, driveway operations, and the arrival and departure experience.

  • Created a 30-point Valet Service Playbook translating service standards into a sports-based training framework
  • Produced a 3D animated training visualization illustrating driveway staffing positions, movement, and guest-interaction choreography
  • Introduced pre-shift and post-shift routines, role-play, real-time coaching, and ongoing audits to improve consistency and accountability
San Diego Multi-property hotel evaluation

Identified service and operational gaps across four San Diego hotel properties.

A two-week anonymous evaluation of Valet operations at four San Diego hotels and Bell Services at three, using Forbes-based standards.

  • Produced a detailed audit for each hotel, documenting every observed service interaction
  • Presented property-specific findings and recommendations to department managers
  • Helped inform a regional action plan to improve service and operational performance
West Hollywood Sunset Tower Hotel

Led Valet to the hotel’s top departmental TravelClick guest-satisfaction score for the year.

Personally welcomed hotel guests and Tower Bar patrons at the front door. During capacity periods, managed the restaurant’s reservation list there and determined entry under its reservation-only policy. Redesigned Valet and cashier procedures covering driveway positioning, luxury service standards, and guest-facing language.

  • Saved 3.4% in annual direct labor costs
  • Reduced vehicle claim frequency by nearly 90% year over year
  • Introduced radio-enabled vehicle staging and retrieval, reducing wait times and allowing the operation to run with fewer valet shifts

Services

Practical support for complex guest-facing operations.

01

Operational evaluation & advisory

Assessment of service, staffing, labor, management performance, operating structure, and the full guest journey.

02

SOPs & operating systems

Clear procedures, service standards, labor plans, communication systems, and implementation roadmaps built for daily use.

03

Training & leadership development

Observation, role-play, one-on-one coaching, structured onboarding, and manager development inside live operations.

04

Interim & task force leadership

Hands-on support for transitions, openings, performance resets, and periods when strong on-property leadership is essential.

05

Anonymous service evaluation

Overnight and guest-facing evaluations using Forbes-based standards, followed by prioritized recommendations for ownership.

06

Vendor strategy & proposals

Advisory support for third-party hospitality providers, including operating strategy, client proposals, and financial pro formas.

How I work

Hands-on operational support

  1. 01

    Observe

    Study the operation across shifts, roles, and guest interactions.

  2. 02

    Align

    Make expectations clear so everyone understands their role, priorities, and responsibilities.

  3. 03

    Build

    Create practical tools, training, and systems that the team can execute consistently.

  4. 04

    Coach

    Give real-time feedback that builds confidence, strengthens judgment, and reinforces the right behaviors.

Guest Perspective

“Steve embodies exceptional hospitality. Whenever I bring guests to a place he manages, we can expect to be treated extremely well. Our experience is always top-notch, with our every need taken care of with our feet barely touching the ground.”

Marc Adelman
Political Panelist on CNN | Adelmania Consulting

Contact

Let’s strengthen the operation.

Based in Las Vegas and available for select consulting, interim leadership, and senior hospitality operations opportunities.

steve@stevemuhic.com 323-842-5083 LinkedIn