Recruiting permanent hotel staff from Europe starts with a role that a suitable professional can understand and realistically take up. Define the work, offer and practical conditions before sourcing candidates. A clear shortlist is useful only when the hotel can make decisions and support the eventual arrival.
Sagesa Hospitality connects EU hospitality professionals with permanent roles in Irish four- and five-star hotels with a strong employment ethos, with particular focus on chefs and spa therapists. This guide explains the decisions an employer should prepare; the Spain-specific recruitment guide describes that pathway in more detail.
Define the permanent staffing need
Begin with the operation. Which responsibilities need covering, who will supervise the employee and what does a successful first few months look like? Distinguish a year-round role from a short period of unusually high demand.
Specify the level of independence needed. For a chef, describe the section, service style and responsibilities. For a spa therapist, identify the treatments and evidence the employer needs to assess suitability. Avoid a long wish list that makes essential requirements impossible to distinguish from skills that can be taught.
Make the offer workable before seeking applicants
Agree the pay basis, expected hours, location, reporting line and proposed start date. Explain accommodation precisely, including any costs and the journey to work. A candidate moving countries needs enough information to evaluate the whole arrangement.
We expect employers to provide accommodation arrangements and discuss these before presenting a role. Confirm availability, costs and conditions for the particular offer.
Use the candidate-facing offer checklist as a test: could an applicant answer those questions from the information you provide? The WRC sets out the employer's obligations concerning written terms; those obligations sit alongside the practical value of clear information before travel. WRC terms guidance.
Complete this recruitment brief before starting:
- Role purpose and three or four core responsibilities.
- Essential evidence and areas where training is possible.
- Pay, hours, accommodation and other confirmed conditions.
- Interviewers, decision maker and feedback arrangements.
- Start-date constraints and the person responsible for onboarding.
Agree how recruitment will be managed
Choose a named hotel contact who can answer questions and consolidate interview feedback. Decide which stages are needed and who has authority to approve an offer. If several managers interview, use shared criteria so candidates are assessed against the same role.
Sagesa Hospitality first understands the hotel's working conditions, team history and expectations. The terms of service are signed before recruitment begins. We then draft the role specification for approval, shortlist and present candidates, coordinate interviews and checks, and help organise relocation and the start. Regular contact with both sides continues after arrival. Confirm the specific commercial terms directly; this guide does not set fees or guarantees.
Assess evidence relevant to the work
Look at experience, training, communication and the circumstances needed to take up the role. Use concrete examples rather than relying on a hotel brand name or confidence in an interview. Ask candidates to explain what they personally did and how it relates to your vacancy.
Clarify right-to-work evidence for the individual. The WRC's guidance on coming to work in Ireland is an official starting point; nationality and residence should not be treated as interchangeable. Sagesa Hospitality's EU recruitment focus does not remove the employer's responsibilities.
Prepare arrival and review the outcome
Before the employee books travel, assign responsibility for accommodation readiness, arrival contact, first-day instructions and payroll coordination. Share the accommodation guide where it helps both sides confirm the same details.
Use our onboarding guide to plan the transition from accepted offer to daily work. Ask after arrival whether the role and practical arrangements match what was discussed, and act on specific issues.
Record outcomes consistently: offers accepted, actual starts and concerns identified in early check-ins. Avoid treating one successful placement as proof of a guaranteed result. If you have a permanent hiring need, start the conversation with an accurate brief and the conditions you can genuinely provide.
When the brief is ready, use the candidate-assessment guide to agree evidence and record the selection decision.