Hospitality Advisory
Hospitality from an operational perspective.
- Operational Excellence
- Pre- & Re-Opening
- Interim Leadership
- Service & Guest Experience
- SOP & Process Development
- Management Sparring
Hospitality & Executive Advisory
Experience when clarity and execution matter.
An outside perspective · New possibilities
Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to see new possibilities. Years of experience create valuable routines and structures. At the same time, those very routines can make new opportunities less visible. I help challenge established perspectives, identify opportunities, and develop sustainable paths forward.
Support built on experience and clarity
My approach combines an external perspective with operational experience – for hotels, companies, self-employed professionals, and private individuals facing particular professional or personal situations. The focus is on understanding challenges clearly, creating structure, and turning solutions into sustainable action.
Experience that makes the difference
With international hospitality experience, hands-on leadership practice, entrepreneurial understanding, and a consistent focus on quality, service, and commercial realities.
01
APPROACH
Experience creates perspective.
To me, advisory work is not about producing as many theoretical recommendations as possible. What matters are solutions that are clear, understandable, realistic, and genuinely workable.
Structure.
Quality.
Responsibility.
EXPERTISE
Three service areas. One standard.
Under ALTA MIRA, I bring together my international hospitality experience, my operational project perspective, and my experience in bringing structure to demanding and complex situations.
Development & Pre-Opening
Operational perspective before an opening.
- Operational Coordination
- Project & Operational Interfaces
- Operational Readiness
- Guest & Staff Flows
- Back-of-House & Logistics
- Practical Planning Review
Executive Advisory
Clarity in professional, business, and personal situations.
Also for private clients
- Executive Correspondence
- Case Structuring
- Escalation Communication
- Negotiation Preparation
- Executive Support
- Private Support
01
Hospitality Advisory
Bringing strategy and operational reality together.
To me, successful hospitality is created where concept, leadership, people, processes, commercial performance, and the guest experience genuinely work together.
I support companies with more than recommendations; I bring a clear operational perspective. What matters is which structures work reliably, which standards teams can follow in practice, and how leadership maintains quality in day-to-day operations.
I am brought in when a company needs to be stabilized, strengthened, repositioned, or led reliably through a period of transition. Depending on the assignment, I advise owners, operators, and leadership teams or assume operational responsibility for a defined period – from the initial assessment through implementation in day-to-day operations.
OperationsProcesses · Responsibilities · Interfaces
LeadershipInterim Management · Management Sparring · Teams
ExperienceService Quality · Guest Journey · Standards
02
DEVELOPMENT & PRE-OPENING
Will today’s plans work in tomorrow’s day-to-day operations?
This interface is a focus of my work. Here I combine my practical, entrepreneurial, and construction-related background with international hospitality and management experience.
I support projects during planning and delivery and remain involved through opening. From an operational perspective, I check whether guest and staff flows, back-of-house areas, logistics, responsibilities, and interfaces will work in day-to-day operations.
I do not provide architectural services, technical construction planning, or conventional site management. My role is to bring operational requirements and practical hospitality experience into the planning process at an early stage.
Depending on the assignment, I coordinate with owners, project developers, operators, and other project partners. I also help prepare teams, standards, and processes for opening in good time. This makes practical issues visible early and helps reduce the need for changes after opening.
Owners
Project Development
Operators
Project Partners
Trades
Operations
03
EXECUTIVE ADVISORY
Clarity in demanding situations.
I provide support with complex professional, business, and personal matters – including demanding correspondence, organizing extensive information, preparing difficult conversations, and clarifying practical next steps.
This is not limited to drafting individual documents. I organize information, present arguments and next steps clearly, and support implementation – personally, confidentially, and with close attention to tone, impact, and possible consequences.
Executive Correspondence
Professional business correspondence, statements, and demanding written communication.
Case Structuring
Structuring complex matters, timelines, documentation, and extensive information in a clear and comprehensible way.
Escalation Communication
Professional communication in difficult, sensitive, or deadlocked situations.
Negotiation Preparation
Preparing conversations, lines of argument, and negotiations in a focused and structured way.
Executive Support
Personal sparring for demanding business and communication situations.
Private Support
Personal support with complex matters, extensive correspondence, difficult communication situations, and the structured preparation of sensible next steps.
PRIVATE SUPPORT
When a situation becomes difficult to navigate.
Private individuals are equally welcome to contact me when a complex matter needs structuring, extensive communication needs organizing, or difficult correspondence needs to be professionally prepared and carried through.
Clear professional boundaries.
My services under ALTA MIRA include advisory, structuring, and professional communication. Legal and tax advice, as well as legal representation, are not part of my own service offering. Where an individual legal or tax review is required, I can, upon request, involve qualified external lawyers or tax advisors from my established network or facilitate direct contact. Any professional advice is provided independently and under the sole responsibility of the respective professional.
ABOUT
International experience. Operational perspective. Entrepreneurial understanding.
I combine international leadership experience in hospitality with operational implementation expertise, a strong understanding of quality, and the ability to develop sustainable structures and put them into practice successfully.
My professional development has been shaped by international hotel companies and owner-operated properties, including the Four Seasons Hotel Company. For many years, I held senior operational roles in Europe and the United States – with responsibility for operations, quality standards, service processes, demanding guest and VIP situations, and operational interfaces.
Since 2021, I have worked as an Interim Manager and Consultant in hospitality. My focus includes operational stabilization, troubleshooting and turnaround support, the development and implementation of SOPs, training and coaching of teams and leaders, as well as advisory work for owners, operators, and project developers.
In addition, I bring an entrepreneurial and practical foundation from the glazing trade and a long-established family business. My responsibilities ranged from traditional assignments to the management and delivery of major, highly complex projects. This experience continues to shape my understanding of technical interdependencies, different trades, project coordination, commercial responsibility, and practical feasibility.
“To me, advisory work is successful when analysis leads to real improvement.”HERITAGE The story behind ALTA MIRA
SELECTED EXPERIENCE
Expertise built through operational responsibility.
Interim Manager & Consultant – Hospitality
Operational stabilization, troubleshooting, turnaround support, SOPs, training & coaching, and advisory work for owners, operators, and project developers.
General Manager – Pre-Opening of a New Hotel
Overall responsibility for the structured build-up of hotel operations, departmental set-up, quality management, budgeting, contracts, and cooperation with owners, investors, and public authorities.
International Leadership Roles – Luxury Hospitality
Senior operational roles in Europe and the United States, including the Four Seasons Hotel Company – with a focus on operations, quality standards, service processes, VIP guest care, and project phases close to pre-opening.
Alta Mira Hotel, Sausalito / California
Assistant General Manager with operational responsibility across several hotel areas, quality and process management, guest relations, and VIP care.
Family Business in the Glazing Trade
People leadership, project management, and commercial responsibility – from traditional assignments to major and highly complex projects – combined with practical experience at the intersection of craftsmanship, technology, and entrepreneurial execution.
REFERENCE
From working together.
“I came to know and appreciate Stephan Waechter as highly reliable, goal-oriented and strongly execution-focused. Thanks to his international experience, he quickly understands complex topics and different areas and is able to develop solutions when challenges arise. He also has a strong understanding of practical interdependencies and a hands-on mentality that sets an example for teams.”
REFERENCE
From a pre-opening project.
“During the demanding renovation and pre-opening phase of a Berlin hotel project, I worked closely with Stephan Waechter in his role as General Manager. Particularly where construction, technical systems and operational launch came together, he consistently maintained a clear overview and managed the many interfaces with confidence and structure. I was especially impressed by his direct and dependable manner, his remarkable warmth, his high standards of quality and his leadership style based on mutual respect. Stephan combines organizational excellence and clear communication with strong operational execution. For demanding pre-openings, transformations, and repositioning projects, he is an outstanding partner who leads projects to success with foresight and genuine passion.”
REFERENCE
From personal support.
“Stephan Waechter is distinguished by his clarity, reliability and strong solution-oriented approach. Especially in personal and difficult life situations, he has a remarkable ability to bring order to complex matters, provide orientation, identify practical next steps and reliably support their implementation. His support has always been a great help to me.”
APPROACH
Personal, clear, and without unnecessary complexity.
Every engagement begins with a brief, non-binding initial contact. In-depth analysis, assessment, and advisory work only begin once the scope of services has been transparently agreed and you have formally engaged me.
-
01
Initial Contact
You first outline the key aspects of your situation. We clarify whether and in what capacity I can support you meaningfully.
-
02
Scope & Engagement
On that basis, I define the anticipated scope of services and the form of our collaboration. You receive a transparent assessment of the effort involved and a corresponding proposal.
-
03
Analysis & Advisory
Once engaged, I examine the matter in depth, structure the relevant information, and develop concrete courses of action, recommendations, or communication strategies.
-
04
Implementation & Support
Depending on the assignment, I support implementation – from correspondence and meeting preparation to operational measures and the coordination of other parties involved.
Clear basis: Substantive analysis, assessment, and advisory work are generally provided only after a prior engagement. Scope of services and fees are agreed transparently before work begins.
CONTACT
Let’s talk about your situation.
Briefly describe your situation and the kind of support you are looking for – whether professional, business-related, or personal. I will get back to you personally.
Based in the Berlin–Potsdam region · available throughout Germany and internationally