Why hospitality DNA is becoming the secret weapon for RevPOR, referrals, and retention in senior living.
In senior living, we talk a lot about care, compliance, and community. But in today’s market where occupancy is climbing, new supply is scarce, and consumer expectations are rising, there’s another competitive lever that’s quietly driving performance: hospitality.
Hospitality is not simply about enhancing aesthetics or creating an attractive lobby. It is about embedding a disciplined operational framework built on guest-journey design, rigorous brand standards, and strategic ancillary revenue development—the very capabilities that have long distinguished high-performing leaders in hotels and resorts.
The leaders who can bring that hospitality DNA into senior living aren’t always sitting in your competitor’s boardroom. Sometimes, they’re running a hotel portfolio down the street.
Why Hospitality is the New Feeder System for Senior Living Leadership
The parallels are striking:
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- Multi-site Operations Mastery – Both senior living and hotels require leaders who can replicate service standards across dozens (or hundreds) of locations while adapting to local markets.
- Experience as a Revenue Driver – In hotels, experience is tied directly to ADR (average daily rate) and occupancy. In senior living, it maps to RevPOR (revenue per occupied room/unit).
- Brand Standards & Reputation Management – The hospitality sector lives and dies by online reviews and referral networks. Senior living is no different; word-of-mouth from residents and families directly fuels move-ins.
- Ancillary Revenue Savvy – Successful hotel operators know how to create and price add-ons that enhance guest satisfaction and lift margins. In senior living, that could mean wellness programs, dining tiers, or premium concierge services.
The Market Conditions Making Hospitality Skills Even More Valuable
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- Demand Is Rising, Supply Is Tight – Occupancy rates in senior living have hit new highs post-pandemic, but development remains constrained. The only way to grow is by getting more out of each community you already operate.
- The “Experience Generation” Is Moving In – Baby Boomers and their families are informed, selective, and willing to pay for quality, but only if it’s obvious in the service, amenities, and culture.
- Labor Challenges Require New Thinking – Hospitality leaders have mastered creative scheduling, cross-training, and service choreography in high-turnover environments.
Is Hospitality Experience Enough?
Not on its own. Senior living isn’t a hotel—it’s a regulated, emotionally complex, and deeply personal environment.
- Healthcare Complexity & Compliance – Operators must navigate state-by-state regulations, clinical oversight, and risk management that simply don’t exist in hospitality.
- Different Emotional Landscape – Residents are not transient guests; they are people’s loved ones, often with complex medical and emotional needs.
- Cultural Integration Risk – Hospitality leaders may bring a profit-maximization mindset that clashes with mission-driven caregiving cultures.
The magic happens when service excellence meets healthcare expertise, not when one tries to replace the other.
What This Means for Executive Hiring
If you’re filling a COO or senior operations role in senior living today, you have two choices:
1. Recruit from within the industry and get deep healthcare and regulatory experience (important, but not the full picture).
2. Widen the aperture and bring in a multisite hospitality leader who understands how to turn guest experience into measurable business results, and then layer on healthcare compliance with strong internal partners.
In a sector where RevPOR, referrals, and retention will make or break growth, the leaders who’ve built careers on delighting paying guests may just be your next best bet.
The bottom line: Don’t just look at who’s managing senior living communities today. Look at who’s filling hotels every night. Your next high-performing COO could already be proving they know how to keep rooms full, service impeccable, and margins strong.
About the Author
Sun-Sun de Swaan
Partner
sdeswaan@mbexec.com
Sun-Sun de Swaan serves as a Partner at McDermott + Bull in the New York office where she leads the firm’s real estate practice. Sun-Sun brings over 20 years of real estate experience and works with clients across the sector, including firms involved with investment, development, financing, and property management. She has experience in a variety of functions across the industry, shaping her expertise and ability to deliver best-in-class talent to clients across the board.