Lake Hayes Cottages is a luxury accommodation business on the shores of Lake Hayes, between Arrowtown and Queenstown: five architecturally distinct cottages and Hayes Lodge, known for lakefront views, lavish interiors, a curated art collection and exceptional service delivered with warm-hearted Kiwi charm. With further developments in the pipeline, we need a General Manager who will take full accountability for the business and drive its growth into future properties.

The role

You'll run the day-to-day operation across the cottages and lodge and be visible on the ground: inspecting rooms, helping housekeeping turn around a property, sorting a maintenance issue, or picking up a guest problem directly. At the same time, you'll own the commercial side, pricing, occupancy, costs and profitability, and as it grows you'll build the team and systems needed to support it, all without losing the hands-on, owner-operator feel that makes it what it is.

• Reporting directly to the owner, you'll take full ownership of:

• Day-to-day operations across the cottages and lodge, including regular property inspections and stepping in when needed

• Delivering a genuinely luxury guest experience, from lavish presentation and attention to detail through to thoughtful, personal hosting

• Recruiting, training and managing a housekeeping team whether in-house or contracted, with clear standards and quality checks

• P&L, pricing, occupancy and channel performance across OTAs including Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia

• Guest experience end to end, including group and multi-night stays at Hayes Lodge, handling issues directly and acting on feedback

• Building and leading a small, flexible operations team as the business grows

• Providing operational input into new lodge developments, from layout and back-of-house design through to pre-opening setup and launch

About you

• Strong experience in luxury lodges, hotels, serviced accommodation or premium holiday homes

• A natural instinct for attentive, guest-focused hosting alongside exceptional presentation standards

• Comfortable getting hands-on in a small, entrepreneurial business

• Commercially sharp and confident managing a P&L, but just as happy inspecting a room as reviewing occupancy figures

• Experience managing housekeeping and other contractor teams, moving between strategic decisions and practical tasks in the same day

• Experience opening a new hotel, lodge or accommodation property would be a real advantage

• Knowledge of Queenstown or Central Otago would be a plus

What's on offer

This is a rare chance to build and shape a growing luxury property business from the ground up.

• Full ownership of running and growing the business, with real influence over how it takes shape

• Genuine career growth as the portfolio expands, with new properties developed and brought online over time

• A stunning Central Otago lakefront setting, blending hands-on hosting with true commercial autonomy

If you're ready to bring your hands-on hospitality expertise and help build what comes next, we'd love to hear from you.

Click the link to apply.

Any questions please email Lottie.stoddart@gmail.com