About Arena Hall
Arena Hall is a private members club opening in Austin in early 2027 — a space built for founders, operators, and high-caliber thinkers who show up not just to discuss the future but to build it together. A twenty-two-thousand-square-foot restored church on a fifty-thousand-square-foot campus, full member dining and bar service, an ambitious events programme, and a membership of people doing serious work in the world.
This is not a conventional hospitality operation; it is a place where the quality of human connection is the core product, where food and drink are social infrastructure, and where every detail is considered with intention.
The Role
The General Manager is the operational and cultural heart of Arena Hall. They own the member experience end-to-end — from the moment someone joins to the depth of relationship built over years. They lead the full team, manage the daily operation, and are the primary steward of the club's standards, its culture, and its reputation.
This is a rare role; it requires someone who thinks like a host, operates like an executive, and genuinely loves being in a room full of interesting people. Someone who finds energy in the details and has the intelligence to see how every small decision connects to the larger experience.
The GM reports directly to the founder and works in close partnership with the F&B Director, Head Chef, and Membership Manager.
What You Will Own
Member Experience
- The quality and consistency of every member touchpoint — arrival, service, connection, departure
- Member satisfaction and retention — knowing the membership deeply, personally, and continuously
- The onboarding experience for every new member
- The connection design and social architecture of the club — introductions, table curation, community building
- Oversight of the CRM and member preference system — ensuring the team knows and remembers what matters
Operations
- Day-to-day operational management across all areas — front desk, floor, bar, dining room, events, valet
- Pre-shift briefings and post-shift debriefs — setting the standard and holding it
- Floor lead structure — ensuring clear ownership and decision authority at every shift
- Vendor and supplier relationships beyond F&B — technology, valet, linen, maintenance
- Opening preparation — leading the pre-opening roadmap from hire through to day one
Team
- Hiring, onboarding, and developing the full front-of-house team
- Building and sustaining the culture outlined in the hospitality playbook
- Performance evaluation and ongoing coaching
- Creating a team environment where excellent people want to stay
Commercial
- Private event and membership revenue in partnership with the events and membership teams
- Operating within agreed budgets — labour, procurement, maintenance
- Reporting to the founder on operational performance, member satisfaction, and team health
What We Are Looking For
Experience
- Eight or more years in premium hospitality, private members clubs, or luxury hotel management
- Demonstrated experience managing a full-service food and beverage operation
- Experience opening or significantly relaunching a hospitality venue strongly preferred
- Familiarity with the private club or membership model — understanding what makes members stay, not just join
Character — this matters more than the CV
- Genuinely warm and socially intelligent — comfortable and natural in a room full of high-caliber people
- Curious about people — interested in what members are building, not just in serving them efficiently
- Ownership mentality — sees the whole operation as their responsibility, not just their department
- Calm under pressure — makes good decisions in real time without drama
- Intellectually engaged — can hold a conversation with a founder, an investor, or a philosopher with equal ease
- Discretion as a default — understands instinctively that what happens in the club stays in the club
What does not fit this role
- Someone who manages primarily through process and hierarchy
- Someone who is more comfortable behind a desk than on the floor
- Someone who finds the service role beneath the management role
- Someone who is impressed by status or power — equanimity required
Timing & the Refurbishment
Arena Hall began a major structural and design refurbishment in July 2026, transforming the existing space into the environment described above — member dining and bar service, a prep kitchen, and event spaces across 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, with a target opening of February 2027.
This role will be involved in the tail end of that process and is expected to be in place by Autumn 2026 at the latest — early enough to review and sign off on operational flow and technology, front-of-house layout, and service infrastructure before construction is locked.
Beyond the build, the role will lead the pre-opening preparation in full: team hiring, staff training, dry runs, and the founding member experience that launches the club. Candidates who are energised by the process of building something from the ground up will thrive here.