This article describes the process by which the HORECA-5 questionnaire was drawn up to improve recruitment management and candidate selection in the hospitality sector. The questionnaire can be used to select personnel since it takes into account not only the technical abilities of the candidates but also five indicators of the key competencies for successful performance: Teamwork (TW), Customer Orientation (CuO), Work Organization (WO), Resistance to Stress/Problem Solving (PS) and Initiative/autonomy (IA). The empirical work was carried out with a sample of 12 recruitment managers and 177 employees currently working in the hospitality sector on the Mediterranean coast in Catalonia (Spain).The results show that the psychometric properties of the HORECA-5 questionnaire are acceptable and that it has a single-factor structure. The questionnaire objectively determines the skills, competencies and personality traits that candidates should have if they are to perform their duties successfully.