Director of Sales & Marketing

Director of Sales & Marketing – Hard Rock Hotel San Diego | San Diego, CA

Where Hospitality Meets a Winning Mindset

This is not a role for someone who simply manages a sales plan. We are looking for a strategic, entrepreneurial, highly competitive sales leader who sees opportunity everywhere, knows how to turn relationships into revenue, and understands that winning in hospitality requires equal parts hustle, strategy, creativity, and exceptional service.

As the Director of Sales & Marketing, you will lead the hotel's strategy with accountability for driving revenue, strengthening market position, maximizing demand, and creating meaningful partnerships that elevate the property as part of the Executive Committee.

You will be the driving force behind the hotel's sales strategy, connecting group, transient, banquets, catering, revenue management, marketing, and operations to create measurable results.

If you are energized by a challenge, thrive in a competitive market, motivate teams to exceed expectations, and believe there is always another piece of business worth pursuing, we want to meet you.

What You'll Do

Lead the Strategy

• Develop and execute a comprehensive Sales strategy aligned with the hotel's overall business objectives and revenue goals
• Take ownership of sales performance and contribute to the hotel's total revenue and yield strategy
• Drive revenue across group and transient rooms, group food and beverage, meetings, banquets, catering, weddings, outlets, events, and other hotel revenue streams
• Develop and execute strategic banquets and catering sales initiatives to maximize local, group, social, corporate, wedding, and convention business
• Partner with Banquets, Catering, Food & Beverage, and Operations leadership to identify revenue opportunities, improve conversion, and maximize event profitability
• Establish aggressive yet achievable team and individual goals, and create the accountability, urgency, and action plans necessary to achieve them
• Partner closely with Revenue Management on forecasting, demand trends, pricing strategies, and yield opportunities
• Work in tandem with Revenue Management to maximize rate, occupancy, group pace, and overall hotel revenue within varying supply and demand conditions
• Analyze market conditions, competitive positioning, and business trends to identify opportunities and respond quickly to changes in demand
• Monitor performance, identify gaps, and turn data into decisive action
• Develop strategic plans to strengthen the hotel's competitive position and increase market share

Win the Right Business

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key accounts, meeting planners, corporate partners, convention partners, industry contacts, community organizations, and other strategic partners
• Develop strategies to increase market share and capture profitable business
• Identify and pursue group, corporate, convention, catering, banquet, wedding, leisure, and other revenue opportunities that strategically fit the hotel
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers and actively participate in the local and regional business community
• Know the competitive landscape and continuously look for ways to differentiate the property
• Bring a hunter mentality to the marketplace, proactively pursuing opportunities rather than waiting for them to arrive
• Represent the hotel with confidence and professionalism at industry events, networking opportunities, client meetings, trade shows, and community functions
• Create a culture where the team understands that every relationship is an opportunity and every opportunity deserves a strategy
• Continually assess market trends, competitive activity, and business conditions and recommend strategies to capitalize on emerging opportunities

Build a High-Performance Team

• Recruit, lead, coach, develop, and motivate Sales talent
• Set clear expectations and establish a culture of accountability, urgency, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Establish team and individual booking and revenue goals and hold the team accountable for achieving results
• Coach team members to identify their strengths, overcome challenges, and consistently raise their level of performance
• Provide clear direction, and inspire the team to pursue, and achieve ambitious goals
• Recognize that exceptional results come from exceptional people and invest in developing future leaders
• Foster strong collaboration between Sales, Revenue Management, Marketing, and Hotel Operations
• Instill a genuine guest-service mindset throughout the Sales team
• Recruit, train, motivate, and develop a high-performing sales organization aligned with Coury Hospitality's core values

Own the Business

• Assist with the preparation and analysis of annual Sales & Catering budgets to achieve revenue targets
• Take responsibility for monitoring overall sales performance against budget
• Establish appropriate sales strategies and action plans based on business intelligence and market conditions
• Analyze financial and performance data to identify opportunities, challenges, and corrective actions
• Monitor competitive shopping reports, market trends, business pace, and other resources to maintain a clear understanding of the hotel's market position
• Maintain minimal reliance on direct supervision while operating with sound judgment, ownership, and accountability
• Ensure the Sales team maintains accurate, timely, and effective account management, forecasting, and business development practices

Elevate the Brand

• Partner with Marketing to develop initiatives that strengthen brand awareness, market positioning, and demand generation
• Ensure marketing campaigns support sales objectives across rooms, dining, banquets, catering, events, weddings, and special promotions
• Collaborate with Marketing on digital, social media, website, and promotional strategies that generate qualified demand and support bookings
• Support media, community, influencer, and strategic partnership opportunities that enhance the hotel's visibility and create sales opportunities
• Leverage marketing insights, campaign performance, and market trends to identify opportunities for revenue growth
• Ensure brand messaging and promotional initiatives are aligned with the hotel's sales strategy and overall business objectives

What We're Looking For

You might be our ideal candidate if you:

• Are a proven sales leader with a competitive, winning mindset
• Have a demonstrated track record of achieving and exceeding revenue goals
• Have 5+ years of experience as a Director of Sales in a full-service, luxury, lifestyle, or comparable hospitality environment
• Thrive in a high-energy, fast-paced, luxury hospitality environment
• Are equally comfortable developing a strategic plan and getting in the field to win the business
• Think commercially and understand how sales, revenue management, banquets, catering, and operations work together to drive hotel performance
• Are highly knowledgeable about hotel sales, revenue management, competitive markets, and business development
• Have strong knowledge of group, transient, convention, banquets, catering, and local market sales
• Lead with confidence while remaining collaborative, approachable, and people-first
• Know how to create urgency without sacrificing service, relationships, or culture
• Are a compelling communicator, negotiator, relationship builder, and storyteller
• Are comfortable analyzing data, identifying trends, and translating insights into action
• Have strong budgetary, forecasting, and financial analysis capabilities
• Have experience recruiting, coaching, developing, and motivating high-performing sales teams
• Possess strong business judgment and the ability to make decisions with minimal direct supervision
• Bring energy, resilience, creativity, and a genuine passion for hospitality

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Hospitality Management, Marketing, Communications, or a related field preferred
• Renovation or hotel repositioning experience preferred
• Experience in luxury, lifestyle, full-service, or high-volume hospitality environments preferred
• Experience in a major urban convention, group, and transient market preferred
• Extensive sales and revenue-management knowledge, leadership capability, competitive-market knowledge, data analysis, and action planning

Why Join Hard Rock Hotel San Diego & Coury Hospitality?

• Lead the sales strategy for an iconic hospitality brand in one of Southern California's most dynamic