Director of Group Sales

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Group Sales is the property leader responsible for generating profitable small-group, executive-retreat, incentive, wedding-room-block, regional corporate, and local negotiated business. The role leads day-to-day sales execution, develops account and prospecting discipline, and ensures that opportunities are converted and handed off to operations with complete, accurate, and timely information.

Reporting directly to the property General Manager with a dotted-line functional relationship to the Group Director of Marketing, the Director leads the Leisure Sales Executive and Event Sales Executive.

The position is accountable for personal production, team performance, property sales strategy, forecast contribution, and close collaboration with revenue management, events, food and beverage, reservations, and operations.

SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY

The Director has primary property-level responsibility for the defined small-group market and selected regional or local accounts. Segment assignments and peak-room thresholds will be established annually through the approved sales deployment plan.

The role directly supervises the Leisure Sales Executive and Event Sales Executive and coordinates with corporate marketing and revenue management on positioning, pricing, need dates, account strategy, and commercial reporting.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and execute the propertys small-group sales plan in alignment with the annual budget, market segmentation, revenue strategy, and property positioning.
• Proactively solicit and convert small corporate groups, executive retreats, incentive groups, wedding room blocks, regional corporate accounts, local negotiated accounts, and other assigned segments.
• Maintain a meaningful personal account portfolio and quarterly production quota while providing daily leadership to the propertys sales and events team.
• Establish account plans, prospecting expectations, sales-call activity, follow-up standards, conversion goals, and pipeline disciplines for each direct report.
• Identify new business through research, referrals, community relationships, competitive intelligence, lost-business review, industry events, and disciplined outbound prospecting.
• Respond to leads and RFPs promptly; prepare persuasive proposals; conduct site inspections; present the property effectively; negotiate terms; and secure executed agreements and deposits.
• Work with revenue management to determine appropriate rates, patterns, minimum stays, concessions, attrition, cancellation terms, and acceptance of group opportunities.
• Evaluate each opportunity based on total value, including guestrooms, food and beverage, meeting-room rental, private dining, recreation, spa, marina, and other ancillary revenue where applicable.
• Maintain accurate account, contact, activity, proposal, definite, tentative, lost, and production data in the approved CRM and sales systems.
• Prepare reliable group pace, pipeline, conversion, account-production, and forecast information for the General Manager, Group Director of Marketing, and Director of Revenue Management.
• Lead regular property sales meetings and participate actively in revenue, operations, banquet-event-order, forecast, and business-planning meetings.
• Coach the Leisure Sales Executive and Event Sales Executive through regular one-on-one meetings, account reviews, joint calls, goal setting, and performance feedback.
• Ensure a disciplined and documented handoff from sales to event planning and operations, with no gaps in contracted commitments, client expectations, room blocks, billing, or service requirements.
• Partner with marketing on need-period campaigns, packages, sales collateral, digital content, trade outreach, familiarization trips, and market-specific promotions.
• Build long-term relationships with clients and intermediaries, resolve issues quickly, conduct post-event follow-up, and actively pursue repeat and referral business.
• Represent the property at appropriate sales missions, trade shows, networking events, community functions, and portfolio initiatives.
• Recruit, train, schedule, coach, and evaluate assigned sales and events personnel in accordance with company policy.
• Perform other property sales responsibilities reasonably associated with the role.

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS

Success will be evaluated through achievement of quarterly and annual room-revenue, room-night, catering, and ancillary goals; small-group pace; account production; lead response and conversion; sales activity; forecast accuracy; CRM discipline; profitable contract terms; repeat business; team development; and the quality of coordination with operations. Specific targets will be established annually through the approved property business plan.

LEADERSHIP PROFILE

• A proactive hotel sales leader who enjoys direct selling, develops strong client relationships, and creates urgency without sacrificing judgment or service.
• A hands-on coach who sets clear expectations, inspects activity and pipeline quality, and helps team members improve their commercial performance.
• Financially aware, highly organized, responsive, polished, persuasive, collaborative, and accountable.
• Comfortable working in a property-led environment while contributing constructively to portfolio standards and initiatives.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Approximately 7 or more years of progressive hotel sales experience, including group or catering sales responsibility in a full-service, resort, upscale, or luxury environment.
• Prior leadership of sales professionals or demonstrated readiness to lead a small commercial team.
• Demonstrated success with proactive prospecting, account management, site inspections, proposals, contract negotiation, forecasting, and quota achievement.
• Working knowledge of group pricing, room blocks, meeting space, food and beverage minimums, attrition, cancellation, and hotel operations.
• Proficiency with hotel CRM, sales and catering, property-management, and productivity systems.
• Bachelors degree in hospitality, business, marketing, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, client events, and travel assignments as business needs require.