Director of Group Sales

General Summary of Duties

The Director of Group Sales at JW Marriott Nashville will oversee the Sales division's day-to-day operations, policies, objectives, and initiatives. This includes, but is not limited to, securing new accounts, maintaining existing accounts, supervising sales activities, and executing sales strategies to maximize hotel profitability while maintaining customer satisfaction.

This role is ideal for a strategic, relationship-driven sales leader who can align team performance, market awareness, revenue goals, brand standards, and owner expectations while delivering service excellence through each customer experience.

Position Overview

• Lead, mentor, motivate, and develop the group sales team to achieve revenue, occupancy, individual, and team goals, providing ongoing coaching, performance feedback, empowerment, and counseling to ensure strong performance.
• Oversee daily operations of the hotel sales department, including direct sales efforts, follow-up, sales administration, and coordination of solicitations and opportunities to maximize overall revenue.
• Develop, recommend, implement, and manage the division's annual budget, sales plans, and strategic initiatives to maximize ADR, occupancy, food and beverage opportunities, and owner revenue and profit expectations.
• Analyze market dynamics, competitive activity, economic trends, seasonality, demand patterns, and top-account production to identify revenue opportunities and optimize pricing, sales strategy, and decision-making.
• Manage group room inventory, patterns, space commitments, need-period demand, and displacement impact in partnership with Revenue Management to maximize total hotel revenue.
• Maintain accurate sales forecasts, pipeline reporting, production tracking, and pace analysis to support business reviews, leadership updates, and strategic action plans.
• Understand contract content, negotiate terms effectively, and ensure contracts, proposals, and group agreements align with hotel, brand, legal, and financial standards.
• Cultivate strong, value-based relationships with key accounts, new business partners, marketing partners, clients, and internal departments; partner with clients to understand business needs and deliver tailored solutions.
• Develop account plans, prospecting strategies, and business development initiatives to grow key market segments, uncover new group revenue opportunities, and actively solicit and penetrate strategic accounts, including outbound travel as needed.
• Actively participate in sales presentations, property tours, customer meetings, industry events, trade shows, community organizations, local partnerships, and creative site inspections that differentiate JW Marriott Nashville from competitors.
• Conduct and attend daily business review meetings, weekly strategic sales meetings, pre- and post-convention meetings, and other meetings as required to gather feedback, align teams, and support continuous improvement.
• Coordinate clear handoff and communication with Event Management, Catering, Banquets, Rooms, and Operations teams to ensure seamless execution of contracted group business.
• Implement JW Marriott's service strategy, Customer Service Standards, Brand Standards, and applicable brand initiatives throughout the sales process to drive customer loyalty through service excellence.
• Maintain deep knowledge of industry trends, sales strategies, and activities that generate and maximize overall revenues and positively impact all hotel operating departments, resulting in a profitable return on ownership investment.

Qualifications, Job knowledge, Experience, Skills, Abilities:

• 4 Year College degree preferred in Hospitality or Business field.
• 5-7 years sales experience in full-service properties.
• Strong proficiency of Microsoft Suite programs.
• Marriott systems experience is preferred but not required.
• Knowledge of travel industry, current market trends and economic factors.
• Ability to effectively deal with internal and external customers and staff, some of whom will require high levels of patience, collect accurate information and resolve conflicts.
• Maintain professionalism at all times, demonstrating courtesy and respect to guests and co-workers.
• Ability to travel both locally and out of town for purposes of sales calls, meetings and training. • Must be available for evenings and weekends for business reasons including attending business/social functions, entertaining clients and oversight of sales & catering client bookings and events.

Position Requirements:

• Ability to speak, read, write and understand English
• Professional demeanor appropriate for a luxury environment
• Bachelor's Degree in Hotel Management, Business, or related field.

Typical Physical / Mental Demands:

• Must be able to stand, walk, sit for prolonged periods of time
• Must be able to bend, stoop, crouch
• Must use hands to reach, grasp, handle, pull and push
• Must have good near and far vision
• Must be able to hear, talk, smell
• By signing below, you are verifying that you have read all of the above and will abide by all points of the Job Description to the best of your ability.