Director of Sales & Marketing

Opening in early 2027, voco South Tampa – Tahitian Inn is reimagining one of Tampa's longtime independent hotels for a new generation of travelers and locals. The 82-room hotel will combine the retro-cool personality of the Tahitian Inn with the reach of IHG's voco brand and the independent spirit of Practice Hospitality. Now we need someone to help tell that story and, more importantly, turn it into business. We're looking for a Director of Sales & Marketing who knows how to build demand, not simply wait for it to arrive. This is a hands-on commercial leadership role for someone who understands Tampa, knows how to develop relationships and is equally comfortable making a sales call, hosting a site tour, presenting to a room full of potential clients, developing a local partnership or working with revenue and marketing teams to determine where the next piece of business should come from. You'll join before opening and help introduce the new voco South Tampa – Tahitian Inn to the market, establish its customer base and build the relationships that will fuel the hotel's success well beyond launch. What You'll Do Build the Business Before We Open: Develop and execute a pre-opening sales strategy that creates awareness, relationships and a strong base of business ahead of opening day. Own the Local Market: Get out of the office. Develop relationships with Tampa businesses, meeting planners, organizations, universities, hospitals, entertainment and sports organizations, wedding and social planners, travel professionals and other potential partners and customers. Find the Business Others Miss: Identify opportunities that fit an 82-room hotel particularly well, from small meetings and corporate travel to social gatherings, celebrations, room blocks and opportunities to make the hotel someone's home base in Tampa. Sell the Experience, Not Just the Rooms: Understand what makes the hotel different and translate it into a compelling sales story. Help customers see how the hotel's design, personality, location, F&B and social spaces can make their stay or event more memorable. Lead Sales and Marketing Together: Work closely with Practice Hospitality's marketing team and agency partners on positioning, digital marketing, public relations, social media, partnerships, promotions and collateral. Make sure marketing efforts support actual business needs and sales opportunities. Use the Power of IHG: Leverage IHG's systems, loyalty platform, sales resources and distribution network while building the direct relationships and local demand that make this individual hotel successful. Know the Numbers: Partner closely with the General Manager and revenue management team on segmentation, pricing, pace, need periods, account production and forecasting. Understand what's driving performance and where the next opportunity lies. Be an Ambassador: Represent the hotel throughout Tampa. Attend industry events, host clients, conduct site visits and build genuine relationships that turn into long-term business. What We're Looking For Hotel sales leadership experience, ideally as a Director of Sales, Director of Sales & Marketing or senior sales leader Strong knowledge of the Tampa Bay market and its demand generators strongly preferred Existing local corporate, group, meeting, social or travel industry relationships are a significant plus Pre-opening, conversion or hotel repositioning experience preferred Experience with IHG or another major hotel brand preferred Demonstrated success prospecting and developing new accounts Strong understanding of transient, corporate, group and social business Experience working collaboratively with revenue management and digital marketing teams Confidence presenting, networking, conducting site tours and asking for the business Strong written and verbal communication skills A creative, entrepreneurial approach to sales A willingness to be hands-on in a small hotel where everyone's contribution matters Why This Role You're not inheriting a sales plan and maintaining it. You're helping create the market position for a newly reimagined hotel. You'll have a recognizable Tampa property to reintroduce, a global hospitality company providing reach and resources, and a hotel small enough that your ideas, relationships and results will have an immediate impact. We want someone who gets excited about opening doors, making connections and turning a great story into measurable business. If you know Tampa, love hotels with personality and would rather build a book of business than simply manage one, we'd like to meet you. Other Functions: (This list of other functions is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed as necessary.) Participate in industry organizations. Maintain an open line of communication between guests, employees, and management. Input and retrieve information from computer system for file maintenance, correspondence and preparation of forecasts and marketing input. Assist office in any other administrative duties as needed. Serves as a member of the hotel commercial leadership team. Education and/or Experience: Comparable hotel and scope experience preferred i.e. independent, lifestyle hotels. Experience setting up systems, recruiting and building a team, or opening a hotel. Proven track record of successes in achieving revenue objectives. Proven ability to recruit, motivate and train sales team. Four-year college degree preferred. Hotel industry work experience, demonstrating progressive career growth and a pattern of exceptional performance. Additional/advanced degree coursework in business administration, marketing, and communications a plus. Requires substantial operations/sales leadership experience; preferably 10 years or more. Specific Job Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Ability to perform critical analysis. Ability to manage extensive amounts of information and provide constructive feedback/direction. Extensive knowledge of negotiating and sales procedures associated with the hotel industry. Excellent spoken and presentation skills. Considerable ability to listen effectively. Ability to work effectively both independently and as a team. Ability to delegate, manage and organize complex projects and establish priorities consistent with department/hotel objectives. Ability to effectively deal with department heads, customers, and team members, some of whom will require high levels of patience, tact and diplomacy. Ability to manage multiple projects, meet and work effectively under time and resource constraints. Ability to effectively lead a team of professionals. Physical Demands: The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform their essential duties. While performing this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, speak, hear, reach, bend over, stoop, use hands, use fingers, write, see, feel objects, handle paper, wires, pens, boxes, and occasionally kneel. Occasional lifting or moving may be required of objects of up to 100 pounds of force occasionally; and /or 50 pounds or force frequently and /up to 25 pounds of force constantly to lift, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Job Type: FLSA Designation: Full-Time Exempt Compensation: DOE Benefits: 401(k) 401(k) matching Cell phone reimbursement Disability insurance Employee assistance program Employee discount on hotel stays Flexible spending account Health insurance Dental insurance Vision insurance Life insurance Paid time off available 90 days after start date Supplemental Pay: Bonus Incentive Plan, performance based Training we provide Every journey begins with a first step. Maybe yours is focused on growing your career in hospitality – climbing the ladder to management, executive team, corporate or beyond. Maybe you want a stable, fulfilling role where you can thrive or, just maybe, you need a gig for now while you complete your education or audition for your big break. No matter where your path takes you, Practice Hospitality respects your journey and has customized our employee experience to support your goals and ambitions. About the management team At Practice Hospitality, we’re driven by a singular purpose: to create experiences travelers seek out and return to, time and time again. To us, that starts by being human – building an environment that balances emotional intelligence, tradition, ritual, and creativity. Because when that happens, hospitality comes alive – and results follow. Source: Hospitality Online #J-18808-Ljbffr voco South Tampa - Tahitian Inn