Position Summary
Leisure Hotel Group LLC is seeking a self-directed, hands-on Director of Sales to own the complete sales effort for a dual-branded Holiday Inn Express and Garner hotel. This is a true hunter role: you will be the sales department — prospecting, closing, and servicing accounts personally, without support staff to begin with. As production grows, so does the opportunity to build the team beneath you.
The dual-brand structure gives you two products at two price points under one roof, letting you win business a single-brand hotel cannot: sell the Holiday Inn Express to corporate, government, and group demand while positioning the Garner to capture value-conscious, crew, project, and extended-length business. The right candidate sees that as twice the toolkit, not twice the paperwork.
What You Will Own
Direct selling (the majority of your week)
- Prospect, qualify, and close new business across all segments: corporate/LNR, government and military, crew and construction/project housing, healthcare and travel medical, SMERF, sports, education, and group blocks
- Execute a disciplined weekly cadence of outside calls, site tours, and prospecting blocks; this role is built for someone energized by knocking on doors, not managing an inbox
- Own the annual RFP season end to end — corporate transient bids, consortia, and government programs — including rate strategy input with the GM and revenue management
- Build and defend a base-business layer (negotiated, crew, and extended-stay accounts) that protects midweek occupancy through shoulder and off-peak seasons
- Pursue win-backs and at-risk accounts using account-production data; know where every lost room night went and have a plan to get it back
Market intelligence and revenue partnership
- Know the competitive set cold: track STR/STAR results monthly (occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, and index), understand who is beating the hotel and why, and turn that into targeted sales action
- Understand the market's revenue cycle — peak seasons, compression events, and demand generators — and position rates and group blocks months ahead so the hotel never misses its highest-value windows
- Partner with the GM and revenue management on pricing, segment mix, and displacement decisions across both brands
Planning, reporting, and administration (self-performed)
- Build the annual sales and marketing plan and quarterly action plans with measurable goals by segment
- Maintain the sales CRM with complete, current account records, traces, and activity logs — your pipeline should be readable by anyone at any time
- Prepare monthly production, pipeline, and STAR-commentary reporting for ownership and Ledgestone leadership
- Draft your own proposals, contracts, group blocks, and rooming-list coordination; execute your own e-blasts and basic local marketing until support staff is added
Community and brand presence
- Represent both hotels in the local chamber, CVB, economic development groups, and key feeder organizations
- Leverage IHG brand programs and tools — IHG One Rewards and IHG Business Edge enrollment, brand RFP platforms, and reader-board/backyard selling — to full advantage
Systems You Will Use
Hotel sales CRM (e.g., STS Cloud or similar), IHG Concerto, Merlin, and brand sales tools, Cvent (Transient and Group), Hotel Planner, MeetingBroker, STR/STAR reporting, and demand-intelligence tools such as Agency360/Demand360. Training provided; curiosity and fluency with data required.
What Success Looks Like
- Year-one: a documented base-account portfolio producing measurable midweek occupancy, RFP season fully worked, and RevPAR index (RGI) growth against the competitive set
- A pipeline and account-production report ownership can trust without asking twice
- Both brands selling to their intended segments — with the Garner filling the value and project niche rather than cannibalizing the Holiday Inn Express
Qualifications
Required
- 3+ years of hotel sales experience with a proven record of personally sourcing and closing new business (select-service or extended-stay background preferred)
- Demonstrated success in a solo or lightly staffed sales role — comfortable being the entire department
- Working knowledge of STR reports, competitive-set analysis, and segment mix
- Strong prospecting, negotiating, and closing skills; excellent written proposals and follow-up discipline
- Valid driver's license and ability to travel locally daily for outside sales calls, with occasional regional travel for tradeshows and training
Preferred
- IHG brand experience and familiarity with IHG sales systems
- Experience selling dual-brand or multi-property complexes
- Established relationships in the local market's corporate, government, crew, and group segments
- CRM fluency (STS Cloud, Delphi, or comparable)
Working Environment
Office based at the hotel with daily local travel for sales calls. Extended hours during RFP season, group arrivals, and peak periods as business requires. Occasional lifting of collateral and tradeshow materials up to 25 lbs.
Why This Role
You will have full ownership of a two-brand sales territory, direct access to ownership and management-company leadership, visible scoreboard metrics (STAR index, production reports), and the chance to build the sales organization you will eventually lead.
Pay: From $120,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
