GENERAL MANAGER – FULL-SERVICE HILTON-BRANDED HOTEL Chicago Western Suburbs, Illinois
CONFIDENTIAL OPPORTUNITY
A privately held hotel ownership and management company is seeking an experienced, highly motivated General Manager to lead a large, full-service, all-suite Hilton-branded hotel located in Chicago’s western suburbs.
This is a significant full-service operation featuring an all-suite room product, extensive food & beverage operations, meeting and event space, and multiple revenue centers. We are seeking a hands-on hotel operator and business leader who understands that successful hotel management requires strong financial performance, exceptional guest service, disciplined operations, aggressive sales leadership, and an engaged team.
The General Manager will have full responsibility for the hotel's overall performance, including revenue, profitability, guest satisfaction, brand compliance, sales, food & beverage, labor management, property condition, and employee development.
This is not a position for someone who manages exclusively from an office. The successful candidate will be highly visible throughout the property, actively engaged with employees and guests, knowledgeable about daily hotel performance, and personally accountable for results.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIESHOTEL LEADERSHIP & OPERATIONS
- Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for all hotel operations.
- Directly oversee Front Office, Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Sales, Revenue Management, Engineering/Maintenance, Human Resources and Accounting/Finance.
- Establish clear expectations, goals and accountability for each department and department head.
- Maintain a highly visible presence throughout the hotel and regularly interact with guests and employees.
- Conduct routine inspections of guestrooms, public areas, meeting spaces, food & beverage outlets, exterior areas and back-of-house operations.
- Ensure the property consistently meets or exceeds Hilton brand standards.
- Maintain strong operational controls while creating an environment focused on hospitality and guest satisfaction.
- Respond personally and professionally to significant guest concerns and ensure appropriate service recovery.
- Identify operational weaknesses quickly and implement corrective action.
- Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations, licensing requirements and safety standards.
FINANCIAL & PROFIT MANAGEMENT
The General Manager will have complete accountability for the financial performance of the hotel.
- Meet or exceed established revenue, GOP and profitability objectives.
- Prepare and manage the hotel's annual operating budget and business plan.
- Accurately forecast revenue, occupancy, ADR, labor and operating expenses.
- Review hotel financial statements and operating reports and take corrective action when performance falls below expectations.
- Maintain disciplined labor management based upon occupancy, business levels and departmental productivity standards.
- Identify opportunities to increase revenue while controlling unnecessary operating expenses.
- Monitor purchasing, inventory, payroll, accounts receivable and other financial controls.
- Ensure accurate and timely financial reporting.
- Protect hotel assets and ownership's investment through strong financial and operational controls.
SALES, REVENUE & MARKET PERFORMANCE
The General Manager must be an active participant in driving revenue—not simply rely on the sales department.
- Work closely with Sales and Revenue Management to maximize occupancy, ADR, RevPAR and total hotel revenue.
- Understand the hotel's competitive set, market positioning and major demand generators.
- Develop strategies for corporate, group, leisure, negotiated and event business.
- Know the hotel's key accounts and maintain relationships with major customers.
- Participate in sales calls, client meetings, property tours and community networking.
- Review pace, pickup, segmentation, pricing and competitive performance regularly.
- Develop strategies to maximize revenue during need periods and capitalize aggressively during periods of high demand.
- Hold the sales team accountable for measurable production and results.
- Identify new business opportunities and develop strategies to capture additional market share.
FOOD & BEVERAGE / MEETINGS & EVENTS
As a full-service hotel, strong Food & Beverage leadership is essential.
- Provide oversight of all food & beverage operations.
- Ensure quality, service, cleanliness and profitability standards are consistently achieved.
- Monitor food cost, beverage cost, labor productivity and departmental profitability.
- Work closely with Sales and F&B leadership to maximize meeting, banquet and event revenue.
- Ensure events are executed professionally and consistently.
- Maintain appropriate controls over purchasing, inventory and waste.
GUEST EXPERIENCE & BRAND PERFORMANCE
- Make guest satisfaction a fundamental operating priority throughout the hotel.
- Monitor guest satisfaction scores, online reviews, Hilton performance metrics and quality assurance results.
- Establish action plans for areas requiring improvement.
- Ensure employees are properly trained and empowered to resolve guest concerns.
- Maintain high standards for cleanliness, service, product quality and overall hotel presentation.
- Personally follow up on significant guest issues when appropriate.
- Drive a culture in which every department understands its responsibility for the guest experience.
HUMAN RESOURCES & TEAM DEVELOPMENT
- Recruit, develop and retain a strong hotel leadership team.
- Establish clear performance expectations for department heads.
- Conduct regular leadership meetings and individual performance reviews.
- Develop management talent through coaching, training and succession planning.
- Maintain a professional, respectful and accountable workplace culture.
- Ensure employees understand hotel objectives and how their individual performance contributes to those objectives.
- Ensure personnel practices comply with applicable employment laws and company policies.
- Address employee performance issues promptly, fairly and consistently.
- Maintain appropriate staffing and control employee turnover.
PROPERTY & ASSET MANAGEMENT
The General Manager is responsible for protecting and improving the physical asset.
- Maintain high standards for guestrooms, public areas, building exterior and back-of-house areas.
- Maintain an effective preventive maintenance program.
- Conduct regular property inspections with Engineering and Housekeeping leadership.
- Ensure deficiencies are documented, assigned and corrected promptly.
- Coordinate capital projects, renovations and property improvements with ownership and contractors.
- Ensure capital projects are completed within approved budgets and with minimal disruption to hotel operations and guests.
- Maintain strong Hilton Quality Assurance performance.
- Protect ownership's investment by identifying physical plant and capital needs before they become major operational problems.
OWNERSHIP COMMUNICATION & ACCOUNTABILITY
- Maintain transparent and proactive communication with ownership.
- Provide regular updates regarding hotel performance, financial results, guest satisfaction, staffing, sales activity and operational challenges.
- Identify problems early and present solutions rather than simply reporting issues.
- Execute ownership initiatives and approved business strategies.
- Maintain complete accountability for the overall performance and condition of the hotel.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Minimum 3–5 years of General Manager experience in a full-service hotel strongly preferred.
- Hilton-branded hotel experience required.
- Experience operating a large full-service hotel, all-suite hotel, convention/group hotel, or comparable complex operation strongly preferred.
- Strong understanding of hotel P&L statements, budgeting, forecasting and labor management.
- Demonstrated ability to improve revenue, profitability and guest satisfaction.
- Strong knowledge of hotel sales, revenue management and market segmentation.
- Food & Beverage and meeting/event operations experience required.
- Proven ability to recruit, develop and hold department leaders accountable.
- Strong understanding of Hilton brand standards and quality assurance expectations.
- Excellent leadership, communication and problem-solving skills.
- Ability and willingness to be highly visible and actively involved in daily hotel operations.
- Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration or related field preferred but not required with substantial relevant experience.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
We are looking for a hotel operator—not simply a hotel administrator.
The successful candidate will know what is happening throughout the property, understand the numbers behind the business, challenge department leaders to perform at a higher level, actively participate in sales efforts, maintain strong relationships with guests and employees, and take personal ownership of the hotel's results.
This individual should be comfortable managing a complex full-service operation and should have the leadership presence necessary to build a culture of accountability, hospitality, urgency and continuous improvement.
Competitive compensation and benefits will be offered based upon experience.
All inquiries and applications will be handled confidentially.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $90,000.00 - $105,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Life insurance
- Paid jury duty
- Paid time off
- Paid training
- Referral program
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Do you have minimum 3 years of Full Service Hotel Experience?
Work Location: In person
