Exciting opportunity for a dynamic Sales Leader to join our team!

Located in the heart of Wolf Point on the Chicago River, this newly renovated 521 room Holiday Inn Chicago Downtown is reimagined as a dual branded hotel, with the launch of the very first lifestyle hotel, the voco hotel in Chicago. The new voco Hotel Chicago will consist of 293 guest rooms and the Holiday Inn Chicago Downtown will consist of 228 guest rooms. The word voco is Latin and it means to “invite” and “call together” representing our thoughtful and unstuffy and charming nature of the brand.

Spacious & well-appointed, accommodations range from standard rooms to elaborate & extensive suites that pay homage to this great neighborhood of Chicago with unmatched views of the Chicago River, the historic art deco Merchandise Mart and downtown Chicago. Complete with special touches throughout, hotels will feature an amazing new lobby bar that captures those same views, a restaurant that celebrates the tastes of Chicago and a marketplace that is open 24 hours.

Setting a new benchmark for event & meeting planners in Chicago, the voco Hotel Chicago & Holiday Inn Chicago Downtown boasts 25,000 square feet of event space packed with modern technology. Offering the most advanced, spacious, and centrally located event venues in the city, our conference center is a space for meetings and events with all the modern-day necessities in a timeless setting - perfect for social gatherings & corporate events alike.

The property is operated by Hostmark Hospitality Group, one of the country's premier hospitality management companies. Our success is based on a unique integration of vision & talent nurtured over 50 years of experience. We have a passion for the Art of Service - a dedicated approach to creating memorable experiences for our guests.

Hostmark has an exciting new opportunity for a talented Director of Commercial Sales to join our team. The Director of Commercial Sales will play an integral role in the Commercial Strategy of the property and will work in tandem with the other Commercials Strategy Leaders to install, cultivate and maintain a cohesive, methodical, analytical strategy and performance review culture. This culture is driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and shared best practices that optimizes the revenue potential of the superior service, product, and people of Hostmark Hospitality. This role has the responsibility to achieve optimal topline revenue while meeting/exceeding hotel profit objectives for the hotel. This individual will oversee operations of the hotel sales department including but not limited to direct sales, follow-up sales administration, hiring of staff, training managing and coaching.

We are looking for a dynamic leader who can successfully lead the sales efforts for this new dual branded hotel in Chicago. The ideal candidate will have prior experience as a Director of Sales or National Sales with prior proven and creative experience opening new hotels, food and beverage promotions, and strong knowledge of the local market.

Responsibilities include:

• Coordinate all group, transient and catering sales solicitations, and bookings to maximize overall revenue
• Work in tandem with Director of Commercial Strategy to develop, implement and manage the annual topline budget for the hotel to maximize rate occupancy and food & beverage opportunities thus ensuring the hotel meets/exceeds management and owner revenue/profit goals and expectations
• Actively participate in weekly Commercial Strategy Meetings with other Commercial and Hotel Operational Leaders
• Initiate and develop sales trips to key feeder markets / cities with a focus on identifying accounts that can directly benefit revenue performance targets at hotels
• Actively participate in all Hostmark Hospitality calls and trainings
• Proactively conduct outside sales calls, conduct sales tours and entertain clients
• Understand the content reflected in contracts and how to negotiate terms therein
• Develop and maintain market awareness to ensure ability to predict revenue opportunities and set proactive strategies and goals
• Monitor production of all top accounts and evaluate trends within your market
• Participate in and Support training of and utilization of Commercial Tools such as SalesBoost, ProfitMark, Kalibri Labs, etc
• Maintain strong visibility in local community and industry organizations.
• Attend and/or conduct daily/weekly/monthly meetings and any other functions required by management providing training on a rotational basis