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Area Director – Hotels
Remote, Atlanta-based | Frequent regional travel
We are seeking a hands-on Area Director to lead hotel operations across a growing portfolio in the Southeast
Position Overview:
- Provide operational leadership and direct oversight.
- Work remotely from the Atlanta area while maintaining a consistent presence at assigned properties.
- Stabilize hotel operations, develop property-level leaders, strengthen financial controls, and improve guest satisfaction.
- Support renovations, leadership transitions, property onboarding, and future hotel openings.
- Grow with the organization as it expands throughout the Sunbelt and adds upscale properties to the portfolio.
- Report directly to senior company leadership in a collaborative, entrepreneurial, and relatively flat organization.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Provide hands-on leadership, coaching, and accountability to hotel General Managers and property leadership teams.
- Visit each assigned property at least once every two weeks, with additional onsite support when operational conditions require it.
- Remain onsite when necessary to resolve leadership gaps, staffing issues, guest-service concerns, or other urgent operational challenges.
- Review nightly audit activity and ensure the accurate reconciliation of cash, credit-card transactions, revenue, and other financial controls.
- Monitor property performance daily and address potential problems before they negatively affect operations or financial results.
- Evaluate staffing levels, organizational structure, labor productivity, and leadership effectiveness at each property.
- Recruit, onboard, train, develop, and retain strong property-level leaders.
- Help General Managers establish clear priorities, performance expectations, and accountability standards.
- Lead operational planning for renovations, property transitions, new hotel onboarding, and pre-opening activities.
- Monitor Gross Operating Profit performance, guest-satisfaction scores, labor costs, revenue trends, and overall property execution.
- Develop practical action plans for underperforming properties and follow through until measurable improvement is achieved.
- Build operating procedures and leadership practices that can scale as the company acquires additional hotels.
- Maintain regular, transparent communication with company leadership regarding property performance, risks, staffing needs, and recommended solutions.
- Develop productive relationships with hotel brands, vendors, employees, ownership representatives, and other operating partners.
- Protect the company’s assets, reputation, and financial interests through disciplined operational oversight.
Leadership Expectations:
- Lead through trust, credibility, coaching, and employee buy-in.
- Maintain a visible and approachable presence with property teams.
- Demonstrate a high level of personal ownership and follow-through.
- Balance strategic thinking with a willingness to work directly alongside property teams.
- Hold General Managers accountable without relying on an intimidating or threatening leadership style.
- Remain calm, organized, and solutions-oriented during operational emergencies.
- Provide clear direction while allowing capable leaders the autonomy to execute.
- Build a culture centered on accountability, financial discipline, guest service, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
- Earn credibility before introducing significant operational changes.
- Adapt quickly as the company adds properties, enters new markets, and expands into higher-end hotel segments.
Required Experience:
- At least five years of progressive hotel operations experience, with approximately ten years preferred.
- Previous experience as a hotel General Manager.
- Experience overseeing multiple hotels, ideally two or more properties.
- Strong knowledge of economy or select-service hotel operations.
- Demonstrated success improving operational performance, financial controls, staffing, and guest satisfaction.
- Experience reviewing hotel financial reports, nightly audits, labor performance, and property-level operating results.
- Ability to coach General Managers and develop effective hotel leadership teams.
- Experience supporting renovations, hotel transitions, openings, or leadership changes is strongly preferred.
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently throughout the Southeast.
- Ability to work independently in a fast-moving environment with limited layers of corporate support.
- Valid driver’s license and reliable access to regional transportation.
Preferred Background:
- Experience with a recognized institutional hotel operator, ownership group, or multi-property management company.
- Familiarity with branded and independent hotel environments.
- Experience with Hilton, IHG, or comparable hotel systems and operating standards.
- Prior military service, competitive team-sports experience, or another background demonstrating discipline, teamwork, and leadership is valued but not required.
- Experience building operational systems for a growing hospitality organization.
- Interest in developing into a senior operations leadership position as the portfolio expands.
Location and Travel:
- This is a remote position based in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
- The Area Director will initially support properties in the Southeast.
- Candidates must be comfortable visiting each property at least every two weeks.
- Additional or extended travel will be required during renovations, openings, leadership transitions, or operational emergencies.
- Future travel may include Pensacola, Tallahassee, Orlando, and other Sunbelt markets.
- Travel expenses will be covered through a company expense card or reimbursement program.
Compensation and Incentives:
- Target base compensation is approximately $95,000 to $105,000, depending on experience.
- Performance bonus opportunity tied primarily to controllable results and guest-satisfaction performance.
- Company-paid or reimbursed business travel expenses.
- Additional compensation and benefit details will be reviewed with qualified candidates.
Career Growth:
- Opportunity to help shape the operating platform of a growing hotel organization.
- Direct access to senior leadership and meaningful input into company decisions.
- Potential to assume responsibility for additional economy, select-service, and upscale hotels.
- Clear opportunity to grow into broader regional or company-wide operations leadership.
- Greater autonomy and career-building responsibility than is typically available within a highly layered corporate organization.
Ideal Candidate:
- The successful candidate is an energetic, financially disciplined, and highly accountable hotel operator who enjoys developing people and solving difficult property-level challenges. This individual is equally comfortable reviewing financial reconciliations, coaching a General Manager, evaluating staffing, supporting a renovation, or stepping into a hotel during an operational emergency. They are motivated by the opportunity to build, improve, and grow alongside an expanding hospitality company.
JOB ID: 180713
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Vincent Frankowski