Destination Manager Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Position Overview:

The Leisure Sales Manager is responsible for generating transient leisure room revenue by developing and maintaining relationships with luxury travel advisors, travel management companies, tour operators, destination management companies, and key leisure travel partners. This position plays a vital role in expanding the hotel's presence within the luxury travel market while supporting the overall sales strategy of one of Chicago's premier luxury hospitality destinations.

The ideal candidate is a passionate hospitality professional with exceptional relationship-building skills, strong market knowledge, and a proven ability to drive revenue through strategic partnerships and proactive sales efforts. The Leisure Sales Manager serves as a brand ambassador, ensuring the hotel's luxury positioning is effectively represented to domestic and international travel partners.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITY BREAKDOWN

30% — Strategic Relationship Development

Build and maintain strong relationships with key travel advisors and leisure partners to influence booking behavior, increase brand awareness, and drive market share growth within the leisure segment.

20% — Luxury & Preferred Agency Engagement

Promote hotel awareness and preferred status across American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts (FH&R), Trump Elite, Signature, Ensemble, and Citi Bank agencies through regional travel, in-person presentations, and targeted sales calls. Actively represent the hotel through off-property sales initiatives, client entertainment, trade shows, and industry and community events to generate new business, present proposals, and close leisure accounts.

20% — Program Ownership & Internal Training

Lead the training, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of luxury and preferred agency programs, ensuring internal teams are fully aligned to deliver exceptional guest experiences for the hotel’s highest-value clientele.

10% — Sales Presentations & Contract Negotiation

Professionally represent the hotel by conducting sales presentations, client conferences, and proposal 1 | Page

development. Effectively negotiate terms and close leisure business that aligns with revenue and brand objectives.

10% — Performance Review & Revenue Optimization

Conduct quarterly business reviews with key accounts to evaluate room night production, revenue performance, and growth opportunities. Collaborate with sister properties to align strategies and achieve predetermined revenue goals.

5% — Sales Operations & Reporting

Participate in weekly sales meetings and other operational reviews, including tentative business, lost business analysis, and pickup tracking, to support overall sales strategy and forecasting accuracy.

5% — Property Tours & Client Hosting

Conduct personalized property tours for travel advisors and prospective clients, highlighting hotel amenities and services. Host and entertain clients during site inspections, pre-planning visits, and active programs as appropriate.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:

In addition to performance of the essential functions, this position may be required to perform a combination of the following supportive functions, with the percentage of time performing each function to be solely determined by management based upon the particular requirements of the company.

Leisure Sales & Business Development

● Solicit, negotiate, and secure new leisure travel business to achieve and exceed revenue goals. ● Develop and maintain relationships with luxury travel advisors, preferred partner agencies, tour operators, wholesalers, and destination management companies.

● Identify and pursue new opportunities within domestic and international leisure travel markets. ● Conduct proactive sales calls, virtual presentations, and in-person client meetings. ● Generate room night production through strategic account development and market penetration.

Account Management

● Manage a portfolio of key leisure travel accounts and maintain regular communication with clients.

● Develop account plans and growth strategies for top-producing travel partners. ● Monitor production reports and booking trends to identify opportunities for increased business. ● Negotiate preferred partnerships and promotional opportunities when appropriate. ● Ensure accurate account information and activity tracking within the hotel's CRM system.

Luxury Travel Advisor Relations

● Build strong relationships with luxury travel advisors and consortia partners. ● Coordinate and host site inspections, familiarization trips (FAMs), and educational visits. ● Participate in advisor events, luxury travel showcases, and networking functions.

● Promote the hotel's unique guest experiences, suites, amenities, and luxury offerings to travel partners.

Market Representation

● Represent the hotel at industry trade shows, sales missions, and luxury travel events. ● Maintain a thorough understanding of Chicago's luxury hospitality landscape, cultural attractions, dining scene, and major city events.

● Actively monitor competitor activity, market conditions, and emerging travel trends. ● Promote the hotel as a preferred destination for affluent leisure travelers visiting Chicago.

Revenue & Performance Management

● Achieve assigned room revenue, ADR, and account production goals.

● Collaborate with Revenue Management to optimize pricing strategies and promotional offers. ● Assist with forecasting, budgeting, and monthly sales reporting.

● Track and analyze account performance to ensure business objectives are achieved. Cross-Department Collaboration

● Work closely with Reservations, Front Office, Guest Experience, Revenue Management, and Marketing teams to ensure a seamless guest experience.

● Support special promotions, seasonal campaigns, and package development initiatives. ● Communicate client preferences and expectations to operational teams to enhance guest satisfaction.

● Assist in creating memorable experiences for VIP and repeat guests.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

● Extensive experience partnering with high-end and luxury travel agencies to drive leisure revenue ● Strong understanding of Opera/OperaCloud and Delphi

● Familiarization with Hoteligence and Agency360

● Strong guest relations and client service expertise

● Strong analytical skills, with experience in data-driven decision-making and KPI tracking. ● Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience in content creation and storytelling.

● Words Per Minute typing at 60

● Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment. ● Leadership and team-building abilities

● Return all phone calls on the same day and demonstrate timeliness in getting proposals to clients ● Always maintain a professional image in appearance/attire and conduct when dealing agents and hotel employees

● Basic mathematical skills to complete reports and working knowledge of financial statements and forecasting techniques

● Strong computer skills including Excel, PowerPoint, Word

● Ability to work under pressure and deal with stressful situations during busy periods ● Interpersonal skills to provide overall guest satisfaction

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OTHER:

Due to the industry that we are in, a need will occur for each associate to provide “Lateral Service”. Our goal is to ensure that we are maximizing customer satisfaction and as a result there will be times when our associates in the Operations will call upon us for support in order to ensure customer satisfaction occurs. When we are fortunate enough for this to occur, each associate will positively respond unless there is a chance that an opportunity resulting in dissatisfying a guest could occur. If this is the case the leader is to be notified and the level of support that is being requested will be obtained.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Directly reporting to this position (titles): Director of Sales & Marketing

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience required

EXPERIENCE

● A minimum 3 year of previous experience in a hotel sales office, preferably in a 4-5 star hotel

GROOMING

All associates must maintain a neat, clean and well-groomed appearance (specific standards available) PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Frequency Key: Never – 0 hours; Rare – up to 1 hour; Occasional – 1-3 hours; Frequent – 3-6 Hours; Constant – 6-8 hours

Physical Activity Frequency

Sitting Constant

Walking, climbing stairs Frequent

Crouching/Bending/Stooping Occasional

Reaching Occasional

Pushing/Pulling Occasional

Near Vision Frequent

Far Vision Occasional

Hearing Constant

Talking Constant

Lifting/Carrying (15 lbs.) Occasional

Travel Rare

BENEFITS: At Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago, we offer a range of employment benefits for this Full-Time position, subject to any applicable eligibility, enrollment and/or benefit plan requirements. An overview of the benefits offered can be found on the Hotel's Career Center webpage here: Click Here.

E-VERIFY: Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago participates in the federal E-Verify program, an electronic system that verifies employment authorization in the United States by comparing information from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, with government databases. The

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company uses E-Verify only after an employee has accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9. The company does not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants or candidates who have not received a job offer from the company.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.