Destination Marketing Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

 Position Summary

The Destination Sales Manager is responsible for generating economic impact through business development and by promoting and selling the Richmond Region as the ideal destination for meetings and conventions. This role focuses on securing group business utilizing the region's convention hotels and booking between 20 and 299 peak hotel room nights.

What You'll Do

• Develop and maintain relationships with meeting planners, association executives, corporate decision-makers, hotels, venues, and tourism industry partners.
• Solicit meetings, conventions, and group business opportunities through sales calls, email outreach, site visits, trade shows, sales missions, presentations, and networking activities.
• Achieve annual hotel room night booking goals within assigned market segments.
• Manage and maintain client, account, and sales activity information within RRT's CRM platform (currently Simpleview).
• Develop and present customized bid packages, proposals, and destination presentations.
• Coordinate site inspections, familiarization tours, and stakeholder participation throughout the sales process.
• Partner with hotels, venues, and community stakeholders to identify and secure business opportunities.
• Collaborate with the Visitor Experience team to ensure a seamless transition of booked business.
• Negotiate and make decisions related to assigned accounts, projects, and sales opportunities.
• Develop and execute sales strategies aligned with departmental and organizational goals.
• Manage assigned travel and business development budgets.
• Cultivate and maintain strong client, partner, and stakeholder relationships.
• Represent Richmond Region Tourism at industry events, conferences, trade shows, sales missions, and networking functions, including overnight travel and occasional evening and weekend commitments to support business development activities (travel requirement approximately 35%).

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Hospitality, Tourism, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of hospitality industry experience, preferably in a CVB or hotel environment
• Demonstrated success achieving sales goals and generating new business opportunities.
• Experience building and maintaining client, partner, and stakeholder relationships.
• Experience utilizing CRM systems and Microsoft 365 applications.
• Experience developing proposals, presentations, bid packages, or sales materials.
• Knowledge of the meetings, conventions, tourism, or hospitality industry preferred.

Richmond Region Tourism is the Region's primary destination marketing organization.  Richmond Region Tourism (RRT) welcomes meeting planners, tournament organizers, tour operators, travel media and leisure travelers to our Region. A nonprofit organization, RRT offers a comprehensive array of information and services to assist the hospitality industry in benefiting from the powerful economic engine that is tourism.  The organization is committed to the principle of Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) and to providing a work environment free from bias, discrimination, or harassment.

Mission

Share a passion for the Richmond Region with the world. 

Vision 

As a thriving community, the Richmond Region is known for being inclusive and welcoming to all.

About Us

As the Region’s destination organization, we are experts who have a deep love for the community in which we live, work, and play. 

We enrich the lives of our residents and visitors by sharing the unique culture and humanity that is the Richmond Region.  

We generate economic prosperity through tourism by attracting conventions, meetings, sports tournaments, and visitors and ensuring that all have an unforgettable experience. 

We enhance the quality of life for the people in our community by supporting the places that make the Richmond Region wonderful.

We strengthen local programs that drive tourism through our Richmond Region Tourism Foundation. 

We do all of this through a lens of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Values

At Richmond Region Tourism, our people are our biggest asset. Our internal cornerstones define our organizational culture and provide a road map for engaging with our community in making the Richmond Region welcoming for all. 

• Passion: Intense enthusiasm for our community and its people
• Inclusiveness: Deep commitment to equity and community engagement to advance, develop and sustain the Region
• Integrity: Dynamic culture built upon trust, honesty, and credibility
• Innovation: Leading-edge work that is rooted in creativity and transformational for the Region
• Stewardship: Ambassadors of our destination’s development, image and reputation
• Courage: Doing the right thing and upholding our values

More information:   https://www.visitrichmondva.com/partners/about/employment/

• Hybrid Work Life - ability to work a hybrid schedule which is a blend of in the office and remote work, but must reside in the Richmond Region.
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurance
• 401(K) with Company Match
• Direct Deposit
• Bereavement Leave
• Parental Leave
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Jury Duty
• Paid Parking (downtown Richmond location)
• Vacation and Sick Time 
• Health Savings Account
• Flexible Spending Account