VP of Marketing

Overview:
AN INSPIRING CAREER AWAITS YOUThe Kessler Collection is made up of 12 artful hotel and resort properties, 25 restaurants, and over 1,700 Grand Performers across seven states, we continue to grow and so will you The opportunities are endless. Our mission of inspiring places, intuitive service, and exuberant guests means we are committed to our Grand Performers learning, development, and well-being.

We believe people want to be inspired 

Our Grand Performers Receive Many Benefits Including:

Marriott Employee Discounts Worldwide

Competitive Wage & Discretionary Bonus Program

Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

Company-Sponsored Life Insurance

Short & Long-Term Disability Insurance

Pet Insurance

Tuition Reimbursement Program

401(K) with Discretionary Company Matching Contributions

Employee Assistance Program

Responsibilities:
JOB SUMMARYReporting directly to the President, the Vice President of Marketing will bring our brands to life by developing, evolving, and executing the Kessler, Marriott, and individual hotel brand guidelines. This leadership role has the primary responsibility of crafting the company's marketing strategy and overseeing all aspects of property branding, destination marketing, media, public relations, sales, revenue, distribution, e-commerce, and marketing analytics.  

As the Company’s most senior leader in marketing and topline revenue generation, this position is accountable for company performance, the achievement of company goals, and the alignment of company objectives with business strategy.

This multifaceted role demands a strategic thinker, a collaborative leader, and an innovative problem solver. You will lead a dynamic team responsible for brand management, public relations, marketing communications, digital marketing, social media, sales, and revenue management. You will be responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive marketing strategies that align with our overall business and hotel objectives while ensuring cohesion, consistency, and alignment with our brand's goals across all channels.

The successful candidate will enjoy the fast-paced high-growth energy of the company, be highly entrepreneurial, thrive in collaboration with other senior leaders, and possess in-depth knowledge of the key components that drive profitability in our artful, luxurious, boutique branded lifestyle and hospitality experiences. This person will be leading the brand management and online marketing strategies through digital media channels, oversee experience and event planning and execution (locally and nationally), lead content creation and distribution efforts, conduct marketing analytics, optimize user experience, brand building, and maximize customer engagement, spend, and share-of-wallet.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIESPrimary areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Development and Implementation of Annual Marketing Strategy & Plans

Elevate the Kessler and Grand Bohemian brands, ensuring a consistent and impactful luxury identity, presence, and voice across all touchpoints. 

Create and execute a comprehensive annual marketing, PR, and media strategy designed to showcase and drive business to the company’s hotels, restaurants, galleries, and experiences.  

Develop and manage corporate and property marketing budgets, ensuring efficient allocation of resources to achieve strategic objectives.

Build specific guest archetypes, personas, and target segments with marketing strategies and initiatives designed to stimulate trial, repeat visitation, and maximize share-of-wallet. Create compelling narratives to promote Kessler properties to specific target markets, emphasizing their unique value proposition. 

Communicate new brand changes with hotels and corporate leadership to guide process and prioritize critical performance measures for all brand engagement points. 

Spearhead marketing and communications initiatives that drive demand and market penetration for existing operations and new developments.

Establish a robust social media strategy across all channels, influencer marketing, experiential programming, and customer education marketing.  

Lead digital media execution and channel development across all paid media, core paid search, paid social, email, SEO, and optimizing our social media presence to drive demand.

Ensure the seamless integration of e-commerce and digital marketing initiatives.

Regularly monitor and report on the performance of marketing campaigns, making data-driven recommendations for improvement.

Drive website experience, conversion optimization, support rate strategy, and customer journey improvements.

Identify market trends and opportunities to drive brand awareness and revenue growth.

Be the expert on global industry trends and conditions to communicate to corporate and hotel leadership with implications to hotel performance and appropriate changes in forward strategy.

2. Sales & Revenue Management:

Lead communication and strategy planning between the Corporate Directors of Marketing, PR, Sales, Revenue Management, and eCommerce to align strategies based on need.

Collaborate with properties to set annual marketing goals, calendars, budgets, and plans. 

Perform impact analysis of brand changes and industry shifts to understand potential risk and gains to set proactive strategies accordingly.

Guide group sales strategy with the Corporate Directors of Sales and Revenue Management to adjust to needs and trends, identifying and producing opportunities in pricing and processes for both group and catering.

Analyze production of revenue management promotions and campaigns to determine most effective tactics.

Align company objectives through strategic planning, sales and marketing strategy development, forecasting, resource planning, and budgeting. 

Collaborate with all constituents to ensure targets for revenue, profitability, and market share are being met.

Monitor and drive revenue pace of Sales and Catering to meet and exceed budgeted revenues. 

Develop effective strategies and implementation plans for all distribution channels, segments, and markets.

Support and develop hotel-level sales teams to drive business to exceed performance goals.

Present and communicate performance metrics, trends, and risks to corporate leadership and hotel ownership. 

Establish and maintain an ROI-driven approach to marketing spend allocation and manage expenses to budget.

Ensure cooperation between Sales, Revenue Management, and Marketing to establish strategic goals and tactics for achieving budgets.

Utilize analytics tools to track and report on the performance of e-commerce, digital marketing, distribution strategies, and the performance of the brand revenue management systems.

Monitor spending and provide regular reports on-budget performance.

Stay current in brand developments and lead implementation of all revenue management initiatives while optimizing pricing, inventory and channel strategies to generate additional revenues.

Monitor performance of the Revenue Management team providing guidance on their strategies based on demand trends, hotel need, and profit margins.

Work with the Corporate Directors of Business Transient and Luxury Sales to align strategies for those segments, looking for new account and revenue opportunities. 

3. Collaboration and Partnerships of Agencies and Brands:

Oversee all internal and external creative, media, online, partner, vendor, sponsorship, and agency relationships.

Work closely with property GM’s, department heads, internal departments, outside agencies, and brands to ensure a seamless partnership and streamlined processes.  

Collaborate with teams to develop integrated campaigns and initiatives that drive results.

Optimize the use and effectiveness of partner media, creative, and communications agencies.

4. Team Leadership and Culture:

Foster a collaborative and innovative team culture that encourages creativity, continuous improvement, and a shared vision.

Promote a culture of Trust, Confidence, Support, Respect, and Integrity

Provide leadership through business direction, motivation, coaching, skill development, product knowledge, industry knowledge, competitive knowledge, and performance management. 

Lead, mentor, and motivate the marketing team to deliver exceptional results.

Identify opportunities for continued education and skill development for yourself and the marketing team.

Stay current with industry trends and best practices to ensure our strategies remain cutting-edge.

Qualifications:
KNOWLEDGE / SKILLS / ABILITIESTo perform this role successfully, an individual must have experience achieving desired result(s) in their areas of responsibility. The requirements below represent observable behaviors and essential knowledge, skill, and abilities required by a successful incumbent.

Strategic business leader - Works strategically to devise plans in alignment with organizational goals.

Cultivates engagement - Builds loyalty. Proven ability to host/facilitate effective meetings and motivate teams to produce results with tight timeframes while simultaneously managing several projects.

Generates alignment - Ensures proper time and effort is spent to build high-level performance and consistency throughout the collection.

Leads with courage - Provides a culture of accountability.

Execution of plans - Utilizes our systems, tools, and resources to accomplish results and achieve goals.

Advanced level of written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Ability to read, analyze, interpret, and execute complex documents.  

Exceptional ability to analyze performance and establish and execute short and long-term goals.

Ability to respond effectively and confidentially to the most sensitive inquiries or complaints.  

Ability to identify problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid recommendations, conclusions, and solutions.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONSEducation, License, Certifications, Experience

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field (MBA preferred).

Proven track record of at least ten years in a senior marketing/operations leadership roles in world-class luxury, hospitality, lifestyle, and entertainment.

Extensive experience building, developing, managing luxury brands and destinations.

Diverse property & corporate leadership experience required

Expertise in brand management, PR, communications, destination marketing, F&B marketing, digital marketing, brand & community partnerships, hotel sales and marketing, and marketing analytics.

Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

Proficiency in budget management and resource allocation.

Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire high-performing marketing & sales teams.

Excellent collaboration, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret marketing data to drive decision-making.

A passion for innovation and a dedication to staying ahead of and adapting to industry trends.

Experience embracing technology and driving decision making and performance management through metrics. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT The work environment/conditions described herein are representative of those that an incumbent may experience.

Must be comfortable working independently and with a team as needed.

Must be comfortable working in a shared space, with constant noise, with/or without the use of a private office

Schedules may vary from week to week based on business demands in excess of 40 hours with or without notice

PHYSICAL DEMANDSThe physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an incumbent to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Sitting for extended periods of time

Extended and simultaneous use of multiple computer monitors, simultaneous use of phone, keyboard, and mouse

Regular lifting and maneuvering of up 20lbs on a daily basis

Travel by foot, car, bus, airplane or other means of transportation which require sitting, waiting and standing for long and short periods of time

The Kessler Collection is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

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