Assistant Director of Sales and Marketing

Get to Know The Hotel at the University of Maryland

Located directly across from the University of Maryland's flagship campus in College Park, The Hotel at the University of Maryland is an award-winning, AAA Four Diamond independent, full-service hotel offering an exceptional combination of upscale accommodations, sophisticated meeting facilities, and personalized hospitality.

Featuring 297 guest rooms, including 24 suites, and approximately 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space, The Hotel welcomes corporate travelers, university partners, associations, government organizations, athletic teams, and social events of varying sizes and complexity.

Managed by Donohoe Hospitality Services (DHS), The Hotel is committed to operational excellence, innovative sales strategies, meaningful guest relationships, and a culture that empowers team members to grow professionally and personally.

What We Are Looking For

We are seeking an accomplished, energetic, and results-driven Assistant Director of Sales & Marketing who combines exceptional salesmanship with strong leadership, strategic thinking, and a passion for developing others.

This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership position for an experienced hospitality sales professional who thrives in a competitive, full-service hotel environment. The ideal candidate is a proven revenue producer, skilled negotiator, strategic business developer, and effective coach who can inspire a team while personally contributing to the hotel's financial success.

The ADOSM will serve as a key strategic partner to the Director of Sales & Marketing, sharing responsibility for the direction, execution, and performance of the hotel's sales initiatives. This individual must be equally comfortable cultivating new accounts, closing complex business opportunities, analyzing revenue performance, coaching sales professionals, and representing The Hotel within the greater College Park, Prince George's County, and Washington, DC metropolitan business communities.

We are looking for a leader who does more than manage the sales process—we want someone who drives results, builds relationships, develops talent, and creates opportunities.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Sales Leadership & Team Development

- Assist the DOSM in providing daily leadership, direction, accountability, and support to the hotel's group sales team.

- Serve as acting department leader in the absence of the DOSM, ensuring continuity of sales operations, customer engagement, and revenue-producing activities.

- Coach, mentor, and develop sales professionals in prospecting, lead qualification, relationship management, negotiation, business evaluation, closing techniques, and account retention.

- Assist in recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, training, performance evaluations, and professional development of sales team members.

- Establish and reinforce measurable sales activity standards, including prospecting calls, outside sales appointments, site inspections, account development, and conversion goals.

- Conduct individual coaching sessions, pipeline reviews, and performance discussions to improve productivity and accountability.

- Lead sales meetings, prepare relevant reports, and translate performance data into actionable strategies and revenue-producing initiatives.

- Foster a collaborative, high-performance sales culture built on professionalism, ownership, creativity, integrity, and continuous improvement.

- Support succession planning and identify opportunities for team members to advance within sales, catering, conference services, and hotel leadership.

Business Development & Revenue Generation

- Maintain an active, personal sales portfolio with established revenue and activity goals while supporting the performance of the overall sales team.

- Identify, prospect, qualify, solicit, negotiate, and secure new group room and meeting business across assigned market segments.

- Develop relationships with corporate accounts, national and regional associations, government agencies, university departments, research institutions, technology companies, athletic organizations, and third-party meeting planners.

- Identify emerging business opportunities associated with the University of Maryland, the Discovery District, regional economic development, and the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area.

- Cultivate relationships with key decision-makers, executive assistants, procurement professionals, meeting planners, and organizational leadership to develop recurring business.

- Lead account development initiatives focused on increasing market share, expanding existing relationships, and generating repeat bookings.

- Conduct outside sales appointments, client entertainment, sales presentations, property tours, and destination-specific selling activities.

- Plan and execute bi-monthly sales blitzes, targeted prospecting campaigns, and strategic account outreach initiatives.

- Represent The Hotel at relevant industry conferences, trade shows, professional associations, networking functions, and community events.

- Participate in occasional regional and out-of-market sales travel when justified by business development opportunities.

- Consistently achieve or exceed assigned monthly, quarterly, and annual revenue production goals.

Revenue Management & Strategic Business Evaluation

- Partner with the DOSM, Area Director of Revenue Management, and Director of Catering & Conference Services to evaluate business opportunities and maximize total hotel profitability.

- Participate in Daily Business Review (DBR) meetings, providing thorough business qualification, revenue analysis, and recommendations.

- Evaluate group business based on seasonality, occupancy demand, average daily rate (ADR), room night contribution, displacement, meeting space utilization, food and beverage potential, and overall profitability.

- Review group booking patterns, historical performance, rate opportunities, competitive positioning, and future account potential before recommending pricing and concessions.

- Assist in establishing strategic selling guidelines for peak, shoulder, and need periods.

- Collaborate with Revenue Management to identify opportunities to optimize group mix, booking windows, length of stay, and total revenue contribution.

- Monitor group pace, booking production, pickup trends, cancellations, lost business, and tentative-to-definite conversion.

- Understand and interpret STR reports, competitive market performance, market share, RevPAR, ADR, occupancy, and revenue indices.

- Support revenue strategies that balance short-term financial performance with long-term customer relationships and account value.

Sales Strategy, Budgeting & Forecasting

- Assist the DOSM in developing and executing the annual Sales & Marketing Business Plan, including market segmentation, account development, production goals, and revenue growth strategies.

- Participate in annual budgeting, monthly forecasting, quarterly business reviews, and ongoing financial performance analysis.

- Review sales pace, historical trends, market demand, competitive intelligence, and booking activity to identify risks and opportunities.

- Prepare accurate sales production reports, pipeline updates, account performance summaries, and revenue projections.

- Assist with monthly and quarterly variance analysis, identifying the factors contributing to performance above or below budget.

- Recommend and execute corrective sales action plans when production or booking pace falls below established targets.

- Collaborate with Marketing to develop targeted promotions, seasonal campaigns, digital initiatives, and customer engagement strategies.

- Monitor the effectiveness and return on investment of sales campaigns, trade show participation, client entertainment, and business development activities.

- Contribute to ownership and management company reporting as requested by the DOSM.

Contract Negotiation, Compliance & Sales Administration

- Negotiate guest room rates, meeting space rental, food and beverage commitments, and applicable concessions within established hotel guidelines.

- Ensure all group agreements are accurate, financially sound, properly documented, and compliant with approved contracting standards.

- Review contracts prepared by group sales professionals before submission to the client, as authorized by hotel policy.

- Identify and escalate nonstandard contractual terms, special concessions, unusual financial exposure, or exceptions requiring leadership approval.

- Maintain working knowledge of attrition, cancellation, deposits, payment schedules, commissions, room block management, and hotel liability provisions.

- Ensure all accounts, leads, bookings, activities, client correspondence, and business intelligence are accurately maintained in Amadeus Delphi or the hotel's designated sales and catering platform.

- Reinforce established SOPs governing lead response, business qualification, booking creation, contract preparation, definite booking turnover, and account management.

- Promote accurate and timely communication between Sales, Catering, Conference Services, Revenue Management, Reservations, Finance, and hotel operations.

- Maintain appropriate confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when handling customer information, pricing strategies, contractual agreements, and financial performance.

Customer Relationships & Market Representation

- Develop and maintain productive, long-term relationships with major accounts, meeting planners, university stakeholders, community partners, and industry organizations.

- Serve as an escalation resource for significant customer concerns, complex negotiations, and sensitive account relationships.

- Partner with operational departments to ensure commitments made during the sales process are realistic, clearly communicated, and successfully delivered.

- Participate in pre-convention meetings, VIP site inspections, client presentations, and major customer events as appropriate.

- Support strategies to improve customer retention, account loyalty, repeat business, and referrals.

- Maintain awareness of new hotel development, competitive properties, market changes, and regional business opportunities.

- Represent The Hotel and DHS with professionalism, credibility, and a commitment to outstanding hospitality.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration & Hotel Leadership

- Work closely with the Director of Catering & Conference Services to maximize meeting space utilization and coordinate group and catering opportunities.

- Collaborate with Revenue Management, Front Office, Reservations, Banquets, Food & Beverage, Finance, and Marketing to support successful business execution.

- Participate in hotel leadership meetings, revenue strategy discussions, operational planning, and special projects.

- Assist in resolving operational challenges that may impact customer satisfaction, contractual obligations, or future business.

- Support the General Manager and DOSM in executing property-wide strategic priorities.

- Maintain flexibility to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and major events as business needs require.

- Perform additional duties and special assignments as directed by the DOSM or hotel leadership.

Job Knowledge & Required Skills

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

- Sales expertise: Proven success in full-service hotel group sales, business development, account management, contract negotiation, and revenue production.

- Leadership: Ability to coach, motivate, develop, and hold sales professionals accountable while creating an inclusive and supportive team environment.

- Financial acumen: Strong understanding of hotel revenue management, forecasting, budgeting, profitability, ADR, RevPAR, STR reporting, and group displacement analysis.

- Strategic thinking: Ability to interpret market intelligence, identify growth opportunities, develop action plans, and translate business data into measurable results.

- Communication: Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, interpersonal, and negotiation skills.

- Organization: Excellent time management, attention to detail, prioritization, and ability to manage competing deadlines.

- Technology: Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and CRM systems. Experience with Amadeus Delphi strongly preferred. Familiarity with hotel PMS, revenue management systems, and business intelligence tools is desirable.

- Digital fluency: Ability to use LinkedIn, AI-assisted research tools, digital prospecting resources, and sales analytics responsibly to strengthen business development.

- Professionalism: Sound judgment, discretion, adaptability, executive presence, and composure in high-pressure situations.

- Hospitality knowledge: Thorough understanding of full-service hotel operations, group rooms, catering, conference services, food and beverage, and meeting space management.

Qualifications

Required

- Minimum of four years of demonstrated hotel sales experience (non-negotiable), including meaningful experience in group sales and business development.

- Prior experience supervising, coaching, mentoring, or leading sales professionals.

- Demonstrated ability to achieve or exceed established sales and revenue production goals.

- Experience negotiating group agreements and managing complex customer relationships.

- Working knowledge of full-service hotel sales operations, forecasting, and revenue management principles.

- High school diploma or equivalent.

- Ability to travel periodically and work a flexible schedule based on business needs.

Preferred

- Five to seven years of progressive hotel sales experience, preferably within an upscale, full-service, convention, conference, or large meeting-oriented property.

- Prior experience as an Assistant Director of Sales, Senior Sales Manager, Director of Group Sales, or comparable hotel sales leadership position.

- Experience selling a hotel with 250 or more guest rooms and significant meeting and event facilities.

- Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.

- Established relationships within the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia hospitality and business communities.

- Experience with association, corporate, government, university, and convention-related business.

- Experience with independent or AAA Four Diamond hotels.

- Demonstrated ability to develop business plans, coach sales teams, and contribute to departmental budgets and forecasts.

Key Performance Expectations

Success in this position will be evaluated through both individual sales production and contributions to overall departmental performance.

Performance Area

Measures of Success

Revenue production

Achievement of personal and team group room revenue and room night goals

Business development

New accounts secured, qualified opportunities generated, and repeat business growth

Sales productivity

Prospecting activity, outside sales calls, site inspections, and pipeline development

Conversion

Lead-to-definite conversion, booking pace, and sales cycle management

Revenue strategy

Business profitability, rate integrity, group mix, and forecast accuracy

Team leadership

Coaching effectiveness, employee development, performance improvement, and retention

Customer relationships

Account retention, customer satisfaction, referrals, and repeat bookings

Sales administration

Delphi accuracy, timely follow-up, contract compliance, and adherence to SOPs

Strategic contribution

Execution of business plans, sales initiatives, and departmental revenue strategies

Specific revenue goals, activity standards, and performance expectations will be established annually by the DOSM in alignment with the hotel's business plan.