Director of Sales & Marketing

Help us turn The Compton from a hotel in Bentonville into the reason people come to Bentonville.

More than just a hotel, The Compton is a celebration of outdoor adventure, Ozark culture, and community spirit. Inspired by Dr. Neil Compton—a local conservationist who safeguarded the Buffalo River—this property will be a welcoming, grounded, and engaging destination for travelers seeking a true insider’s experience of the Ozarks.

As the Director of Sales and Marketing, you will be the architect of the hotel’s commercial success. You’ll not only craft and execute innovative sales strategies but also lead a high-performing sales team. In this role, you will:

• Develop and execute robust sales and marketing plans that drive demand and establish key revenue streams.
• Mentor, and lead a dynamic sales team that embodies The Compton’s engaging and authentic spirit.
• Set up and refine systems and processes to ensure seamless operations and long-term scalability of our sales efforts.
• Forge strategic partnerships and amplify our unique brand narrative, ensuring that our dynamic event spaces, bike-friendly amenities, and three distinctive dining concepts from Indigo Road Hospitality Group resonate with the right audiences.

This role is for a visionary leader with a passion for lifestyle hospitality, an eye for storytelling, and a commitment to building authentic connections—with guests, partners, and the local community. You’ll have the unique opportunity to lay the foundation for a property that’s as much a part of the community as it is a destination in its own right.

About Bentonville

Welcome to the Mountain Biking Capital of the World—a town where culture, innovation, and outdoor adventure intersect. Home to Walmart’s global headquarters, the renowned Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and over 140 miles of world-class trails, Bentonville is a small city with big energy. Here, entrepreneurs, artists, and outdoor enthusiasts come together in a vibrant, welcoming community where ambition meets opportunity.

If you’re ready to build something extraordinary and make your mark on the future of hospitality, let’s talk.

About The Opportunity

Practice Hospitality is seeking an experienced and hands-on Director of Sales & Marketing to join the team at The Compton.

Job Role: 

Represents the hotel in the development of market segment(s) and new customer relationships while maintaining existing relationships. Maximize revenue in rooms, meeting space, public space, food and beverage and ancillary products and services. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: (This list of essential functions is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed, as necessary.)

Responsibilities:

Managing Sales Activities

• Manages the development of a strategic account plan for the demand generators in the market.
• Manages the property's reactive and proactive sales efforts.
• Determines and develops marketing communication activities, in conjunction with Corporate Marketing Communications.
• Provides customer intelligence in evaluating the market and economic trends that may lead to changes in sales strategy to meet or exceed customer expectations.
• Reviews the Strategic Alignment Review (STAR) report, competitive shopping reports and uses other resources to maintain an awareness of the hotel’s market position.
• Researches competitor’s sales team strategies to identify ways to grow occupancy and RevPAR and increase market share.
• Attends sales strategy meetings to provide input on weekly and overall sales strategy.
• Suggests innovative marketing ideas and develops deployment strategies to continue to grow market share.
• Evaluates and supports participation and account deployment with Group Sales within the Sales Office.
• Serves as the sales contact for the General Manager, property leadership team, Group Sales and  Sales leaders.
• Serves as the sales contact for customers; serves as the customer advocate.
• Serves as hotel authority on sales processes and sales contracts.
• Serves as the property sales liaison with Corporate Sales, Group Sales, Revenue Management, Event Management, Regional Marketing Communications and other hotel departments as appropriate.
• Participates in sales calls with members of the Sales and Marketing team to acquire new business and/or close on business.
• Identifies public relations opportunities and coordinates activities to augment the overall marketing communication strategy.
• Supports the General Manager by coordinating crisis communications.
• Executes and supports hotel’s Brand Standards.
• Executes and supports the operational aspects of business booked (e.g., generating proposal, writing contract, customer correspondence).
• Implements a seamless turnover from sales to operations and back to sales while consistently delivering high level of service.
• Monitors the effective resolution of guest issues that arise as a result of the sales process by creating mechanisms to channel issues to property leadership and/or other appropriate stakeholders.
• Maintains successful performance by increasing revenues, controlling expenses and providing a return on investment for the owner.
• Implements the brand’s service strategy and applicable brand initiatives in all aspects of the sales process and focuses on building long-term, value-based customer relationships that enable achievement of the hotel’s’ sales objectives.
• Interfaces with corporate marketing communications for regional and national promotions pull through.
• Performs other duties, as assigned, to meet business needs. 

Building Successful Relationships

• Develops strong partnerships with local organizations to further increase brand/product awareness.
• Develops and manages internal key stakeholder relationships.
• Develops strong community and public relations by maintaining property participation in local, regional and national tradeshows and client events.
• Executes exemplary customer service to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty by assisting the customer and monitoring their satisfaction before and during their program/event.
• Serves the customer by understanding their needs and recommending the appropriate features and services that best meet their needs and exceed their expectations, while building a relationship and loyalty.
• Gains understanding of the hotel’s primary target customer and service expectations; serves the customer by understanding their business, business issues and concerns, to offer better business solution both prior to, and during the program/event.

Leadership

• Functions as the leader of the property’s sales department for properties with bookings over 75 peak rooms and significant local catering revenue.
• Develops sales goals and strategies and verifies alignment with the brand business strategy.
• Executes the sales strategy in order to meet individual booking goals for both self and staff.
• Coaches leaders of revenue generating departments in developing effective revenue strategies and setting aggressive goals that will drive the property's financial performance.
• Works with Human Resources, Engineering and Loss Prevention to monitor compliance with local, state and federal regulations.
• Partners with Human Resources to attract, develop and retain the right people in order to support the strategic priorities of the market.
• Creates effective structures, processes, jobs and performance management systems are in place.
• Sets goals and expectations for direct reports that align performance and rewards, addresses performance issues and holds staff accountable for successful results.
• Forecasts talent needs and manages talent acquisition strategy with Human Resources (HR) to minimize lost time due to turnover.
• Maintains an active list of the competition’s best sales people and executes a recruitment and acquisition plan with HR.
• Supports tools and training resources to educate sales associates on winning catering solutions.
• Champions leadership development and workforce planning priorities by assessing, selecting, retaining and developing diverse, high-caliber talent that can lead the organization today and strengthen the leadership bench for the future; continues to upgrade the sales & marketing talent; works with HR to anticipate future talent needs based on business growth plans.
• Identifies, trains and mentors group sales associates; utilizes all available on the job training tools for associates.
• Transfers functional knowledge and develops group sales skills of other discipline managers.
• Provides day to day leadership to sales associates to achieve property sales objectives with overall responsibility for achieving booking goals and property revenues.
• Evaluates the property’s participation in the various sales channels (e.g. Group Sales within the Sales Office, electronic lead channels, etc.) and develops strong working relationships to proactively position and market the property.
• Manages the marketing budget to enable development of property specific campaigns, promotions and collateral to drive revenue and meet property objectives.  

OTHER FUNCTIONS: (This list of other functions is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed as necessary.)

• Participate in industry organizations.
• Maintain an open line of communication between guests, employees, and management.
• Input and retrieve information from computer system for file maintenance, correspondence and preparation of forecasts and marketing input.
• Assist office in any other administrative duties as needed.
• Serves as a member of the hotel commercial leadership team.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

• Comparable hotel size and scope experience preferred i.e. independent, lifestyle hotels.
• Experience setting up systems, recruiting and building a team, or opening a hotel.
• Proven track record of successes in achieving revenue objectives.
• Proven ability to recruit, motivate and train sales team.
• Four-year college degree preferred.
• Hotel industry work experience, demonstrating progressive career growth and a pattern of exceptional performance.
• Additional/advanced degree coursework in business administration, marketing, and communications a plus.
• Requires substantial operations/sales leadership experience; preferably 10 years or more.
• Northwest Arkansas region/market experience a plus.

SPECIFIC JOB KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Ability to perform critical analysis.
• Ability to manage extensive amounts of information and provide constructive feedback/direction.
• Extensive knowledge of negotiating and sales procedures associated with the hotel industry.
• Excellent spoken and presentation skills.
• Considerable ability to listen effectively.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as a team.
• Ability to delegate, manage and organize complex projects and establish priorities consistent with department/hotel objectives.
• Ability to effectively deal with department heads, customers, and team members, some of whom will require high levels of patience, tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, meet and work effectively under time and resource constraints.
• Ability to effectively lead a team of professionals.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance
• Hospital indemnity insurance
• Eligible to participate in the Employee Referral Bonus Program.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform their essential duties. 

While performing this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, speak, hear, reach, bend over, stoop, use hands, use fingers, write, see, feel objects, handle paper, wires, pens, boxes, and occasionally kneel.  Occasional lifting or moving may be required of objects of up to 100 pounds of force occasionally; and /or 50 pounds or force frequently and /up to 25 pounds of force constantly to lift, push, pull or otherwise move objects.

About The Company

Practice Hospitality manages hotels differently. A growing company with opportunities for advancement, we infuse hotels with style, spirit, and soul. We inspire, innovate and advocate. We deliver results and do well by our owners because we respect the individuality that we all bring to the table, the connectedness of our world and the impact we have on our community. 

We are looking for someone who thinks big because, at Practice Hospitality, we value creativity, emotional intelligence, problem solving and innovation. This is an opportunity to be an integral part of a team that supports one another, is empowered, and holds themselves accountable. If you bring your A game every day and pursue excellence with tenacity, we want to invest in your professional and personal growth. But, more than anything, we are looking for good humans who care; about our guests, each other and making every moment together enriching, fulfilling and fun.