Director of Meetings and Events - Regent Santa Monica Beach

Regent Santa Monica Beach—an IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) property—lands in Santa Monica in 2024 as the first destination in the Americas. The resort will set a new standard for modern upper luxury. 

Located steps from the famed Santa Monica Pier, the resort will celebrate the beauty of unexpected harmony through contrasts, delivering inspired stays through a blend of serenity and a touch of decadence. The resort will feature sumptuous rooms and suites, along with a stunning beachfront pool deck, a destination spa, and a wellness center. Additionally, Regent Santa Monica Beach will welcome guests for unforgettable epicurean experiences, including a restaurant concept created in collaboration with an acclaimed celebrity chef as well as a high-end artisanal marketplace.

Job Summary:

The Director of Meetings and Events will oversee, guide, train, and lead the Catering and Conference Services team toward success. This experienced leader will work closely with the Banquet and Sales teams to enhance operational efficiency. Success will be achieved by optimizing and managing catering resources and strategies to drive market growth, exceed revenue targets, and increase market share per account.

The ideal candidate will oversee and drive the management and profitability success of the catering and conference departments, focusing on maximizing revenue, managing expenses, and ensuring an exceptional guest experience. Additionally, this role involves serving as the key liaison between guests and operational teams to guarantee successful events, including meetings and galas, and to foster repeat business.

A little bit about your day:

Reporting to the Director of Sales and Marketing, every day is different, but you’ll mostly:

• Contributes to the strategy, sales and planning activities of catered events for Corporate and Social events and meetings.
• Maximizes efficiency through proper cost controls and monthly forecasting.
• Develops and maintains best practices to define guest account objectives and implement appropriate catering activities.
• Assists the catering and conference services associates in developing account plans and catering sales methods to support the defined account strategies.
• Establishes, enhances, and maintains productive quality working relationships with key internal and external guests.
• Liaises with Director of Sales & Marketing to review the effectiveness of catering activities, monthly financial goals, and overall budget contribution.

Requirements:

• 5-7 years' experience in Catering leadership, working as a team and with supporting departments, in a luxury hotel preferred.
• Bachelor’s Degree preferred/required.
• Excellent communications skills, both verbal and written. 
• Ability to build rapport and establish trust with clients and colleagues
• Demonstrates a luxury service attitude and delivery style to internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong sales skills and the ability to work and deal with different personalities.
• Detail-oriented, comfortable with Delphi and other in-house systems.
• Highly organized with exceptional time management skills to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Creative problem-solving skills and the ability to think strategically to deliver tailored solutions.
• Proven experience as a business leader in the areas of forecasting and budgeting.
• Creative and able to elevate Catering execution to be the best in Santa Monica/Los Angeles.

What you can expect from us: 

The annual pay range for this role is $130,000.00 to $150,000.00. This range is only applicable for jobs to be performed at Regent Santa Monica Beach. This is the lowest to highest pay scale we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. A colleague’s pay position within the pay range will be based on several factors including, but limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, and business or organizational needs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, or any other form of compensation that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.

Join us and you’ll become part of the global IHG family – and like all families, all our individual colleagues share some winning characteristics. As a team, we work better together – we trust and support each other, we do the right thing, and we welcome different perspectives. You need to show us you care, that you notice the little things that make a difference to guests as well as always looking for ways to improve.

In return, we'll give you a competitive financial and benefits package which may include healthcare support, dental, vision, disability and life insurance support, and a matching 401k plan. Hotel discounts worldwide are available as well as access to a wide variety of discount programs and the chance to work with a great team of people. Most importantly, we'll give you the room to be yourself.

IHG is an equal opportunity employer: Minorities / Females / Veterans / Disabled.