Position Summary:
The General Manager serves as the executive leader of the Marriott Chicago O'Hare, providing strategic direction and day-to-day operational leadership for all aspects of the hotel. This position is responsible for delivering and promoting exceptional guest experiences, driving financial performance, ensuring compliance with all applicable Chicago laws and Marriott brand standards, developing high-performing teams, and protecting the interests of ownership. The General Manager serves as the primary liaison between hotel ownership and Marriott, ensuring transparent communication, operational excellence, and long-term asset value.
The Marriott Chicago O'Hare features:
- 470 guest rooms and suites.
- Nearly 40,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space.
- Multiple food and beverage outlets.
- Full-service hotel amenities serving business, leisure, and group travelers.
Essential Responsibilities:
Executive Leadership:
- Provide visionary leadership for all hotel operations while maintaining Marriott's commitment to exceptional hospitality.
- Foster a culture centered on guest satisfaction, associate engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain an engaged leadership team and hotel associates.
- Lead departmental executives in achieving operational excellence and strategic objectives.
Financial Performance:
- Maintain full responsibility for the financial performance of the hotel, including revenue growth, profitability, cash flow, budgeting, forecasting, and asset preservation.
- Develop and execute annual operating budgets and capital expenditure plans.
- Analyze financial statements, labor costs, operating expenses, and market trends to maximize profitability.
- Implement revenue optimization strategies in partnership with Sales, Revenue Management, and Marriott corporate resources.
- Ensure achievement of ownership return-on-investment objectives while maintaining Marriott quality standards.
Ownership Relations:
- Serve as the primary point of contact between hotel ownership and Marriott.
- Communicate directly with ownership regarding financial performance, operational initiatives, capital projects, forecasting, market conditions, and strategic planning.
- Prepare and present regular ownership reports, financial reviews, and business performance updates.
- Maintain transparent, proactive, and professional communication while protecting ownership interests and Marriott brand integrity.
Marriott Brand Standards:
- Ensure full compliance with all Marriott International brand standards, operating procedures, service expectations, and quality assurance programs.
- Lead successful Marriott audits, inspections, and brand evaluations.
- Promote Marriott's service culture throughout every department.
- Uphold Marriott's values, ethical standards, and commitment to guest satisfaction.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance:
- Ensure the hotel operates in full compliance with all applicable federal, State of Illinois, and City of Chicago laws and regulations.
- Maintain compliance with all Chicago labor ordinances, employment regulations, health and safety requirements, wage and hour laws, licensing requirements, fire codes, ADA requirements, food safety regulations, liquor licensing laws, and all other applicable governmental requirements.
- Ensure adherence to OSHA standards and workplace safety protocols.
- Maintain compliance with all required insurance, permits, inspections, and reporting obligations.
Operations Management:
- Oversee all hotel departments including:
- Front Office.
- Housekeeping.
- Engineering.
- Food & Beverage.
- Sales & Marketing.
- Catering & Conference Services.
- Finance.
- Human Resources.
- Security.
- Ensure exceptional guest service standards throughout the property.
- Monitor operational performance metrics and implement continuous improvement initiatives.
- Maintain the hotel in excellent physical condition through preventative maintenance and capital planning.
Sales and Revenue Growth:
- Partner with the Sales and Revenue Management teams to maximize occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, banquet revenue, and overall profitability.
- Build strong relationships with key corporate clients, group business partners, and community organizations.
- Identify opportunities to expand market share and enhance the hotel's competitive position.
Human Resources:
- Work closely with the Director of Human Resources to promote an inclusive, respectful, and high-performance workplace culture.
- Ensure compliance with Marriott human resources policies and employment practices.
- Oversee leadership development, succession planning, performance management, and associate engagement initiatives.
- Support diversity, equity, inclusion, and equal employment opportunity objectives.
Guest Experience:
- Champion a guest-focused culture that consistently exceeds Marriott service expectations.
- Respond appropriately to guest concerns and significant service recovery situations.
- Monitor guest satisfaction metrics and implement action plans for continuous improvement.
Asset Management:
- Work closely with the Director of Engineering to protect and enhance the value of the hotel asset through effective operational management and capital planning.
- Recommend and oversee capital improvement projects.
- Ensure preventative maintenance programs preserve the physical condition of the property.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, or a related field preferred.
- Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive hotel leadership experience, including significant experience as a General Manager or Assistant General Manager of a full-service hotel.
- Marriott brand experience strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated success leading large full-service hotels with extensive meeting space and multiple food and beverage outlets.
- Proven record of achieving financial goals and driving operational excellence.
- Strong knowledge of hotel accounting, budgeting, forecasting, revenue management, and labor management.
- Comprehensive understanding of applicable employment laws, hospitality regulations, and safety requirements.
- Excellent leadership, communication, organizational, and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to effectively communicate with ownership, Marriott corporate leadership, hotel associates, guests, and community stakeholders.
Core Competencies:
- Executive Leadership.
- Financial Acumen.
- Strategic Planning.
- Operational Excellence.
- Ownership Relations.
- Marriott Brand Compliance.
- Regulatory Compliance.
- Revenue Optimization.
- Team Development.
- Guest Experience Management.
- Problem Solving.
- Decision Making.
- Change Management.
- Communication and Presentation Skills.
- Business Development.
Physical Requirements:
The General Manager must be able to work in all areas of the hotel, including guest rooms, meeting space, food and beverage outlets, kitchens, mechanical areas, and exterior grounds. The position requires extended periods of standing, walking, occasional lifting of up to 25 pounds, and the flexibility to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and respond to emergency situations as business needs dictate.
Benefits:
We offer a competitive wage, Health and Dental Insurance, company paid Life Insurance, Short Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance, Vision, Critical Illness, Accidental, 401(k) and company match, Paid Time Off (PTO), free hotel rooms and hotel discounts.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
The Marriott Chicago O'Hare is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and fostering an inclusive workplace. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, performance, business needs, and applicable law.