Director of Guest Experience & Brand Strategy

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Luxury Hospitality | Operations‑Led, Brand‑Infused Leadership Role
Location: Columbia, MD (On‑site)
Compensation: Competitive base salary, performance incentive, full benefits

About the Opportunity

A distinctive luxury‑lifestyle hospitality property in the Mid‑Atlantic is seeking a Director of Guest Experience & Brand Strategy to shape and elevate the lived guest experience across every touchpoint of the property.

This is not a traditional marketing role, nor a purely operational one. It is a strategic, guest‑facing leadership position for someone who understands that brand is not just communicated—it is felt, delivered, and remembered.

This role exists to ensure that the hotel’s brand promise is operationally executed, emotionally resonant, and commercially reinforced every day, for every guest.

Why This Role Matters

As the property continues to evolve into a fully realized lifestyle destination, ownership is investing in a senior leader who serves as the connective tissue between brand intent, guest experience, service execution, and commercial performance.

The Director of Guest Experience & Brand Strategy does not replace Operations, Marketing, or Events leadership. Instead, this role connects and aligns them, ensuring that what is promised, programmed, and promoted is consistently delivered on the floor.

This is a highly visible role with direct access to ownership and meaningful influence on culture, standards, and guest perception.

The Role

The Director of Guest Experience & Brand Strategy owns the end‑to‑end guest journey, ensuring that each interaction—from arrival through post‑stay—reflects a refined, emotionally resonant, and repeatable luxury experience aligned with a 4.5‑star positioning.

This leader brings luxury hospitality instincts, brand fluency, operational credibility, and strong interpersonal presence, operating comfortably both at a strategic level and alongside guests and teams.

Key Responsibilities

Guest Experience Ownership

  • Own the full guest journey, identifying and elevating “moments that matter”
  • Evaluate service flows, amenities, and guest interactions through a brand and emotional lens
  • Partner with Front Office, Food & Beverage, Events, and Leadership teams to ensure consistency across departments
  • Proactively identify and resolve friction points that impact perceived value and satisfaction

Brand Strategy in Action

  • Translate brand standards and positioning into practical, daily service behaviors
  • Ensure alignment between external brand messaging and on‑property experience
  • Serve as a brand steward and advisor to ownership, balancing creativity with discipline
  • Maintain cohesion across storytelling, service delivery, programming, and physical execution

Commercial & Revenue‑Aligned Experience

  • Partner with Sales and senior operations leadership to align experience with target guest profiles and revenue strategy
  • Identify opportunities to increase spend, repeat visitation, and long‑term loyalty
  • Support pre‑arrival, on‑property, and post‑stay guest storytelling
  • Use guest insights, feedback, and behavior to inform continuous improvement

Programming & Experience Integration

  • Act as a strategic partner to events and brand programming leadership
  • Ensure activations enhance rather than disrupt the core guest experience
  • Align programming with guest flow, service standards, and commercial objectives
  • Help shape signature experiences that differentiate the property regionally

Team Leadership & Cultural Influence

  • Coach department leaders and front‑line teams on elevated, brand‑aligned service
  • Reinforce professionalism, polish, and emotional intelligence in guest‑facing roles
  • Support training and onboarding centered on service mindset and guest engagement
  • Lead by presence, modeling the standard expected throughout the property

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate:

  • Brings experience from luxury hospitality, lifestyle brands, or high‑touch service environments
  • Thinks strategically about brand while remaining deeply comfortable in day‑to‑day operations
  • Understands how storytelling, service design, and execution intersect
  • Is polished, credible, and emotionally intelligent in guest‑facing settings
  • Brings a commercial mindset without sacrificing the human experience
  • Leads through influence, taste, and clarity rather than hierarchy alone

What Is Offered

  • Competitive base salary with performance‑based incentive
  • Full benefits package
  • A uniquely visible leadership role with direct access to ownership
  • The opportunity to shape the daily cultural and experiential identity of a flagship hospitality property
  • Creative autonomy paired with high expectations and meaningful accountability

Confidential Search
This opportunity is being managed confidentially. Qualified candidates will receive full details during the interview process.