Overview:
Black Desert Resort is an ultra-premium destination resort in Southern Utah offering elevated accommodations, signature dining, wellness, recreation, and exceptional hospitality in a distinctive desert setting.
The Hotel Manager serves as the senior operational leader responsible for daily resort performance, service execution, departmental alignment, and the overall guest and team member experience.
Job Summary
The Hotel Manager leads the day-to-day operations of Black Desert Resort with direct oversight of Engineering, Loss Prevention, Rooms, Food & Beverage, and Spa & Wellness.
Reporting to the President of Hospitality Operations, this position serves as a key member of the senior leadership team and provides highly visible, hands-on leadership throughout the resort. The role drives guest satisfaction, financial performance, labor productivity, safety, service culture, operational consistency, and team member engagement.
The ideal candidate is an accomplished luxury resort operator with leadership experience in a Forbes Four-Star or Forbes Five-Star hotel or resort, AAA Four Diamond or higher-rated property, or comparable luxury hospitality environment. This leader will play a critical role in advancing Black Desert Resort’s service culture and operating standards.
Job Specifications
Onsite: Black Desert Resort
Shift & Schedule: Year-Round / Full-Time
Pay: Starting at $220,000 to $250,000 year plus incentive bonus. This is the range we reasonably expect to pay for this position. Individual compensation decisions are based on a variety of factors.
Why Join Us
- Executive Impact: Lead major resort operations and influence the overall guest and team member experience.
- Luxury Service Excellence: Help advance service standards consistent with world-class luxury hospitality.
- Comprehensive Benefits: Health insurance, 401(k) with company match, flexible time off, employee dining room, resort discounts, and employee hotel stay program.
Responsibilities:
- Provide executive leadership and operational oversight for Engineering, Loss Prevention, Rooms, Food & Beverage, and Spa & Wellness.
- Serve as a senior operational partner to the President of Hospitality Operations and executive leadership team.
- Lead department heads in achieving guest satisfaction, financial performance, labor productivity, safety, service standards, and team member engagement.
- Maintain a highly visible leadership presence throughout guest-facing and back-of-house operations.
- Advance service standards consistent with Forbes Four-Star/Five-Star and AAA Four Diamond hospitality expectations.
- Translate luxury service expectations into operating procedures, training, leadership behaviors, quality assurance, and measurable accountability.
- Monitor guest feedback, service scores, online reviews, quality assurance results, and operational trends to identify and address service opportunities.
- Lead and support significant guest service recovery situations, VIP stays, ownership visits, major events, tournaments, holidays, and peak occupancy periods.
- Lead daily and weekly operational meetings to drive communication, execution, and accountability.
- Oversee departmental budgets, forecasts, labor plans, expenses, operating margins, capital needs, and financial performance.
- Identify opportunities to improve profitability and operational efficiency without compromising the luxury guest experience.
- Partner with Rooms leadership to ensure excellence throughout the guest journey, including arrival, Front Office, Housekeeping, Concierge, Bell, Valet, stay experience, and departure.
- Partner with Food & Beverage leadership to drive service, product quality, presentation, profitability, and execution across restaurants, bars, banquets, culinary, and in-room dining.
- Partner with Engineering and Loss Prevention leadership to ensure property condition, preventative maintenance, life safety, emergency preparedness, security, and asset protection.
- Partner with Spa & Wellness and Recreation leadership to deliver elevated, safe, consistent, and personalized guest experiences.
- Coach, develop, and hold department heads accountable for leadership, operational performance, financial results, service standards, and team member engagement.
- Partner with People Services on staffing, recruitment, employee relations, performance management, succession planning, retention, and leadership development.
- Support luxury service training and preparation for Forbes Travel Guide, AAA, internal quality assurance, ownership, or other service evaluations.
- Ensure service standards are embedded into everyday operations rather than implemented solely in preparation for evaluations.
- Drive continuous improvement across departments to strengthen service, efficiency, communication, personalization, and accountability.
- Support resort openings, renovations, construction impacts, capital projects, operational transitions, and new amenity launches.
- Ensure compliance with company policies, safety requirements, operational standards, and applicable laws and regulations.
- Represent resort leadership with ownership, corporate partners, vendors, guests, members, and community stakeholders.
- Serve as Manager on Duty or senior executive decision-maker during significant operational situations as needed.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Minimum total of 7 years of progressive hotel, resort, or hospitality operations leadership experience at a minimum of two different properties.
- Previous experience as a General Manager, Hotel Manager, Director of Operations, Resident Manager, Director of Rooms, Director of Food & Beverage, or comparable senior operational leader required.
- Leadership experience within a Forbes Four-Star or Forbes Five-Star hotel or resort, or an AAA Four Diamond or higher-rated property, strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience leading multiple departments within a luxury or ultra-luxury full-service resort environment.
- Strong knowledge of luxury service standards, personalized and anticipatory service, quality assurance, and the complete guest journey.
- Proven ability to lead senior department heads and build high-performing operational teams.
- Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, labor management, revenue analysis, expense control, and profit improvement.
- Demonstrated success improving guest satisfaction, service scores, employee engagement, financial results, and operational performance.
- Excellent executive leadership, communication, coaching, conflict resolution, and decision-making skills.
- Strong project management, organizational, and analytical capabilities.
- Strong understanding of safety, risk management, emergency response, and operational compliance.
- High emotional intelligence with the ability to build credibility with guests, team members, executives, and ownership.
- Strong experience on both strategic and tactical projects
- Ability to remain calm, visible, decisive, and solutions-focused during high-pressure situations.
- Flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, holidays, emergencies, major events, VIP stays, and peak business periods.
- Undergraduate degree required with a preference in business and/or hospitality.
- Experience with J-1’s and H-2B’s a plus.