Director of Sales & Marketing

Company Description

The Director of Sales & Marketing (DOSM) is a senior commercial leadership role responsible for developing and executing a cohesive, high-impact Luxury Hotel sales and marketing strategy for Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa.

The DOSM will drive top-line revenue performance, brand integrity, and market share growth across all segments — including corporate, leisure, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions), wholesale, and online channels. The incumbent will lead and develop a small, high-performing team, and act as the key commercial liaison between the hotel, Accor's regional commercial teams, and La Maison brand stakeholders.

This role requires a commercially astute, brand-aligned sales and marketing professional to shape the commercial future of Queenstown's most distinguished hotel collection.

Job Description

Sales Leadership

• Develop and implement a unified annual Sales & Marketing Plan across Sofitel Queenstown, aligned with the property's brand positioning and revenue targets.
• Drive proactive sales activity across all market segments including corporate accounts, MICE, leisure, wholesale/FIT, and travel management companies (TMCs).
• Manage and grow a portfolio of key accounts, maintaining strong relationships with domestic and international partners, travel agents, and corporate clients.
• Lead the negotiation and execution of corporate rate agreements, wholesale contracts, and preferred supplier arrangements.
• Represent the property at industry trade shows, sales missions, roadshows, and networking events — domestically and internationally as required.
• Collaborate closely with the Revenue Management function to ensure pricing strategy and channel optimisation align with sales efforts.
• Monitor competitive set performance, market intelligence, and demand trends, adjusting strategy accordingly.
• Establish and track KPIs for all sales activities including lead conversion rates, account production, segment contribution, and pipeline development.

Marketing, Brand & Communications

• Oversee the development and execution of integrated marketing campaigns across the property, ensuring brand consistency and alignment with Accor and La Maison brand standards.
• Lead the management of our digital presence including websites, social media channels, email marketing, and online content strategy.
• Ensure all marketing collateral, imagery, and communications meet brand guidelines and reflect the unique identity of the property.
• Drive content strategy across all channels — including seasonal campaigns, F&B; promotions, spa offerings, and experiential packages.
• Manage public relations activities including media familiarisations, press releases, influencer partnerships, and community engagement.
• Oversee photography, videography, and creative production to maintain a premium, aspirational visual identity.
• Liaise with Accor's regional marketing and communications teams to leverage group-level resources, brand campaigns, and co-operative marketing opportunities.
• Monitor brand sentiment, guest reviews, and reputation metrics across platforms including TripAdvisor, Google, and OTA feedback portals.

E-Commerce & Digital Strategy

• Develop and lead the e-commerce strategy, maximising direct booking performance and reducing OTA dependency.
• Oversee the management and optimisation of Accor's proprietary booking platforms including ALL.com (Accor Live Limitless) and property-direct website booking engines.
• Drive SEO, SEM, and paid digital advertising strategy in collaboration with the Marketing Executive / E-Commerce Executive.
• Manage OTA relationships and listings (Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, etc.), ensuring content accuracy, rate parity compliance, and positioning optimisation.
• Utilise data analytics and digital performance dashboards to monitor channel performance, conversion rates, cost of acquisition, and ROI on digital spend.
• Leverage Accor's digital marketing tools and regional support to execute targeted campaigns and loyalty-driven promotions.
• Identify opportunities to grow direct revenue through the ALL — Accor Live Limitless loyalty programme

Accor Commercial Tools

The Director of Sales & Marketing is expected to demonstrate deep proficiency and strategic application of Accor's full suite of commercial tools and platforms. This includes, but is not limited to:

• ALL.com (Accor Live Limitless) — loyalty programme activation, member rate strategies, and direct booking growth initiatives.
• Accor Sales Platform (ASP) / Salesforce CRM, PMS System management — account management, activity tracking, lead management, and pipeline reporting.
• IDEAS / IDeaS Revenue Management System — collaboration with Revenue Management on pricing, forecasting, and demand strategy.
• Accor Content Hub — brand-compliant content management and asset library for all marketing collateral.
• Accor Marketing Cloud / CRM Email Tools — execution of targeted CRM campaigns to loyalty members and past guests.
• TrustYou / Guest

Experience

• Tools — monitoring and responding to guest sentiment data to inform commercial and marketing decisions.
• La Maison Brand Standards Portal — ensuring we maintain the required brand compliance for all commercial and marketing outputs.
• Accor Regional Commercial Reporting Tools — monthly commercial performance reporting submitted to Accor's Australasia regional office

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will bring the following qualifications, experience, and skills to this role:

• Minimum 5–7 years' progressive experience in sales and marketing, with at least 2 years deep understanding of the New Zealand and Australasian hotel and tourism landscape, including MICE and Leisure Segments

• Prior experience working within an Accor-branded property or other international hotel group. Preferably within the Luxury and Lifestyle sector

• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute sales strategies that deliver measurable top-line results

• Proven track record in e-commerce strategy, SEO/SEM, OTA management, and direct bookings

• Proficiency in Accor commercial platforms including ALL.com, ASP/SalesForce (ANAIS), Accor Content Hub. In addition to Meta Business Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud, CRM systems, knowledge of paid media, prior experience using a property management system such as Opera Cloud essential.

• Sound understanding of NZ consumer law, Privacy Act 2020, and digital marketing

• Must hold valid entitlement to work in New Zealand at time of application

• Person Specification — Desirable Attributes

• Familiarity with Luxury brand standards and the luxury independent collection positioning.

• Prior experience with Sofitel, MGallery, Emblems or other Accor luxury/upper-upscale brands.

• Knowledge of the Queenstown and wider Otago/Southland tourism market.

• Experience presenting commercial strategies to ownership groups or hotel management company boards.

• Established networks within the New Zealand and international MICE and corporate travel sectors

• Proficiency in additional languages relevant to our key international markets (e.g. Mandarin, Japanese, French, German) is highly regarded, given the diverse, multinational nature of our clientele.

• Additional Information

• Support us in growing our distinctive culture by living the La Maison values of

• Passion and Pride: Be passionately in love with our brands, our guests and our people. Use our Emotional Intelligence

• Excellence: Comprehensive business approach, driving all levers to be best-in-class.

• Empowerment: Be an entrepreneur, fully accountable, with strong KPIs and freedom too.

• Proximity: Family spirit, responsibleness, solidarity & constant dialogue with the field.

• Trust & Transparency: Share everything, no taboo. Feedback is a gift.

• Long Term Relationship: With everyone – create a strong sense of belonging.

• Bespoke & Free: 100% experience driven, tailored service. Unlock creativity.

Bring passion and dedication to excellence, and we will recognise your contribution with a variety of benefits, rewards and development opportunities:

• We offer competitive pay, plus benefits including daily staff meals and dry-cleaned uniform and laundry allowance, anniversary stays with F&B credit to enjoy.
• Receive unparalleled training, development and support from Accor leadership training programmes.
• Discounted Hotel stays, food and beverage rates and Spa treatments, worldwide - for yourself and for friends and family, across our entire network.
• Be part of a well-established hotel with a strong reputation for providing exceptional service.
• Ongoing reward and recognition incentives and awards.
• Opportunities for further development and worldwide career progression within Accor.
• Refer a friend incentive
• Supportive and friendly working environment.
• EAP, well-being and mental health supports available, progressive policies, including 12 weeks paid parental leave, and rainbow inclusive policies and pra