Hotel Revenue Manager Recruiting vs. Director of Sales & Marketing: Who You Need First
- Jeff Schmidt
- Oct 24, 2025
- 5 min read
If rate integrity and pacing are broken, prioritize hotel revenue manager recruiting before adding sales headcount.
Split the seat when pipeline complexity and revenue science both need owners; otherwise hire one leader with explicit guardrails.
Scorecards must measure RevPAR index, price integrity, pace health, and channel cost—not just roomnights.
Tie comp to owner outcomes (index lift, flow-through, event revenue conversion) and publish dashboards weekly.
Use a 21-day search sprint with real-property cases to compress time-to-value.
Resource: frameworks, checklists, and interview scorecards live in our hotel hiring guide
The org design question owners ask
You have soft index, pace gaps, and creeping OTA costs. Do you hire a DOSM who can rebuild pipeline, or a revenue leader to defend price and distribution? The answer starts with owner outcomes in the next two quarters. If the problem is price discipline, mix, and distribution leakage, prioritize hotel revenue manager recruiting. If the issue is empty funnel and low conversion, prioritize a DOSM. When both are broken—common in full-service and resort assets—split the seat and demand tight cadence between the two leaders.
Hotel Revenue Manager Recruiting: Timing and Org Design
When to hire Revenue first
Index soft despite high activity. Sales is busy, but rate is leaking during compression; displacement math is missing.
Channel costs rising. OTA share growing; brand.com underperforming; metasearch spend unmanaged.
Forecast drift. Large variance, weak pace readouts, and reactionary rate changes.
Segment confusion. Down-trading and cannibalization (e.g., group displacing profitable transient).
When to hire DOSM first
Flat or low-quality pipeline. Stalled pace and anemic event engine with slow proposal SLAs.
Untapped local corporate. Weak account mapping and call cadence; poor CRM hygiene.
Execution gap. Good pricing logic exists, but no one is creating/closing demand.
When to split the seat (Rev + DOSM)
Complex assets. Resorts, large conference hotels, multi-property clusters.
Aggressive owner goals. Simultaneous index lift and big mix shift where one person can’t realistically own both.
Turnaround + growth. Need revenue science and pipeline acceleration now.
Roles, responsibilities, and guardrails
Function | Revenue Leader (Dir/Head of Revenue) | DOSM |
Goal | Protect ADR/price integrity; lift RevPAR index; optimize mix & channel cost | Build pipeline; win profitable business; drive event revenue |
Core levers | Displacement math, BAR fences, segmentation, distribution, metasearch/brand.com | Segment strategy, pace cadence, proposal SLA, win rate, relationship capital |
Dashboards | Pace vs. target, index vs. comp, channel share & cost, rate fences | Pipeline by stage, win/loss reasons, event revenue, account coverage |
Cadence | Daily rate huddles; weekly forecast & channel review | Daily sales stand-ups; weekly pipeline & event conversion |
Conflicts to prevent | Sales discounting without displacement check | Revenue over-fencing and starving the funnel |
Owner outcomes | Index lift, ADR integrity, channel efficiency | Pace health, conversion, event revenue |
Guardrail: DOSM cannot override price floors without a displacement check; Rev cannot fence out demand without an alternate demand plan.
Interview architecture that surfaces real operators
For revenue leaders
Case 1: Compression week. Provide arrivals, demand curve, group holds. Candidate defends ADR with displacement math and channel tactics.
Case 2: Forecast rescue. Share pace miss; ask for a 30-day path to accuracy with specific triggers and stakeholder comms.
Case 3: Channel mix. Walk brand.com growth and OTA containment with CAC thresholds.
For DOSMs
Case 1: Pipeline triage. Hand a weak pipeline; candidate sets stage conversions, rescue cadence, and proposal SLA.
Case 2: Event engine. Give inquiries and space grid; candidate improves win rate with targeted pursuit.
Case 3: Rate integrity. Test collaboration with revenue on compression dates and corporate rate asks.
Scorecards: what great looks like
Revenue Leader scorecard (owner-outcome aligned)
RevPAR index: +3–7 pts within 2 quarters with clear levers.
ADR integrity: Wins compression weeks; minimal down-trading.
Pace & forecast: ±3% accuracy; early warning triggers.
Channel efficiency: OTA share ↓; brand.com growth with healthy CAC.
Rate governance: Displacement math used reliably; clean fence logic.
Cross-functional cadence: Weekly rhythm with DOSM/GM; actions tie to results.
Data fluency: Explains decisions in plain language to owners.
DOSM scorecard
Pipeline health: Stage conversion targets hit; deal aging controlled.
RevPAR contribution: Mix shift + event revenue with rate discipline intact.
Win rate: Proposal SLA <48h; improved QoQ close rates.
Channel containment: Minimal rogue discounting; protects ADR.
Team cadence: Clean CRM hygiene; weekly rhythm that moves numbers.
Owner communication: Clear narrative from plan → action → outcome.
Compensation benchmarks (directional; tune to market and scope)
Role & asset profile | Typical base | Bonus target | Total cash range | Notes |
Revenue Manager/Director – Select/Full service | $110k–$150k | 15%–25% | $127k–$188k | Index & ADR guardrails |
Head of Revenue – Resort/Conference | $150k–$200k | 20%–35% | $180k–$270k+ | Complex demand & channels |
DOSM – Select/Full service | $125k–$165k | 20%–30% | $150k–$215k | Pipeline + event engine |
Cluster/Area Rev or DOSM | $160k–$220k | 25%–35% | $200k–$300k+ | Multi-property leadership |
Plan design tip: tie upside to index lift, ADR integrity, pace accuracy, event conversion, and channel efficiency. Publish scores monthly.
Three mini case studies
Urban full-service, 320 keys. Hired Revenue first. Compression-week discipline + metasearch tuning lifted RevPAR index +5.8 pts in two quarters; OTA share −12%; flow-through +170 bps. DOSM added later to scale corporate mix.
Resort with heavy groups. Split the seat. Revenue rebuilt displacement logic and fences; DOSM rebuilt event pursuit. Group win rate +8 pts with ADR protected; brand.com revenue +14%.
Conference hotel turnaround. DOSM first to restore pipeline and proposal SLA, then Revenue to stabilize price. Pace accuracy moved to ±3%; ADR held in compression; GOP +210 bps.
Practical tools to deploy this week
Displacement math sheet (owner-visible).
Pace & pipeline rescue cadence with stage targets and deal aging.
Channel cost dashboard (OTA %, brand.com growth, CAC thresholds).
Compression-week playbook with fence logic and escalation rules.
Grab plug-and-play templates in the hotel hiring guide.
How We Run the Search (21-Day Sprint)
Day 1–3: Calibration — Owner outcomes, org design (Rev vs. DOSM), comp bands, interview cases.
Day 4–10: Sourcing — Networks across branded/independent Rev + Sales leaders; early backchannels.
Day 11–15: Shortlists — 5–7 screened, 3 finalists with scorecards, references, comp expectations.
Day 16–21: Decision — Working sessions on your real pace/pipeline; offer with a 90-day plan.
Common failure modes (and fixes)
Volume over value. Fix: comp on index and ADR integrity, not roomnight count.
Price whiplash. Fix: daily rate huddles; clear triggers; no discounting without displacement math.
Channel creep. Fix: set OTA caps and brand.com growth goals with CAC guardrails.
Silo wars. Fix: weekly Rev + DOSM joint review; shared KPIs; owner-visible scoreboard.
Comp & Scorecard quick reference (printable)
Revenue KPIs: RevPAR index, ADR integrity, forecast variance, OTA share, brand.com revenue, compression outcomes.
DOSM KPIs: Stage conversions, proposal SLA, win rate, event revenue, channel mix, CRM hygiene.
Behaviors: data-first storytelling, cadence discipline, cross-functional collaboration, clean governance.
Ready to decide between Revenue and Director of Sales and Marketing—or hire both? Start a search today. Expect 3 vetted candidates in 5–10 business days with scorecards, references, and a 90-day plan.
