Director of Hotel Openings

MML Hospitality • Austin, TX

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

This is a hands-on, high-visibility role for someone who thrives on turning a complex, multi-team launch into a disciplined, repeatable process — and who wants to be on-site when the doors open. You'll lead the operational pre-opening for MML's new hotels and restaurants — owning the plan, timeline, and cross-functional readiness that get each property open smoothly and on time. You'll be based at MML's headquarters but should expect to spend significant time on the ground at properties in the months before and during each opening.

Requirements

• 7+ years in hotel or multi-unit restaurant operations, with direct experience leading property openings or major renovations/relaunches.
• A track record of managing complex, cross-functional timelines under real deadline pressure — construction schedules slip, and you know how to replan without losing the launch date.
• Comfort operating at both altitudes: building the playbook and standards, and being the person GMs call at 11pm two weeks before opening.
• Strong relationship-building skills across Development, Operations, Culinary, Marketing, HR, and Finance — you get people rowing in the same direction without needing formal authority over all of them.
• Budget and vendor management experience specific to pre-opening logistics (FF&E, OS&E, staffing ramp, systems rollout).
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively — often for extended stretches — to be on property through each opening.

Nice To Haves

• Experience scaling standards across multiple brands or markets is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• End-to-end pre-opening planning: build and manage the critical-path timeline for each property, from construction handoff through opening and stabilization. Own the entire process, be the go-to person at every stage.
• Cross-functional alignment: coordinate Development, Operations, Culinary, Marketing, HR, Finance, and any other relevant teams on scope, staffing, and launch readiness.
• The openings playbook: develop repeatable processes and standards that scale across brands and markets.
• Systems and infrastructure setup: coordinate with the right teams to get each property's operating systems and infrastructure ready to launch.
• Pre-opening hiring and training: partner with Recruiting on staffing timelines, onboarding, and training so every property opens fully staffed and prepared.
• Budgets, vendors, and logistics: manage pre-opening budgets and vendor/logistics coordination, and spot risks early enough to act on them.
• On-the-ground partnership: work directly with GMs and property leaders through launch, then run post-opening reviews to make the next opening better.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed