Director of Marketing - HGI/Canopy Chicago

Schulte Companies•Chicago, IL

12d

About The Position

Schulte Hospitality Group is seeking a commercially minded, hands-on Director of Marketing for the dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn and Canopy Chicago hotel complex. The role owns marketing strategy and execution across the hotels and their revenue streams, including guestrooms, food and beverage, meetings and events, programming, and local audiences. The Director partners with Revenue Management, Sales, hotel and Food & Beverage operations, external agencies, corporate marketing, and ownership to develop demand, grow market share, and connect marketing activity to revenue outcomes. The position leads the property’s marketing strategy, annual budget and calendar; digital and paid media; website content and conversion; organic social media; brand, content and creative; public relations and influencer marketing; CRM and email; food and beverage and group marketing; partnerships and local engagement; and partner performance. It combines leadership with direct execution, including creating and publishing social content, developing campaigns, analyzing performance, and presenting recommendations. Success is measured through property revenue and market-share performance, digital and campaign results, social engagement, earned media, and food and beverage marketing outcomes. The ideal candidate is collaborative, entrepreneurial, creatively ambitious, analytically rigorous, and able to move between strategic planning and hands-on marketing work. Flexible hours may be needed to support events, content capture, media visits, activations, and hotel programming. The hiring process may include interviews, a drug screen, background and reference checks, and a potential employment assessment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Hospitality, Business, or a related field; the education and skills section also specifies Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
The qualifications section requires 7+ years of progressive marketing experience; another education and skills section lists 1–3+ years of experience in Marketing, Public Relations, or a related field.
Marketing experience preferably in lifestyle, luxury, full-service, or upper-upscale hospitality; previous hotel marketing experience is strongly preferred.
Experience owning marketing strategy and execution with accountability for measurable revenue performance.
Hands-on experience developing and executing organic social media strategy, content creation, publishing, and community management.
Strong understanding of hotel commercial strategy, including revenue management, sales, distribution, transient and group segmentation, and food and beverage.
Expertise across digital marketing, paid media, CRM and email, social media, content development, public relations, influencer marketing, partnerships, and brand strategy.
Strong food and beverage marketing experience, ideally in full-service, lifestyle, or experiential hospitality.
Strong analytical capabilities and ability to translate performance data into actionable marketing decisions.
Experience managing marketing budgets, agencies, vendors, and multiple concurrent initiatives.
Exceptional communication, writing, presentation, project management, and stakeholder management skills.
Strong creative instincts balanced with disciplined, data-driven decision-making.
Ability to independently capture and create social content, with an eye for photography, video, storytelling, and emerging platform trends.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment and demonstrate strong organizational skills.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office products, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook.
Ability to travel as needed.
Flexible work hours may include evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Hilton marketing platforms, systems, and brand resources.
Previous hotel marketing experience.
Marketing experience in lifestyle, luxury, full-service, or upper-upscale hospitality.
Food and beverage marketing experience in full-service, lifestyle, or experiential hospitality environments.

Responsibilities

Own the annual marketing strategy, budget, and calendar for the dual-branded hotel complex and its associated revenue streams.
Translate revenue goals, market conditions, competitive intelligence, and business needs into marketing strategies and campaigns.
Partner with Revenue Management and Sales to identify demand opportunities, need periods, target segments, and market-share growth strategies.
Develop strategies across transient leisure, business travel, groups and meetings, food and beverage, and local audiences while maximizing synergies and maintaining appropriate brand differentiation.
Lead digital marketing across Hilton and independent channels, including paid search, metasearch, display, paid social, OTA media, and other performance platforms.
Own Hilton.com content and the stand-alone vanity website, including storytelling, merchandising, conversion paths, and alignment with commercial priorities.
Manage paid media agencies and partners, set performance expectations, evaluate results, and optimize return on ad spend.
Develop targeted campaigns for transient demand, groups and meetings, seasonal offers, packages, food and beverage promotions, programming, events, and other revenue opportunities.
Use performance data to optimize media mix, audiences, messaging, creative, landing pages, and investment, and identify ways to increase direct bookings and digital conversion.
Own organic social strategy and day-to-day execution, including content pillars, channel strategies, editorial calendars, publishing, and community engagement.
Create and curate timely social content featuring the hotels, food and beverage, meetings and events, programming, team members, Chicago, and behind-the-scenes moments.
Manage social comments, direct messages, tags, mentions, and engagement with relevant Chicago accounts and audiences; identify timely trends and cultural opportunities.
Develop and manage influencer and creator collaborations, and track social performance using relevant KPIs.
Steward brand positioning and creative expression; lead photography, videography, creative development, asset production, and integrated content planning.
Develop creative briefs, manage specialized production resources, ensure consistency across marketing and guest touchpoints, and maintain a current library of creative assets.
Lead property public relations with external PR resources, develop story angles, serve as the property liaison for media opportunities, and coordinate media visits.
Cultivate influencer, creator, and media relationships; coordinate stays and experiences with hotel operations; and evaluate earned-media and influencer impact.
Own email and CRM strategy to drive revenue, repeat visitation, guest engagement, and cross-promotion; develop campaigns and assess segmentation, engagement, conversion, and revenue.
Lead food and beverage marketing with F&B leadership, including campaigns for menus, seasonal programming, holidays, promotions, entertainment, and signature experiences.
Build local and visitor awareness and repeat visitation for food and beverage, and evaluate campaign performance and revenue contribution.
Partner with Sales on group and meetings marketing, including campaigns, promotions, content, collateral, digital media, and sales tools.
Support group demand and conversion with targeted need-period and booking-window initiatives, and evaluate qualified leads, conversion, revenue, and ROI.
Develop strategic partnerships with Chicago businesses, cultural organizations, attractions, events, brands, creators, and community organizations.
Partner with hotel and Food & Beverage operations to create marketable programming and capitalize on Chicago events, conventions, festivals, and seasonal demand.
Represent the property in relevant tourism, hospitality, business, and community organizations.
Manage the annual marketing budget and external partners, defining scopes, deliverables, timelines, KPIs, and accountability.
Develop regular reporting that connects marketing activity to commercial outcomes; present strategies, performance, opportunities, and recommendations to hotel leadership, SHG Corporate Marketing, and ownership.
Evaluate results and reallocate resources toward the channels, audiences, and initiatives generating the strongest business outcomes.

Benefits

Daily Pay, allowing associates to get paid today for work completed today.
Free telemedicine and virtual mental health care access for all associates starting day one.
Multiple health insurance and life insurance options.
401(k) plan with company match.
Paid time off for eligible associates in accordance with the company’s Paid Time Off policy.
Holiday pay.
Pet insurance.
Employee Assistance Program.
Schulte Savings Marketplace discounts on event tickets, electronics, gym memberships, and more.
Flexible work environment and opportunities for career growth.