Director of Tourism Sales & Partnerships

Newark Alliance•Newark, NJ

About The Position

Newark Alliance is a partnership-driven organization dedicated to advancing lasting prosperity for Newarkers by leveraging the city's full potential, including its people, places, systems, and partnerships. As Newark’s prosperity engine, the organization utilizes various tools, from policy and capital to branding, marketing, and service delivery, to create long-term value for residents, workers, visitors, and students. The Director of Tourism Sales & Partnerships is responsible for driving visitor economy growth in Newark by attracting meetings, group events, sporting events, and general group sales/hotel bookings that generate measurable economic impact. This role leads Newark’s destination sales strategy, ensuring exceptional services for event organizers, meeting planners, and tourism partners. A key responsibility involves managing strategic relationships with Newark’s hotels and hospitality partners to increase hotel utilization, extend visitor stays, and boost local spending. The Director acts as the primary liaison between Newark Alliance and hotel partners, fostering collaboration on event attraction, addressing concerns, and identifying opportunities to maximize room nights and visitor engagement. Additionally, the Director will design, implement, and manage a comprehensive CRM system to track all sales activity, including hotel room nights, event space bookings, event metrics, and partnership interactions, serving as a foundation for performance measurement, economic impact reporting, and strategic decision-making. This role encompasses both sales and destination services, requiring close collaboration with marketing, partnerships, and cross-functional teams to position Newark as a competitive destination for events, group travel, and tourism experiences.

Requirements

10-14+ years in destination sales, hospitality, tourism development, convention services, or event attraction.
Proven success in group sales, meetings, or travel trade.
Experience managing partnerships with hotels, venues, or hospitality stakeholders.
Strong organizational and project management skills with keen attention to detail.
Ability to collaborate cross-functionally and independently build productive stakeholder relationships.
Experience in a DMO, CVB, hospitality organization, or tourism agency preferred.
Demonstrated knowledge of CRM systems, e-generation tools, and sales measurement technologies to track performance, pipeline, and economic impact.
Comfortable in fast-paced, evolving environments and building new initiatives.
Flexibility to support occasional evening and weekend commitments.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a comprehensive sales strategy to attract meetings, conventions, sports events, and group travel that generate measurable economic impact.
Lead proactive outreach to meeting planners, corporate organizers, and travel trade partners across priority segments (MICE, SMERF, SLESO).
Oversee the sales pipeline — lead generation, distribution, and forecasting — to meet booking targets and hotel room night goals.
Represent Newark at industry conferences and trade shows; monitor trends and competing destinations to strengthen positioning.
Serve as primary relationship manager for Newark hotel partners; coordinate monthly Hotel Partners Roundtable Meetings.
Generate and distribute qualified leads to hotel and hospitality partners to support group bookings and maximize occupancy.
Develop strategies with hotel partners to extend visitor stays, increase room nights, and create event-specific packages and promotional offers.
Identify, pursue, and secure events that drive hotel demand and tourism activity in Newark.
Oversee preparation of RFP responses, bid proposals, and sales presentations — partnering with venues and NJ agencies as needed.
Work with marketing to develop compelling sales collateral highlighting Newark's venues, hotels, and cultural assets.
Oversee destination services from booking through execution, including welcome experiences, vendor coordination, and hospitality support.
Collaborate with hotels, restaurants, and cultural institutions to create destination packages and pre/post-event visitor experiences.
Support event organizers in integrating local businesses and attractions to encourage repeat bookings.
Lead the development and maintenance of a CRM system to track destination sales, hotel engagement, event activity, and partner interactions.
Define, track, and report performance metrics for sales, event impact, and economic outcomes to inform leadership decision-making.
Conduct post-event evaluations to quantify economic impact, hotel utilization, and ROI, leveraging insights for strategic planning.