Vice President of Technology | Columbia Hospitality

Columbia Hospitality•Seattle, WA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Columbia Hospitality is seeking a dedicated Vice President of Technology. This leader will be a strong communicator, operationally excellent, service-minded, and a people-first collaborator who understands hospitality from the property up. The role involves continuing to build the technology services function, managing large vendor relationships, and executing cross-departmental technology initiatives that team members, guests, properties, and owners depend on. This position is the operational heart of Columbia's IT organization, leading a team of IT professionals, owning service delivery across all properties, and serving as a trusted partner to property General Managers, department heads, and corporate stakeholders. Success requires not only keeping systems running and secure but also earning the confidence of every property team and bringing partners and owners along. The ability to build consensus across diverse stakeholders is as important as technical leadership. This is a rare chance to shape an IT organization at a growing company. Critical skills include technical knowledge across hospitality sector platforms, collaboration, building business trust through listening, proactive project planning, moving with urgency, and delivering on commitments.

Requirements

10+ years in IT leadership, with at least 7 years managing multi-site or multi-property technology operations
Hospitality, hotel management company, multi-location food & beverage, or multi-unit, multi-site IT background strongly preferred, you understand the operational realities of a property environment, not just the technology
Demonstrated experience working directly with property or operational leaders such as GMs, F&B directors, and front office managers, to understand needs, build trust, and deliver solutions that teams actually adopt
Proven track record of building consensus across diverse stakeholders: property teams, corporate leadership, finance, operations, and senior executives
Hands-on experience with hospitality technology platforms: PMS (Opera, Maestro, or similar), POS, booking engines, and property networking infrastructure
Demonstrated experience managing and developing teams
Track record of building or significantly improving IT service delivery in a decentralized, multi-property environment
Experience managing third-party vendors and co-sourced service partners

Responsibilities

Lead Technology operations, infrastructure and support services across all properties
Own day-to-day IT service delivery, ensuring properties receive responsive, reliable, and high-quality support
Establish and manage a tiered support model, including a Tier 1 helpdesk and technicians and/or partners for on-site support
Build and publish an IT service catalog with clear SLAs; hold the team accountable to them
Serve as the senior escalation point for complex incidents, issues, and critical property needs
Build and develop the Technology team
Foster a team culture that mirrors Columbia's values - proactive, humble, and genuinely service-oriented
Partner with People & Culture on performance management and development planning for each individual team member
Identify skills gaps, and develop plans to close gaps in order to meet SLAs and exceed customer expectations
Serve as the trusted technology partner to property leadership
Invest deeply in understanding how each property operates, its rhythms, pressures, and guest experience standards, so that technology solutions fit the operation, not the other way around
Build genuine, trusted relationships with property General Managers and department heads; be a visible, approachable presence across the portfolio
Conduct regular proactive on-site visits to properties; surface and resolve issues before GMs have to ask
Facilitate collaborative conversations with property teams when introducing changes, bring people along, don't just roll things out
Represent IT in property leadership forums; advocate for property needs internally and translate operational realities into technology priorities
Own the technology stack and vendor relationships
Drive standardization (where it makes business sense) of hardware, software, infrastructure, and cybersecurity across the portfolio
Own vendor relationships
Lead vendor selection, negotiation, and contract management
Enhance existing ITSM/ticketing platform (Halo) to provide visibility into team performance
Increase use of IT Self Service portal, automated ticket workflows and enhanced SLA reporting
Own the IT operating and capital budgets
Update current property IT chargeback model over time, and evaluate the inclusion of a tiered support model based to manage expectations and costs
Establish lightweight governance for technology exceptions and property-specific requests
Ensure compliance with security, data privacy, and PCI-DSS requirements across the portfolio
Engage stakeholders, property teams, corporate leadership, finance, people & culture, and operations early and often when evaluating or implementing technology changes
Lead with curiosity and humility: seek input before forming conclusions, and create space for diverse perspectives to shape decisions
Navigate competing priorities across a diverse portfolio with diplomacy and clarity, ensuring all partners feel heard and respected
Champion technology investments internally by making the business case in language that resonates with operators, not just IT professionals

Benefits

Cellphone Allowance
Commuter/Parking Allowance
Get Paid Daily (Make any day payday)
Paid Time off & Holiday Pay
Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, 401K
HSA/FSA Plans -with employer contribution
Referral Bonus
Discounted Lodging, Dining, Spa, Golf, and Retail
Employee Assistance Program
“Columbia Cares” Volunteer Opportunities
Committee Participation Opportunities
Task Force Work Opportunities
Online Learning Platform to Help You Grow!
Third Party Perks (Including discounts on Pet Insurance, Rental Cars, Movie and Concert Tickets, Theme Park and Attractions & so much more)