Director of Front Office - Sable Hotel, Navy Pier

Director of Front Office

Sable Hotel Chicago, Curio Collection by Hilton Chicago, IL

Job Summary

We are hiring a Director of Front Office to lead the front of house operation at Sable Hotel at Chicago, a 223-room Curio Collection by Hilton hotel managed by Maverick Hotels and Restaurants. This is a department head role reporting directly to the Hotel Manager / General Manager.

This is not a shift-coverage job. You will own the budget, the labor model, the guest experience results and the labor relations for Front Desk, Night Audit, Bell and Door, and Valet. You will lead that operation through an Assistant Front Office Manager and a supervisory team — not from behind the desk.

If you are a strong Front Office Manager who has outgrown the title, or a Director who wants full ownership of a department rather than a piece of one, this is the step.

What you will own

• The money. A departmental operating and payroll budget you build, defend and manage. You will forecast labor to the arrival pattern, manage to a productivity standard, write your own variance commentary and present it in the P&L review.
• The revenue. Upsell program performance, room type inventory and the overbooking position alongside Revenue Management, walk prevention and cost, and fee capture at the desk.
• The guest experience. SALT overall experience, arrival and departure scores, problem resolution and case closure, Hilton Honors enrollment and elite recognition, and QA readiness every day — not the week before the evaluation. And the harder part: keeping service specific to this hotel, which is what Curio is supposed to mean.
• The front drive. Bell and door response, luggage handling, and the valet and parking operation — which runs through a third-party operator you will manage on scope, service levels, peak throughput, revenue capture and claims. On a pier, on a constrained approach, sharing the curb with the millions of people who visit Pier every year.
• The team. Selection, development, succession and retention for the whole department, including building your Assistant Front Office Manager into your successor.
• The contract. Front office classifications are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. You will administer it — seniority scheduling and overtime distribution, just-cause discipline inside the notice windows, first-step grievance responses, probationary decisions on the calendar — and train your supervisors to do it consistently.

What we are looking for

• Five or more years of progressive front office leadership in a full-service or large-box hotel, including at least two years leading through subordinate managers or supervisors.
• Prior department head or assistant department head experience in a hotel of comparable size and complexity.
• Real budget ownership. You can build a forecast, explain a variance and defend an assumption to an owner without flinching.
• Experience operating under a collective bargaining agreement — seniority scheduling, just-cause discipline, first-step grievances.
• Working knowledge of a major hotel property management system and the front office, loyalty and guest experience platforms around it. OnQ experience is a plus.
• Strong written communication. You will write to guests, to your team, to an arbitrator’s file and to ownership, and all four have to be right.
• Availability to work the operation — nights, weekends, holidays and peak periods — and to serve in the Manager on Duty rotation.

What sets a candidate apart

• Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Business or a related field.
• Hilton experience — OnQ, Hilton Honors, SALT and the QA evaluation process.
• Soft brand, lifestyle or independent hotel background, where service is expected to feel like the property and not like a brand template.
• A hotel inside a high-traffic destination or attraction, where public visitor volume and the rooms operation share the same approach. You know exactly why that sentence is in this posting.
• Experience presenting departmental results to ownership or asset management.
• A second language.

Why this seat

There is no other front office job in Chicago that looks like this one. Lake and skyline views out of every window, one of the most visited destinations in the Midwest at your front door, a summer peak that will test everything you know about labor planning, and a shoulder season that will test everything you know about holding a team together. It is a hard, specific operation with a real personality.

What you get in return is a department you actually own, a General Manager who will teach you the financial side of the business rather than shield you from it, and a track record that travels — this is the seat people move from into Director of Rooms, Hotel Manager and General Manager roles.

Maverick Hotels and Restaurants is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Reasonable accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in any aspect of the selection process.

United Service Companies is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion. We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Our commitment extends beyond preventing discrimination and harassment; it’s about creating an environment where diverse backgrounds and perspectives are valued. We believe in the power of our people, the ideas they bring, and what we can accomplish together.

Consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all state & federal requirements, it is the policy of United Service Companies to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. United Service Companies also provides reasonable accommodations as required under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) for limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The policy regarding requests for reasonable accommodation applies to all aspects of employment, including the application process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact the Recruitment Team 813-425-1985