Director of Guest Services

Company: Highway West Vacations

Properties: Purity Spring Resort | Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort | King Pine Ski Area

Location: Madison/Freedom, New Hampshire

Job Type: Full-Time, Year-Round

Status: Exempt

Benefits

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, including company-paid employee-only health insurance, vacation and sick time, company-paid holidays, life insurance, and employee discounts.

About the Role

Highway West Vacations is seeking an experienced, energetic hospitality leader to serve as Director of Guest Services, providing leadership and oversight across Purity Spring Resort, Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort, and King Pine Ski Area.

This is a unique opportunity to lead Guest Services across three distinct New Hampshire hospitality operations, each with its own guest profile, seasonal rhythm, systems, and operating environment. The Director of Guest Services will establish consistent, high-quality guest-service standards while preserving the individual character of each property.

We are looking for a hands-on leader who enjoys being part of the operation, not someone who wants to lead exclusively from an office. The right candidate will be comfortable developing teams, improving systems and processes, analyzing operations, solving problems, and stepping in when needed during busy periods.

The Director of Guest Services will work closely with property and department leaders to align Guest Services with operational priorities, staffing needs, revenue goals, and the overall guest experience.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the Guest Experience

Provide leadership and oversight for Guest Services across all three properties.
Establish and maintain high standards for hospitality, professionalism, and guest service.
Ensure guests receive friendly, knowledgeable, accurate, and timely assistance.
Monitor guest feedback, surveys, online reviews, and recurring service concerns.
Manage escalated guest situations and establish effective service-recovery practices.
Identify opportunities to improve the guest journey from reservation through departure.
Develop consistent guest-service standards while maintaining the unique character of each property.

Lead and Develop the Team

Lead, coach, and develop Guest Services supervisors, leads, and frontline employees.
Establish clear expectations, performance standards, and accountability.
Participate in recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and retention.
Develop staffing plans based on occupancy, visitation, events, holidays, and seasonal business levels.
Oversee scheduling and labor management.
Develop future supervisors and leaders from within the Guest Services team.
Maintain a regular and visible presence across all three properties.
Build a culture focused on teamwork, accountability, hospitality, and continuous improvement.

Cross-Department Leadership

Partner with property and department leaders to resolve operational issues affecting the guest experience.
Coordinate operational planning for holidays, events, peak periods, and seasonal transitions.
Collaborate with Housekeeping, Maintenance, Activities, Food & Beverage, Ski Operations, Snowsports, Rentals, Marketing, Revenue Management, and other departments.
Communicate Guest Services priorities, challenges, and opportunities to leadership.
Share best practices across properties where appropriate.

Training and Standard Operating Procedures

Develop, implement, and maintain Guest Services SOPs across all properties.
Create comprehensive onboarding and training programs.
Maintain training materials, checklists, reference guides, and operational resources.
Provide ongoing customer-service, leadership, and systems training.
Cross-train employees where appropriate.
Regularly evaluate procedures and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and the guest experience.

Systems and Technology

A strong comfort level with technology and hospitality systems is essential. The Director will oversee and support multiple platforms serving lodging, campground, ski-area, retail, and guest-service operations.

Responsibilities include:

Develop a strong working knowledge of reservation, property-management, POS, ticketing, telephone, and guest-communication systems.
Train and support employees in the use of applicable systems.
Manage user access and ensure appropriate permissions are maintained.
Troubleshoot operational issues and coordinate with internal or external technical support.
Ensure rates, packages, policies, products, and guest information are accurately represented in applicable systems.
Use system reporting and operational data to evaluate performance and support decision-making.
Identify opportunities to streamline processes and improve the guest experience through technology.
Assist with system implementations, upgrades, testing, and seasonal setup.
Maintain documentation of system procedures and best practices.

Experience with hospitality property-management systems, campground reservation platforms, ski-area ticketing systems, and POS systems is strongly preferred. Experience with Opera, RMS, Paradox, Toast, or comparable platforms is a plus.

Candidates do not need experience with every system we use. Strong technical aptitude and the ability to learn multiple systems quickly are essential.

Reservations and Revenue Support

Ensure reservation policies, rates, packages, restrictions, and promotions are communicated and entered accurately.
Monitor reservation procedures and identify opportunities for improvement.
Ensure appropriate procedures are followed for payments, deposits, refunds, credits, gift cards/certificates, and adjustments.
Review occupancy, visitation, booking patterns, and other relevant reports.
Communicate guest feedback, trends, and operational insights to leadership and Revenue Management.
Collaborate with Marketing and Revenue Management to ensure promotions and packages are operationally successful.

Property-Specific Responsibilities

Purity Spring Resort

Oversee lodging Guest Services and front-desk operations, including reservations, check-in/check-out, guest communication, service recovery, and coordination with Housekeeping, Maintenance, Food & Beverage, Activities, Groups, and other resort departments.

Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort

Oversee campground reservation, registration, and guest-service operations. Support seasonal and transient guest relations and coordinate closely with Activities, Park Rangers, Maintenance, Housekeeping, and other campground operations.

King Pine Ski Area

Lead winter Guest Services operations, including staffing and training, ticketing and season-pass processes, guest information, and coordination with Ski Operations, Snowsports, Rentals, Food & Beverage, and other mountain departments.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a hospitality leader who combines strong people leadership with operational discipline, technology aptitude, and a genuine commitment to guest service.

The ideal candidate will have:

4-5 years of progressive leadership experience in hospitality, resort, hotel, campground, ski-area, recreation, or related guest-service operations.
Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, and developing teams.
Strong knowledge of hospitality operations and guest-service principles.
Experience with reservation, PMS, POS, ticketing, or similar operational systems, with the ability to quickly learn new technology.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and conflict-resolution skills.
Strong organizational and problem-solving abilities with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple properties.
Experience creating procedures, training programs, and operational standards.
Strong attention to detail and follow-through.
Ability to analyze reports and use information to improve operations.
A hands-on leadership style and willingness to be visible and engaged in daily operations.
Flexibility to work weekends, holidays, and peak operational periods as needed.

Preferred Experience

Multi-property hospitality leadership.
Resort or destination hospitality.
Campground or outdoor hospitality.
Ski-area or mountain-resort operations.
Seasonal workforce management.
Experience with Opera, RMS, Paradox, Toast, or similar hospitality platforms.
Experience developing SOPs and structured employee training programs.
Experience with labor planning, scheduling, and operational reporting.

Education and Experience

Associate's degree in hospitality, business, tourism, or a related field preferred; equivalent professional experience may be considered.
Bachelor's degree in Hospitality, Hotel, Tourism, Business Management, or a related field preferred.
Progressive leadership experience in hospitality or a related service industry, with experience managing teams and operational responsibilities.

Skills and Competencies

Strong leadership, mentoring, and team-development abilities.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving abilities.
Professional demeanor with a genuine focus on guest service.
Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and common business technology.
Ability to write reports, interpret operational data, and communicate findings effectively.
Strong attention to detail and follow-through.
Ability to learn and manage multiple technology platforms.
Flexible schedule availability, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and peak operating periods.
Ability to remain active and visible in operational environments and work on one's feet for extended periods.
Ability to lift up to 20 pounds.

What Success Looks Like

The successful Director of Guest Services will build strong, capable teams that consistently deliver excellent guest experience without requiring constant director-level intervention.

Success will be reflected in:

Strong guest satisfaction and effective service recovery.
Employee development, engagement, and retention.
Effective onboarding and ongoing training.
Clear and consistently followed SOPs and operational standards.
Effective staffing and labor management.
Accurate reservations, systems, and guest information.
Improved operational efficiency and cross-department communication.
Effective use of data and reporting to support decisions.
Successful preparation for and transition between summer and winter seasons.
A strong leadership pipeline within Guest Services.
A consistent guest experience across all three properties while preserving the unique character of each operation.

About Our Properties

Our properties provide distinctly different New Hampshire experiences-from lakeside resort stays and family camping to winter skiing and outdoor recreation. Together, they create a year-round hospitality operation centered around outdoor recreation, family traditions, and memorable guest experiences.

This position offers the opportunity to play a meaningful leadership role across all three operations and help shape how we serve our guests for years to come.

If you're a hospitality leader who enjoys developing people, improving operations, learning systems, solving problems, and creating memorable guest experiences, we'd love to hear from you.

HWV Hospitality Services Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration 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.

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