Director of Sports Travel – Group Sales

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Florida.

📋 Description

• Create and implement a focused sales strategy to engage traveling sports teams, high school, and collegiate sports teams visiting the Orlando area for competitions, tournaments, and championships.

• Establish a strong pipeline by reaching out to athletic departments, sports governing organizations, tournament directors, and travel procurement representatives at schools and universities.

• Identify and cultivate relationships with sports event operators, tournament hosts, and multi-sport complexes in the greater Orlando region.

• Stay informed about the regional sports tournament schedule to proactively target incoming teams and events.

• Manage the complete sales process from initial inquiry to contract signing, rooming list coordination, and post-stay follow-up.

• Create tailored group packages that utilize the resort's private villa inventory to cater to the specific requirements of athletic teams (e.g., multi-bedroom setups for team unity, athlete recovery amenities, accommodations for coaches/staff).

• Negotiate group rates, attrition conditions, and value-added inclusions that remain competitive while safeguarding resort revenue.

• Collaborate with Revenue Management to optimize villa inventory and pricing during peak tournament seasons.

• Act as the primary relationship manager for athletic departments, team travel coordinators, and group accounts.

• Build partnerships with local and regional sports venues, sports tourism organizations (e.g., Sports ETA members, Visit Orlando), and tournament management firms.

• Attend sports tourism trade shows, athletic director conferences, and event bid presentations to enhance brand visibility and generate leads.

• Maintain a high standard of service and responsiveness to coaches and administrators managing intricate travel logistics.

• Work with resort operations, food & beverage, and guest services teams to create athlete-friendly programming and amenities (e.g., early breakfast hours, training meal packages, recovery pool access, team meeting spaces).

• Ensure smooth group arrival, villa assignments, and departure processes for team bookings.

• Act as an on-site liaison during significant group stays to address any team needs and guarantee satisfaction.

• Collect post-stay feedback to consistently enhance the team travel product and encourage repeat bookings.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management, Hospitality, Business, or a related discipline.

• Over 5 years of sales experience, with at least 3 years in a leadership position.

• Proven success in hotel/resort group sales, sports tourism, or team travel sales.

• Familiarity with the high school and/or collegiate athletics environment, including how athletic departments make travel decisions.

• Strong skills in negotiation, contracting, and presentation.

• Experience with group sales CRM and property management systems.

• Willingness to travel regionally and work evenings/weekends around tournament and event schedules.

🏝️ Benefits

• Villatel is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any legally protected status.