Hospitality Manager

About the Role

The role is responsible for developing and selling exceptional hospitality experiences that enhance customer satisfaction, drive revenue growth, and strengthen the club's reputation. It requires a commercially minded individual who can balance premium guest experiences with strong financial performance through effective pricing strategies, margin management, and sales leadership. The successful candidate will oversee all matchday hospitality products, ensuring the club maximises commercial returns while contributing to a best-in-class customer experience. Success is measured by growth in hospitality revenues, strong profit margins, exceptional guest satisfaction scores, high renewal rates, and the development of hospitality experiences that position the club as a leading destination for corporate entertainment and premium matchday experiences. The role reports directly to the Senior Commercial Manager and works closely with the CEO, Head of Commercial & Marketing, General Manager of Dexcom Stadium, and the Dexcom Stadium Meeting & Events Manager.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and continuously improve premium hospitality products and matchday experiences that differentiate the club, mapping the end-to-end customer journey to maintain exceptional standards at every touchpoint.
• Develop product-specific SOPs to protect the brand and ensure standards are met and maintained, and gather customer feedback to improve satisfaction, retention, and spend per guest.
• Work closely with catering, operations, marketing, and wider commercial and marketing teams to develop seamless hospitality experiences.
• Develop and execute hospitality sales plans to achieve annual revenue targets, driving sales of seasonal hospitality packages, corporate memberships, and matchday hospitality.
• Identify new revenue opportunities and innovative hospitality products, manage existing corporate client relationships, and secure new business.
• Lead hospitality sales renewals and upselling initiatives, manage the club CRM system for hospitality guests, and analyse CRM data with the Commercial team for cross-sell opportunities.
• Produce regular sales forecasts and performance reports.
• Develop pricing strategies that optimise revenue while maintaining competitive market positioning, monitoring market trends, customer demand, and competitor offerings.
• Analyse sales performance, occupancy levels, and customer purchasing behaviour to maximise yield, and review and refine hospitality packages for customer value and profitability.
• Manage hospitality budgets and financial performance against agreed targets, monitoring and improving gross margins across all hospitality products and events.
• Work with catering and suppliers to control costs and maximise profitability, develop reporting frameworks to track revenue, margins, occupancy, spend per head, and return on investment, and identify efficiencies and cost saving opportunities without compromising customer experience.
• Build and manage relationships with club partners, alliance members, corporate entities, hospitality guests, key suppliers, and service providers, and represent the club professionally at events and networking opportunities.
• Collaborate with internal departments to align commercial and operational objectives.
• Ensure operational information is handed over to Stadium Operations and Catering in a timely manner for matchday event delivery, ensure premium service standards are consistently achieved, and coordinate staffing requirements for lounge hosts by product.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Commercially minded individual able to balance premium guest experiences with strong financial performance through effective pricing strategies, margin management, and sales leadership.
• Commercially driven and results-focused.
• Passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences.
• Innovative and proactive problem solver.
• Strong leadership and communication skills.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail.
• Flexible and willing to work evenings, weekends, and matchdays as required.

Preferred Skills

• Minimum 3-5 years' experience in hospitality, venue management, sports, entertainment, or premium events.
• Proven track record in sales, business development, and revenue generation.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience managing pricing and profitability.
• Experience managing customer experience and premium hospitality programmes.
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship building skills.
• Strong analytical and financial management capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast paced environment.

Workplace

• Hybrid working model, with a requirement to be in the office at least three days a week.
• Flexibility is necessary, with potential for further days in the office if and when required.
• Expected to work appropriate hours to fully carry out responsibilities, which may be irregular or outside the norm, including evenings and weekends (including Sundays).
• Expected to work at all Connacht Rugby fixtures, meaning frequent weekend work throughout the playing season.