We are seeking a bold, strategic, and hands-on Area Director of Marketing to lead the marketing efforts for two high-performing lifestyle hotels—The Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee and Le Méridien Chicago Oakbrook in suburban Chicago. This role is ideal for a self-starter who thrives in a creative, fast-paced environment and can balance strategic planning with in-the-weeds execution.

This position will directly oversee the marketing strategy and execution across both properties, including hotel branding, food & beverage marketing (Branded Bar, Ash, and The Yard in Milwaukee), meeting and event promotions, digital presence, social media, partnerships, and more. The Area Director will work closely with sales, operations, and F&B leaders at both properties, meeting weekly to ensure full alignment and impact.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

- Lead and manage the end-to-end marketing strategy for both hotels and their outlets, ensuring each property’s unique identity is upheld while achieving commercial goals

- Own all marketing planning, budgeting, reporting, and creative direction with measurable results

Team Oversight

- Provide leadership and direction to on-property Marketing Coordinators at each hotel

- Foster collaboration, creativity, and alignment across both hotel teams while ensuring brand standards are upheld

Hotel & F&B Marketing Execution

- Develop and implement full-funnel marketing campaigns for rooms, restaurants, and events to drive direct revenue

- Own the content calendar, social media strategy, and digital storytelling for properties, outlets, and activations.

- Lead and oversee visual asset development, including photo and video shoots, brand collateral, and web creative

Paid & Organic Campaigns

- Create and manage paid media strategies (search, social, display, sponsored placements) and optimize campaigns based on performance

- Utilize organic channels like PR, email, social, and local outreach to build awareness and loyalty

Community Engagement & Partnerships

- Build strong local ties by engaging with community influencers, corporate partners, media, and local organizations

- Represent both properties at key networking events, hospitality mixers, and brand activations

Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Conduct weekly meetings with hotel leaders in Sales, F&B, and Operations to ensure strategic marketing alignment and execution

- Support revenue-driving initiatives across all segments and departments with thoughtful marketing input

 What Makes This Role Unique

This is not your average hotel marketing role. As Area Director of Marketing, you’ll:

- Lead the full marketing operation across two distinct lifestyle hotels

- Oversee two property-level Marketing Coordinators while maintaining direct ownership of strategy and performance

- Have autonomy to craft campaigns and build relationships that directly drive awareness and revenue

- Collaborate at the executive level with property leadership and ownership groups

Qualifications:

- 3–5+ years of experience in hospitality, lifestyle brand, or F&B marketing (multi-property or area role experience a plus)

- Proven success in building and executing integrated marketing strategies across digital, social, email, paid media, and partnerships

- Experience managing people or supporting junior marketing team members

- Highly organized, self-motivated, and comfortable juggling both high-level strategy and day-to-day execution

- Familiar with tools such as Google Analytics, Meta Business Suite, Canva/Adobe Creative Suite, and CRM/email platforms

This is a high-impact, high-visibility opportunity to shape the marketing future of two of the Midwest’s most distinctive hospitality brands. If you’re ready to lead with creativity, drive results, and bring a fresh perspective to the table, we’d love to meet you.