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Lindblad Expeditions, a pioneer in expedition travel since 1966, is seeking a Director of Hotel Business Development to drive long-term growth strategies for its Hotel Operations organization. This role reports to the SVP of Hotel Operations and serves as a strategic partner translating enterprise priorities into executable plans, scalable processes, and measurable business outcomes.
Key Responsibilities:
Charter & Vessel Integration: Lead Hotel Operations integration and readiness for new charter vessels, vessel transitions, and group charters. Manage operating standards, guest experience requirements, budgets, staffing implications, systems, supply chain, and shoreside/shipboard readiness.
Newbuild & M&A Integration: Represent Hotel Operations in newbuild, acquisition, charter, and M&A initiatives. Assess operational requirements, opportunities, risks, and integration needs from due diligence through implementation.
Rental Program Management: Manage day-to-day execution of the fleetwide guest rental and parka program, including forecasting, ordering, production coordination, and logistics with vendors. Maintain ship-to-shore relationships to anticipate operational needs, resolve issues, and optimize inventory while minimizing shortages and costs.
Cross-Functional Initiative Leadership: Lead complex initiatives requiring coordination across multiple departments (Finance, Marine, Technical, Expedition, Sales, Marketing, HR, IT). Establish clear governance, accountability, milestones, and communication from concept through implementation.
Operational Readiness: Develop structured integration and readiness plans for new vessels, programs, and partnerships to ensure successful launch and ongoing execution.
Brand Governance: Lead brand governance across shipboard operations and related channels, including licensing and partnerships. Ensure brand and contractual requirements are consistently executed and establish SOPs to support compliance.
Capital Planning Support: Support CAPEX planning, review, and tracking, including coordination of financial reporting, budget consolidation, and reconciliation with Accounting and Finance.
Maintenance Coordination: Partner with Hotel Operations and Sr Superintendent to organize and prioritize work scope for maintenance periods.
Executive Support: Prepare strategic recommendations, analyses, presentations, and decision materials for senior leadership related to growth, investment, integration, and operational strategy.
The role works across Hotel Operations, Finance, Marine, Technical, Expedition, Sales, Marketing, HR, IT, and other functions to drive complex cross-functional initiatives while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, scalability, guest experience, and overall business performance.
Requirements:
- BA/BS degree in Business, Hospitality, Operations, or related field (MBA or advanced degree preferred)
- 8–12 years of progressive experience in hospitality, cruise, travel, operations, strategy, consulting, or business transformation
- Demonstrated experience leading complex cross-functional projects and implementing initiatives across multiple operating units
- Experience with vessel integration, newbuilds, acquisitions, charters, hospitality openings, or other large-scale operational transitions strongly preferred
- Strong understanding of financial planning, business cases, budgeting, and operational performance
- Strong strategic thinking with ability to translate strategy into execution
- Excellent project and program management capabilities
- Strong financial and analytical acumen
- Ability to navigate ambiguity and manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously
- Strong cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management skills
- Process improvement and change-management mindset
- Ability to balance guest experience, operational requirements, financial performance, and scalability
- Strong executive presentation and communication skills
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and business analytics/reporting tools
