Director of Group & Private Event Sales

Position Summary

We are hiring a true sales hunter to lead group and private event sales across two of Colorado's most distinctive hospitality assets: the Royal Gorge Route Railroad, a premier scenic and dining rail experience operating one of the most spectacular routes in North America, and the Royal Gorge Mansion, a private estate venue for weddings, corporate events, and luxury gatherings.

This is not a coordinator role. It is not an order-taker role. We are looking for a proven seller with a track record of building a pipeline from scratch, closing six-figure contracts, and treating quota as a floor rather than a ceiling. The right person is energized by the phone, comfortable in the field, and obsessed with conversion.

You will own revenue growth across both properties: rail charters, group dining experiences, corporate buyouts, themed excursions, weddings, rehearsal dinners, fundraisers, and private gatherings. You will build relationships with destination management companies, wedding planners, corporate event buyers, tour operators, and motorcoach groups across Colorado and the broader Rocky Mountain region. You will be measured on booked revenue, year-over-year growth, and the strength of the pipeline you build.

Position Details

• Title: Director of Group & Private Event Sales

• Reports To: General Manager / Owner

• Location: On-site, Cañon City, Colorado, with regular travel for client meetings, site visits, and industry events

• Status: Full-time, exempt

• Schedule: Includes evenings and weekends as required to support events, site visits, and client entertainment

What You'll Own

Group Sales — Royal Gorge Route Railroad

• Sell private rail charters, full-train buyouts, and group dining experiences (First Class, Vista Dome, Deluxe, Coach, Laser Light Show - Opener Car Dance Parties and seasonal/themed excursions) to corporate, association, incentive, leisure-group, and motor coach buyers.

• Build and manage a pipeline of qualified group leads through outbound prospecting, referral cultivation, repeat-client account management, and inbound conversion.

• Develop relationships with destination management companies, tour operators, convention and visitors bureaus, motorcoach operators, and corporate meeting planners across Colorado and key feeder markets (Colorado’s front range, drive-market surrounding states, and strong mid-west, southwest and west coast markets) 

• Negotiate and close contracts, manage deposits and payment schedules, and hand off executed events to operations with complete BEOs and client expectations documented.

Private Event Sales — Royal Gorge Mansion

• Sell weddings, rehearsal dinners, anniversary celebrations, milestone birthdays, corporate retreats, board meetings, fundraisers, and luxury private gatherings at the Royal Gorge Mansion.

• Convert inbound inquiries through the website, listing services (The Knot, WeddingWire, Here Comes The Guide), and referrals into booked contracts.

• Cultivate relationships with wedding planners, event designers, photographers, florists, caterers, and other industry professionals to drive repeat referrals.

• Conduct site tours, develop custom proposals, and shepherd clients from initial inquiry through contract signing.

• Represent the Mansion at bridal shows, industry mixers, ILEA and MPI chapter events, and select destination wedding showcases.

Cross-Property Revenue Strategy

• Identify and execute creative cross-sell opportunities (rehearsal dinner aboard the train wedding at the Mansion, corporate retreat combining both properties, etc.).

• Partner with marketing on lead generation campaigns, pricing strategy, packaging, and seasonal promotions.

• Maintain accurate forecasting and pipeline reporting; deliver monthly results to leadership with clear-eyed analysis of wins, losses, and pipeline health.

• Travel as needed to call on accounts, attend industry events, and represent both properties at trade shows including ABA Marketplace, ASAE, MPI events, and regional bridal showcases.

Who We're Looking For

This role is built for a hunter, not a farmer. If you wait for leads to come to you, this is the wrong job.

Required Experience

• 5 years of sales experience in hospitality, tourism, attractions, destination weddings, hotel group sales, resort sales, or comparable B2B/B2C event sales role.

• Demonstrated track record of meeting and exceeding revenue quotas, with specific, verifiable results you can speak to (year-over-year growth percentages, total booked revenue, top accounts landed).

• Proven ability to build pipeline from scratch through outbound prospecting — not just inbound conversion.

• Experience selling six-figure contracts and managing complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles.

• Established relationships in the Colorado or Rocky Mountain hospitality, wedding, or corporate event ecosystem strongly preferred.

• Direct experience selling weddings or luxury private events strongly preferred; rail or attraction sales experience a plus but not required.

Skills & Attributes

• Comfortable making cold calls, attending networking events alone, and chasing introductions. Rejection doesn't slow you down.

• Polished, articulate, and credible with high-end clientele — you can sit across from a CEO planning a corporate retreat or a bride's family planning a $100K wedding and earn their trust.

• Sharp commercial instincts: you understand pricing, margin, and contribution — you don't discount your way to a close.

• Exceptional follow-through. Site visits, proposals, and contracts move forward on your timeline, not the client's drift.

• CRM-disciplined. You log activity, manage your pipeline, and forecast accurately.

• Organized enough to juggle 30 active opportunities across two properties without dropping any.

• Strong written communication — your proposals close deals.

What Will Make You Stand Out

• A book of business or relationships you can activate in the first 90 days.

• Industry credentials: CMP, CSEP, CWP, CHSE, or similar.

• Active membership in MPI, ILEA, NACE, ABA, or comparable industry associations.

• Experience launching or scaling a sales function at a small-to-mid-size hospitality property.

• Bilingual (English/Spanish) a plus.

Compensation Package

We are recruiting the best, and we are paying for it. This package is designed for a true performer — strong base, uncapped commission, and meaningful accelerators that reward overperformance.

Base Salary

$65,000 – $75,000 annually, commensurate with experience and book of business.

Commission Structure (Uncapped)

• 3% on group/charter rail bookings (contracted revenue, net of pass-through costs)

• 6% on Royal Gorge Mansion wedding and private event bookings (contracted revenue, net of pass-through vendor costs)

• Commission paid 50% at contract signing with non-refundable deposit, 50% at event execution

Accelerators

• Single bookings over $25,000: commission rate increases by 2 percentage points on that contract (groups → 5%, events → 8%)

• Quota overachievement: commission rates increase by 50% on every dollar booked above 100% of annual quota for the remainder of the year

• Cross-property bookings (single client booking events at both the Mansion and the Railroad): additional 1% override on the smaller of the two contracts

On-Target Earnings

Year-one OTE: $95,000 – $115,000 with strong performance. Top performers should expect to clear $130,000 in years two and three as the pipeline matures.

Additional Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance- 100% paid premiums for staff & their immediate family!

• Paid time off

Required Experience

• 5 years of sales experience in hospitality, tourism, attractions, destination weddings, hotel group sales, resort sales, or comparable B2B/B2C event sales role.

• Demonstrated track record of meeting and exceeding revenue quotas, with specific, verifiable results you can speak to (year-over-year growth percentages, total booked revenue, top accounts landed).

• Proven ability to build pipeline from scratch through outbound prospecting — not just inbound conversion.

• Experience selling six-figure contracts and managing complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles.

• Established relationships in the Colorado or Rocky Mountain hospitality, wedding, or corporate event ecosystem strongly preferred.

• Direct experience selling weddings or luxury private events strongly preferred; rail or attraction sales experience a plus but not required.

Salary : $65,000 - $75,000