Director of Hospitality - Santa Barbara (On-Site)
hace 2 meses
Los Angeles
Job DescriptionDescriptionWe're seeking a Director of Hospitality (also known as Flight Experience Director or Director of Member Experience) to own and operationalize the "Silver Air feeling" across every flight. This isn't about managing transactions: it's about creating consistent, premium moments that make clients feel recognized, not processed. You'll design, coordinate, and measure the complete flight experience - pre-flight preparation, day-of execution, and post-flight follow-up—ensuring that every touchpoint reflects our commitment to excellence, whether clients are flying on our fleet or through partner operators. This role reports to: Leadership Location: Santa Barbara, CA (primarily office-based with occasional FBO/airport presence) What Success Looks Like In this role, you'll know you're succeeding when: • Clients feel the difference. Every interaction—from the greeting at the stairs to the post-flight follow-up—feels personal and intentional, • Consistency at scale. Our crews deliver a predictable, premium first-touch experience across all flights, • Intentional moments. Every flight has at least one thoughtful touchpoint, even if subtle, • Smart partnerships. Off-fleet operators are evaluated through an experience lens, strengthening our vendor relationships, • Creates a retention moat through consistent relationship signals, • Builds brand loyalty through continuity across aircraft, crews, and routes, • Differentiates on felt experience, not just availability and pricing, • Supports community-building through hosted events and experiencesFor Silver Air:, • Reduces reputational risk-one bad greeting can cost more than this role's annual compensation, • Centralizes experience ownership across Retail, Operations, Crew, and external partners, • Increases customer lifetime value through repeat bookings and referrals, • Strengthens broker channel relationships through systematic appreciation, • Review all flights (on-fleet and partner operators) and assign appropriate experience plans, • Coordinate with Retail Sales, Flight Operations, Cabin Crew, and Scheduling teams to execute seamlesslyExperience Standards & Playbook Development, • Build and maintain a tiered touchpoint system (Basic / Elevated / Signature), • Standardize first-touch expectations: greeting protocols, tone, posture, timing, and warmth, • Create repeatable processes that scale without losing the personal touchCrew Training & Development, • Deliver training modules focused on hospitality behaviors and brand presence, • Conduct regular refreshers on "high-consequence moments" and expectations, • Reinforce standards across cabin crew and pilots where applicableClient Intelligence & Personalization, • Maintain detailed preference profiles and special-occasion triggers, • Ensure crews receive concise, actionable client context before every flight, • Turn data into moments that matterBroker & Partner Relations, • Systematize appreciation gestures for broker partners, • Capture and analyze client experience feedback on partner operators, • Provide insights that inform preferred operator strategyService Recovery, • Own experience-related escalations with speed and professionalism, • Resolve issues decisively and follow up to close the loop, • Leadership and Team Management: Proven ability to lead high-performing teams, coach individuals, and foster collaboration., • Trip Coordination and Workflow Management: Experience coordinating schedules and managing workflows to meet tight timelines efficiently., • Private Aviation or Luxury Hospitality Expertise: ONLY candidates with formal hospitality management school certification or a minimum of 2 years’ experience working in a palace or 5-star luxury hotel will be considered. Culinary expertise should align with high-end service expectations, focusing on sophisticated presentation and detailed service coordination., • Training & Development: Ability to design and deliver training programs to onboard and continuously develop team members., • Compliance Knowledge: Familiarity with FlightSafety standards and Part 135 regulations preferred (FACT training will not suffice)., • Communication Skills: Exceptional verbal and written communication for team management, client interactions, and conflict resolution., • Adaptability & Flexibility: Able to work in a fast-paced environment with frequent travel requirements., • Personal Presentation: Impeccable appearance and professionalism, embodying Silver Air’s luxury brand values., • Technical Proficiency: Competent with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams), monday.com for project management, reporting and communication tasks.Core Competencies:, • Luxury hospitality judgment – You have the taste and restraint that defines premium service, • Systems thinking – You build repeatable processes, not just heroic one-off solutions, • Impeccable follow-through – You're calm under pressure and nothing falls through the cracks, • Executive presence – You command respect from both C-suite clients and operational crews, • Discretion – You understand privacy discipline and handle sensitive information with care, • Communication excellence – Your briefs, notes, scripts, and recovery messages are clear and professionalBonus Qualifications:, • Familiarity with aviation operations, • Exposure to FBO or charter ecosystem, • Fully paid for Health Insurance coverage for you and your family, • Generous personal development and employee assistance programs, • 5% matching 401k/Roth, • Cell phone allowance, • Travel insurance, • Pet insurance, • Mental health support, • Work-life balance initiatives, • Wellness Programs, • Competitive salary Please note, our organization is committed to offering competitive and fair compensation packages that are reflective of a candidate's experience, skills, and overall fit with our job qualifications. Specifically, candidates with two plus years of experience, who meet a high percentage of our job qualifications and exhibit excellence in their presentation and flexibility, may be considered for a salary close to the top of our range. This consideration will be adjusted slightly based on any gaps in meeting the full spectrum of qualifications.