Senior Vice President of Hospitality
19 hours ago
Denver
Job Title: Senior Vice President of Hospitality About Urban Villages Urban Villages Inc. (UV) is a mission-driven real estate development and management company committed to creating sustainable and impactful properties. We believe in harmonizing planet with profit and delivering remarkable outcomes through innovative solutions. Our team thrives on being problem solvers and innovators, demanding rigor in all we do to deliver significant impact. Urban Villages has acquired, developed, and managed over $3 billion in transformative mixed-use real estate assets in multiple markets. Our portfolio of projects includes the revitalization of Denver's original main street (Larimer Square), the first carbon-positive hotels in the US (Populus Denver and Populus Seattle), and one of the largest adaptive re-use LEED Platinum developments in the country (RailSpur Seattle). Our projects are among the most environmentally transformative, socially responsible, and financially sustainable developments seen in the industry today. Populus is a new, generation-defining hospitality brand founded on the principle that our buildings and operations can be a force for good. As a hotel brand rooted in a reverence for nature, Populus provides a model of conscious hospitality, where every choice is thoughtful and intentional. Role Description Urban Villages is seeking an entrepreneurial, strategic, and inspiring Senior Vice President of Hospitality to be the internal champion and brand leader for Populus Hotels. This is a hands-on corporate leadership role focused on building Populus’s intellectual property, codifying brand standards, developing and implementing systems that facilitate growth, and driving portfolio performance. This leader will act as the primary owner's representative, partnering with our third-party operator and asset manager to ensure the Populus brand’s standards are flawlessly executed. You will be the internal expert who defines “what right looks like" and holds our partners accountable for delivering on that vision, operationally and financially. This role will have operational and strategic responsibilities at both Populus Denver and Populus Seattle locations and will build UV’s corporate playbook for future properties. Measures of Success • Entrepreneurial Builder: You thrive in a start-up environment and possess the bravery to build the structures, systems, and processes that create clarity, drive efficiency, and form the foundations of operational excellence., • Brand-First Hotelier: You are a "hotelier's hotelier" who understands that operational excellence is the brand, who lives and breathes the details of a luxury guest experience, and can codify that magic into trainable, scalable standards., • Rigorous Partner: You are an expert in holding partners accountable and use data—financial, operational, and guest feedback—to ensure the brand promise is being delivered, challenge assumptions, and drive superior performance., • Culture Champion: You understand a brand is built through its people, champion our mission of conscious hospitality, and inspire our partners to translate brand values into the daily employee and guest experience. Key Responsibilities Brand IP & Systems Creation • Lead the creation, codification, and publication of all proprietary Populus Hotels brand standards, service manuals, company culture narratives, and other intellectual property., • Develop and introduce scalable systems, tools, and processes for all hotel functions, creating operational best practices for implementation across the portfolio., • Collaborate with external consultants, agencies, and internal teams to develop and finalize all brand IP., • Define the Populus "People & Culture" platform and develop the training tools and service standards that ensure every employee embodies the Populus brand and mission. Owner Oversight & Performance • Serve as the primary owner's representative for the Populus portfolio, partnering with and providing strategic oversight to the on-site management team to drive operational excellence and optimize financial performance., • Provide intensive, hands-on owner-level oversight for Populus Denver, and strategic brand-level oversight for Populus Seattle., • Conduct rigorous, ongoing reviews of financial and operational performance (P&Ls, RevPAR, etc.), challenging the management team on variances and holding them accountable for results., • Lead the Owner's review and approval of the Annual Business Plan, Operating Budget, and all capital expenditure (CapEx) plans, ensuring alignment with Urban Villages' financial targets and brand standards., • Monitor all aspects of hotel operations—including F&B, Housekeeping, and Facilities—through regular inspections and data analysis to ensure compliance with brand standards and the management agreement. Environmental Stewardship • Champion the Populus carbon-positive mission across the portfolio, holding the management team accountable for ensuring all operational practices—from F&B sourcing to waste management—align with our commitment to environmental stewardship., • Maintain a constant curiosity for new ideas and practices in sustainable hospitality, identifying opportunities for Populus to innovate and remain a global leader. Growth & Corporate Strategy • Partner with the Urban Villages executive and development teams, serving as the primary hospitality expert to provide strategic input for portfolio growth., • Dissect and memorialize lessons learned from the first two locations, integrating these findings into the brand's development standards and pre-opening processes for future properties. Qualifications • Experience: 10-15+ years of progressive leadership experience in best-in-class hospitality operations., • Operational Depth: Previous multi-department, senior and/or executive leadership experience at high-end, independent, and lifestyle hotels., • Brand & Systems Building: Proven experience building and implementing hotel brand standards, service culture programs, and scalable operating systems., • Owner's Representative Experience: Corporate-level experience in hospitality asset management or owner's representation., • Partnerships: Deep understanding of hotel management agreements, P&L levers, and the contractual levers to hold operational partners accountable., • Financial Acumen: Expert-level P&L management, budgeting, forecasting, and cost-control skills, and a proven track record of rigorously managing margins and driving profitability., • Entrepreneurial Mindset: Proactive, innovative, and solutions-oriented leadership in dynamic, high-growth, and/or start-up environments., • Mission Alignment: Genuine commitment to sustainability and passion for operationalizing UV’s carbon-positive mission., • Education: Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in Hospitality preferred. Compensation & Benefits The expected salary range for this position is $225-275K plus bonus opportunity. Full-time employee benefits include: • Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, • Short-term and long-term disability, • 401k retirement plan, • Flex time off and paid holidays, • Medical and parental extended leave, • Company-wide volunteer days, • Public transit pass Application Process Candidates should an email to with “SVP of Hospitality” in the subject line and include an up-to-date resume and cover letter. Qualified candidates will be contacted directly. Equal Opportunity Urban Villages is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.