IT Director - Hospitality

Overview / Basic Function

The IT Director - Hospitality is the senior technology leader for Nexplay's hotel clients. This person serves as the trusted, client-facing IT Director for each property, owning technology strategy, operations, security, budgets and vendor relationships from day one.

This is not a development role. We are looking for an established hotel IT Director who has already carried full Director-level accountability and can step into demanding properties without a ramp-up period.

Our clients are hotel owners, asset managers, General Managers and brand executives with very high expectations. The right candidate pairs deep hotel technology expertise with a polished, warm, and highly personable presence, and communicates with clarity and confidence at every level.
Minimum Requirements (Non-Negotiable)

Applicants who do not meet every requirement below will not be considered.

• Hotel IT experience: at least 5 years of IT experience inside hotels, resorts, or a hotel management company.
• Proven Director-level tenure: at least 3 of those years holding the title and full scope of Director of IT (property, cluster, area, or corporate level). IT Manager, Systems Manager, or Assistant Director experience alone does not qualify.
• Director-level ownership: direct accountability for an IT budget (CAPEX and OPEX), vendor contracts, staff or contractor oversight, and reporting to a General Manager, owner, or executive team.
• Hotel systems expertise: hands-on ownership of a hotel PMS (Oracle OPERA / OPERA Cloud or equivalent), POS, guest Wi-Fi (HSIA), door lock, telephony, and in-room technology environments.
• Hotel openings: led the IT workstream for at least one new hotel opening, from pre-opening planning and systems selection through installation, go-live, and handover to operations.
• Brand standards: experience working within the IT standards and audits of at least one major hotel brand (e.g., Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, IHG).
• Payment security: working knowledge of PCI DSS compliance in a hotel environment.
• Communication: exceptional spoken and written English. Must explain technical matters clearly and confidently to owners, executives, and non-technical staff, both in person and in writing.
• References: able to provide professional references who can confirm Director-level responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Client leadership: Act as the IT Director for assigned hotel clients.
• • Serve as the primary technology advisor to owners, asset managers, General Managers, and department heads
  • Lead regular client meetings, Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), and annual technology planning sessions
  • Manage expectations of demanding, high-touch stakeholders with professionalism, patience, and tact
• Technology strategy and budgeting: Own each property's technology roadmap.
• • Build and present annual CAPEX and OPEX budgets and multi-year lifecycle plans
  • Recommend and justify technology investments in clear business terms
  • Plan and lead technology for hotel openings, conversions, renovations, and brand PIPs
• Hotel systems operations: Ensure guest-facing and back-of-house systems are reliable.
• • Oversee PMS, POS, sales and catering, HSIA, door locks, PBX/telephony, IPTV, and interfaces between them
  • Own escalation for critical outages and coordinate resolution with Nexplay teams and vendors
  • Maintain documentation, network diagrams, and system inventories for each property
• Security and compliance: Protect guest data and the property's reputation.
• • Lead PCI DSS compliance efforts and brand IT audits
  • Direct incident response for security events, including guest-facing fraud and phishing campaigns
  • Drive staff security awareness, access control, and MFA across hotel systems
• Vendor and contract management: Hold vendors accountable.
• • Manage relationships and contracts with PMS, POS, telecom, HSIA, and other hotel technology providers
  • Negotiate renewals and evaluate new solutions
• Team leadership: Direct Nexplay field and support resources assigned to client properties, setting priorities and standards of service.

Professional Responsibilities and Personal Attributes

• Highly personable: warm, approachable, and genuinely likeable; builds trust and rapport quickly with executives and line staff alike.
• Executive presence: polished, composed, and credible in front of owners and senior leadership.
• Clear communicator: expresses ideas clearly, concisely, and confidently, and adapts the message to the audience.
• Calm under pressure: stays gracious and solution-focused with demanding, high-maintenance clients and during critical incidents.
• Service mindset: hospitality-minded; treats every client interaction as part of the guest experience.
• Ownership: takes initiative, follows through without reminders, and owns outcomes end to end.
• Discretion: handles guest data, client finances, and sensitive matters with confidentiality and integrity.
• Documentation: documents processes and decisions diligently for consistency and scalability.

Qualifications

Experience: Minimum 5 years of hotel IT experience, including at least 3 years as Director of IT with full Director-level scope (see Minimum Requirements), and IT leadership of at least one new hotel opening. Multi-property, cluster, or management company experience strongly preferred. Experience in or with an IT managed service provider (MSP) is a plus.

Education: Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Hospitality Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent Director-level experience considered.

Technical Skills:

• Hotel systems: Oracle OPERA / OPERA Cloud, Micros Simphony or Agilysys POS, Delphi or equivalent sales and catering, door lock systems (e.g., ASSA ABLOY / VingCard, dormakaba), PBX/VoIP and call accounting
• Infrastructure: enterprise networking, firewalls, wireless/HSIA, VLAN segmentation, and guest network design
• Cloud and productivity: Microsoft 365 and Entra ID administration
• Security: PCI DSS, endpoint protection, MFA, phishing defense, and incident response

Certifications (preferred): HFTP CHTP, CISSP, CISM, ITIL, or equivalent.

Language: Must speak, read, and write English fluently and professionally, including client-facing presentations and correspondence.

Other: Valid driver's license and reliable transportation to travel between client properties in the Los Angeles area; availability for after-hours escalations for critical incidents.
How to Apply

With your resume, include a short cover letter that lists:

1. Each hotel or company where you held the title of Director of IT, with dates.
2. The number and type of properties you were responsible for.
3. The size of the IT budget you owned and the systems you managed.
4. Each hotel opening you led IT for, with the property name, opening date, and your role.

Applications without this information will not be reviewed. This role is for an experienced hotel IT Director; it is not suited to candidates seeking their first Director-level position.