Director of Sales

Access Your Potential.
Join us to create and deliver experiences that inspire people, spark connection, and bring imagination to life—while having a lot of fun doing it.

We’re seeking a hospitality-focused, relationship-driven Director of Sales to drive growth across California and the broader West Coast. This high-impact leadership role is ideal for a sales executive who thrives in complex markets, excels at building elite hotel and client partnerships, and knows how to lead high-performing teams in competitive, experience-driven destinations.

About the Job
The Director of Sales (DOS) is responsible for setting the strategic direction and leading the Sales team to meet and exceed revenue goals across the West Coast. This is achieved through thoughtful sales strategy, strong leadership, and hands-on coaching to ensure consistent execution.

The DOS serves as the undisputed destination and market expert, deeply immersed in California and West Coast hospitality landscapes, with strong knowledge of hotel partners, venues, and industry relationships. This role works closely with Managing Directors and cross-functional partners to ensure alignment, performance, and long-term growth.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own and drive the West Coast relationship management strategy, building executive-level partnerships with key clients, hotels, and industry partners aligned to long-term growth.

• Advise the sales team on complex client needs, translating insights into customized solutions and best-in-class discovery practices.

• Set the standard for client communication across the territory, stepping into high-stakes or critical conversations as needed.

• Set and refine the overarching sales strategy for California and the West Coast, aligning with national objectives and market-specific opportunities.

• Develop and oversee lead generation, qualification, and pipeline strategy, ensuring efficiency and accountability across the team.

• Define proposal development standards and personally engage in enterprise-level or strategic opportunities to secure key wins.

• Collaborate closely with Managing Directors, Events, Creative, and cross-territory DOS and ADOS partners to ensure consistency and best practices.

• Represent Access at high-profile industry events, client activations, and conferences to strengthen market presence and uncover growth opportunities.

• Serve as the top destination ambassador for California and West Coast markets, ensuring the sales team is equipped with strong destination knowledge and positioning.

• Champion best practices for communicating destination offerings, experiences, and vendor partnerships.

• Build and maintain senior-level relationships with key partners to secure preferred access, insights, and competitive advantages.

• Set the overall strategy for prospecting, pipeline development, and account growth across the West Coast.

• Drive closing strategy by coaching the team on win-rate improvement and personally leading strategic or enterprise deals.

• Establish strategic direction for FAMs and hotel partner events, ensuring alignment with Access priorities and senior-level relationships.

• Define and monitor pipeline KPIs, adjusting strategy and coaching as needed to ensure sustainable growth.

• Define negotiation standards and frameworks to ensure consistency, profitability, and risk mitigation.

• Lead or support negotiations for enterprise-level and strategically critical opportunities.

• Partner with National, Events, and Creative teams to ensure smooth execution and client satisfaction.

• Oversee Salesforce data quality, pipeline health, forecasting, and reporting across the territory.

• Leverage dashboards and analytics to identify trends, risks, and opportunities and inform strategic decisions.

• Own the West Coast sales forecast and partner with other Territory Directors and executive leadership to assess national performance and revenue outlook.

• Mentor, inspire, and coach sales leaders and sellers to exceed individual and team revenue goals.

• Lead hiring, onboarding, and development to build and sustain a high-performing West Coast sales team.

• Establish ongoing training and performance benchmarks aligned with Access objectives and market demands.

• Consistently embody and reinforce Access Values: Imagine First, Demand Integrity, Embody Excellence, Always Collaborate, Service Obsession

About You
You’re a hospitality-first sales leader with deep West Coast market credibility. You balance strategic thinking with emotional intelligence, know how to coach teams through complex sales cycles, and bring a strong presence to client, hotel, and partner relationships. You’re energized by growth, collaboration, and representing a premium brand in competitive markets.

Must-Haves

• 10+ years of sales experience in DMC, events, or hospitality

• 3+ years of sales leadership with a track record of team growth and coaching

• Strong knowledge of and relationships within the [local hotel/market ecosystem]

• Salesforce fluency: pipeline management, forecasting, and reporting

• Confidence in client-facing roles, especially with hotel GMs and executives

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience scaling or expanding sales across multiple West Coast markets

• Familiarity with highly competitive destinations (LA, San Diego, Bay Area, Napa, Palm Springs, Seattle, etc.)

• Warm, collaborative leadership style with high accountability

Work Environment

• Location: San Diego

• Hybrid: Regular in-person engagement with clients, hotel partners, and team members

• Travel: Regional travel as needed to support clients, partners, and programs

Why Access?
CULTURE & EXTRAS

• Certified as a Great Place to Work – 3 years in a row and counting!

• 50+ years in the industry!

• Women-owned and women-led

• Fun, creative, and supportive culture

• Focus on recognition and employee value – including annual and quarterly awards

• Paid day off to serve your local community

• Annual all-company retreat to connect, learn, and have fun together

• Annual qualifier-based incentive trip for top performers (certain departments eligible)

• Regional team outings

• Monthly companywide meetings to connect, learn, and celebrate wins

COMPENSATION

• Highly competitive total compensation, including strong base salary and quarterly bonuses

• Very strong performance-based quarterly commission plans

• 401k with company match (eligible after 1 year – up to 4% of salary matched, vested immediately

• Monthly cell phone stipend

WORK LIFE BALANCE

• Work from home opportunities and flexibility (including full home office setup)

• Flexible schedule opportunities

• Generous PTO

• Sick days

• 9 full holidays

• 5 half days off prior to holidays to unplug early

• 2 floating holidays off to be used on holidays of your choice

• ½ day Fridays in July & August (based on achievement of goals)

HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND FAMILY

• Extensive menu of health plans to choose from

• Paid parental leave

• Pet insurance program

• Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Mentorship program

• “Masterclasses” in industry/department-specific topics

• State-of-the-art technology platforms and tools – including training

• Annual and monthly meeting content that focuses on professional development

Ready to ACCESS your next big opportunity? Apply today!

Access is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We are a proud Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected].