Business Development Manager (Mergers and Acquisitions)

About the Role

We're looking for a driven, resourceful Business Development (M&A) Associate / Manager to fuel growth in the hospitality space. This is a hands-on, generalist role at the heart of our sourcing engine — you'll take full ownership of a geography, running outreach, keeping your pipeline clean, mapping the market, and partnering closely with Operations to identify and advance acquisition targets. We're looking for someone with a true ownership mentality — someone who treats their market like their own business, knows it inside and out, and drives results without waiting to be told what's next. Prior M&A experience is a big plus. If you love variety, move fast, and want to make a visible impact on a growing business, you'll thrive here.

You'll work across outreach, marketing, events, and data, wearing multiple hats and partnering closely with Operations and key leadership on M&A sourcing. We're especially excited about candidates who bring an experimentation mindset — including using AI tools to work smarter and scale your impact.

Responsibilities

• Business Development & Acquisition Sourcing
  • Take full responsibility for your assigned territory, developing relationships, managing the prospect funnel, and generating new acquisition opportunities.
  • Proactively connect with prospective sellers, property owners, operators, and strategic partners through phone, email, and other outbound channels.
  • Leverage AI-powered platforms such as Claude to research prospects, personalize communications, increase engagement, and make sourcing efforts more efficient.
  • Assist with targeted sourcing campaigns, lead-generation programs, and other business development initiatives as priorities shift.
• Market Research & Opportunity Identification
  • Collaborate with Operations and regional leadership to evaluate target markets, identify potential acquisition candidates, and uncover opportunities within your territory.
  • Monitor competitors, market activity, industry developments, and emerging trends across the hospitality and property management sectors.
  • Develop a strong understanding of your assigned market and use that knowledge to independently identify, evaluate, and prioritize high-value opportunities.
  • Continuously expand your network and market intelligence to strengthen the acquisition pipeline.
• CRM & Pipeline Administration
  • Maintain accurate and reliable CRM records, including prospect information, contact details, activity history, pipeline stages, and follow-up requirements.
  • Build and organize targeted contact databases to support ongoing sourcing and outreach efforts.
  • Consistently record calls, emails, meetings, and other prospect interactions.
  • Track pipeline activity and provide regular reporting on sourcing performance and key business development metrics.
  • Ensure data remains clean, organized, current, and actionable.
• Marketing & Outreach Support
  • Develop and coordinate marketing materials used for management presentations, prospect meetings, and initial acquisition outreach.
  • Support the creation and execution of direct-mail campaigns, managing the process from initial concept and production through distribution.
  • Assist with creative outreach initiatives designed to increase engagement and open conversations with prospective acquisition targets.
• Events & In-Person Engagement
  • Support acquisition meetings, conferences, trade shows, networking events, and other industry gatherings.
  • Coordinate meeting logistics, schedules, presentations, materials, and follow-up activities.
  • Provide hands-on support during in-person meetings and help ensure a professional experience for prospective sellers and business partners.
• Additional Responsibilities
  • Contribute to special projects and strategic initiatives across the Business Development and M&A organization.
  • Adapt to changing business priorities and take ownership of additional responsibilities as needed.
  • Work collaboratively across teams to support broader acquisition and growth objectives.

Requirements

• Ownership mindset: You approach your territory like your own business, take responsibility for results, proactively identify opportunities, and consistently look for ways to move initiatives forward.
• Prospecting experience: Comfortable with cold calling, outbound email, and other forms of direct outreach, with the persistence to build relationships despite initial resistance.
• CRM expertise: Hands-on experience with Salesforce, HubSpot, DealCloud, or similar CRM platforms.
• AI proficiency: Experience applying AI tools to prospect research, outreach personalization, lead generation, workflow improvement, and productivity.
• Industry knowledge: Familiarity with hospitality, lodging, property management, real estate, or related industries.
• Strong communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to build rapport and communicate effectively with a range of stakeholders.
• Highly organized: Detail-oriented with strong follow-through and the ability to manage data, projects, deadlines, and multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Collaborative: Comfortable working with senior operators, regional leadership, and cross-functional teams on acquisition strategy and execution.
• Self-directed: Able to operate independently in a fast-moving environment and remain effective when priorities and responsibilities change.
• Education: College degree preferred, but not required where relevant experience can demonstrate capability.

Preferred Qualifications

• M&A experience: Background in mergers and acquisitions, private equity-backed companies, deal sourcing, corporate development, or transaction-related roles.
• Financial knowledge: Strong understanding of M&A transactions, valuation concepts, financial analysis, and deal fundamentals.
• Multi-unit experience: Experience working within a multi-property, multi-unit, or geographically distributed organization.
• Public speaking: Experience participating in conferences, podcasts, panels, industry events, or other public-facing opportunities.
• Hospitality background: Current or recent experience within the hospitality, lodging, property management, or related sectors.
• Creative sourcing ability: Demonstrated success using data, technology, research, and innovative outreach strategies to establish relationships and create new business or acquisition opportunities.