Director of Catering & Special Events | Thompson Palm Springs

About the role

The Director of Catering & Special Events leads the strategic direction, revenue generation, and daily operations of the Catering, Events, and Event Planning departments at Thompson Palm Springs Resort. This role is responsible for driving all catering, wedding, special event, and local production business for the resort.

Responsibilities

• Establish Thompson Palm Springs as the leading luxury wedding and social event destination in the Coachella Valley and Southern California.
• Demonstrate advanced financial acumen with responsibility for monthly forecasting, pace analysis, and revenue optimization, consistently identifying opportunities to maximize catering and event profitability while controlling expenses.
• Utilize historical trends, market intelligence, and booking pace to develop accurate forecasts, drive strategic pricing decisions, and ensure achievement of event revenue, profit, and contribution goals.
• Develop and execute innovative sales and marketing strategies that drive weddings, milestone celebrations, corporate retreats, luxury buyouts, brand activations, influencer events, fashion events, film/photo productions, and large-scale experiential programming.
• Cultivate relationships with luxury wedding planners, event designers, production companies, entertainment agencies, destination management companies, and key industry influencers.
• Drive revenue growth across all event segments while maintaining rate integrity and maximizing profitability.
• Partner with ownership and executive leadership to identify new event concepts, unique programming opportunities, and emerging revenue streams.
• Oversee all aspects of event sales, planning, servicing, and execution to ensure flawless guest experiences.
• Evaluate each event opportunity to ensure operational excellence, profitability, and alignment with the Thompson brand.
• Collaborate closely with Culinary, Food & Beverage, Operations, and Revenue Management teams to create distinctive event experiences and innovative menu offerings.
• Lead luxury weddings, multi-day celebrations, welcome receptions, farewell brunches, and destination wedding experiences.
• Drive production business including film shoots, commercial productions, content creation, luxury automotive launches, fashion events, and entertainment industry gatherings.
• Maintain strong relationships with preferred vendors, entertainment partners, floral designers, production companies, audiovisual providers, and event agencies.
• Monitor market trends, competitive activity, and emerging event concepts to continuously elevate the resort’s positioning.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the Event Sales and Planning team while fostering a culture of creativity, accountability, and exceptional service.
• Ensure all events reflect the sophistication, style, and lifestyle ethos synonymous with the Thompson brand.

Qualifications

• Proven success selling and executing luxury weddings, high-end social events, destination celebrations, brand activations, experiential events, and large-scale productions.
• Established network of luxury wedding planners, event designers, production agencies, and entertainment industry contacts throughout Southern California and key feeder markets.
• Experience generating and managing $3-6M+ in annual catering and event revenue within a luxury hotel, resort, or lifestyle hospitality environment.