Director of Reservations

Panhandle Getaways is hiring a Director of Reservations & Guest Experience to lead the reservations and front desk team behind 900+ short-term vacation rentals across Panama City Beach, 30A, Destin, and the Forgotten Coast. We are one of the Top 50 Vacation Rental Property Management Companies in the World per Rentals United, with an A+ BBB rating and 4.7 stars on Google.

About the role

This is a hands-on hospitality leadership role leading a team of 20+ reservations agents and front desk staff. You will own how we hire, train, and develop them, and be responsible for the quality of every guest conversation the department has. You will also lead the reservations side of a new property management system rollout and build our guest conversation tracking and reporting from scratch.

Our Director of Guest Services is your go-to partner, sharing team management, handling escalated guests, and putting out day-to-day fires so you can focus on coaching, quality, and better systems. Expect to be on-site five days a week and, at least initially, spend more than half your time in the queue alongside your team taking guest calls. That shifts as you build supervisor support and raise team capability.

Responsibilities

• Hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance reviews, and termination decisions for 20+ agents across four markets
• Department training curriculum and new hire ramp
• Scheduling, hourly payroll approval, PTO and schedule change approvals, overtime control
• Guest conversation monitoring, tracking, and training
• Guest review analysis, root causing reservations-specific feedback instead of treating symptoms
• Reservations workflows and SOPs through our property management system transition; quarterback automation opportunities and opportunities for improving internal processes
• Guest conversation tracking and reporting build-out
• KPI set-up and reporting to business leadership on speed to answer, call abandonment, response time, booking conversion, guest satisfaction, new hire ramp, and more
• Liaison between reservations and housekeeping, maintenance, owner services, and revenue management

Requirements

• 5+ years in guest support or reservations, with 3+ years leading people
• Vacation rental, travel, or hospitality background; short-term rental strongly preferred
• Ability to keep a frustrated guest calm while holding to company policy
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, comfortable in reservation systems and property management software
• Managed a team across multiple locations
• Built training or QA programs from scratch (a plus)
• Homeowner communication experience, including owner referrals and owner stay changes (a plus)

Benefits

• Work steps from the beautiful beaches of Panama City Beach
• Family-owned and operated business that does not treat employees as just a number; be recognized and rewarded for hard work
• Frequent company gatherings and team-building events
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous 401(k) match
• Paid time off and holidays

Pay

Competitive pay with performance raises (variable based on experience).

Schedule

On-site five days a week, with weekend and holiday availability during peak season.