We're Sonesta International Hotels.The 8th largest hotel company in the U.S.-and growing fast.
An epic blend of full-service and focused hotels in major cities, Sonesta's uniquely diverse portfolio of owned, managed, and franchised properties makes us everywhere you want to be. Driven by the human side of hospitality, we deliver service with passion, loyalty with purpose, and experiences that truly connect.
Together We Thrive-bringing quality, value, and amazing hospitality to every guest, every stay, across 1000+ properties in eight countries and counting.
Job Description Summary The Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives is responsible for leading the development of data-driven business cases, enterprise analytics, and strategic solutioning to support key initiatives across the organization. This role serves as a core function within the Strategic Planning Office (SPO), ensuring all initiatives are grounded in clear financial outcomes, revenue uplift opportunities, and operational feasibility.
A key focus of this role is identifying and quantifying revenue and net margin growth opportunities, while helping to simplify and strengthen the franchise and managed value proposition, and overall enterprise offering. This includes evaluating partnership strategies and developing integrated, "Hotel In-A-Box" solutions that enhance both managed and franchise performance and bottom line profitability.
Job Description Essential Duties and Responsibilities Business Case Development & Financial Analysis - Lead end-to-end business case development for strategic initiatives within the SPO pipeline in partnership with the business owners/sponsors.
- Build financial models that quantify:
- Revenue uplift and/or Cost Savings (RevPAR, ADR, occupancy, ancillary revenue)
- Ensure business partner goals and objectives are met or exceeded
- Documented and Measurable m argin improvement and cost efficiencies
- Distribution and channel impact
- Operational and resource implications
- Apply standardized financial methodologies (ROI, payback, NPV, IRR, sensitivity analysis)
- Ensure all initiatives are supported by clear, defensible, and data-backed business cases prior to approval
- Continuously refine business case frameworks to improve consistency and decision quality
- Other projects and duties as needed.
Revenue Uplift and Cost Reduction - Identification & Commercial Opportunity Analysis - Identify and quantify incremental revenue opportunities across the portfolio, including:
- Pricing and revenue management optimization
- Distribution and channel mix improvements
- Ancillary revenue and upsell opportunities
- Digital conversion and guest experience enhancements
- Translate opportunities into actionable initiatives with measurable financial impact
- Partner with Commercial, Revenue Management, and Digital teams to validate and scale opportunities
Franchise Value Proposition & Offering Simplification - Support efforts to simplify and strengthen the franchise offering, ensuring clarity, consistency, and value for owners
- Evaluate current programs, platforms, and requirements to identify opportunities to:
- Improve alignment across managed and franchise environments
- Enhance owner value and ease of adoption
- Develop business cases and recommendations that support a more cohesive, scalable, and competitive franchise model
- Contribute to defining a clearer "enterprise offering" that integrates technology, commercial capabilities, and operational support
Business Analytics & Performance Modeling - Develop and maintain analytical models to support business case development and performance tracking
- Aggregate and normalize data from PMS, CRS, financial systems, and digital platforms
- Build reporting tools and dashboards to track:
- Revenue performance and trends
- Channel mix and cost of acquisition
- Translate data into clear insights and strategic recommendations
Partnership Strategy & Integrated Solution Development - Evaluate and support partnership strategies across technology, distribution, and service providers
- Develop business cases that reflect integrated, end-to-end solutions, not just standalone vendor decisions
- Identify opportunities to drive value through:
- Cross-platform integrations
- Strategic partnerships that enhance the overall offering
- Ensure solutions are scalable, operationally viable , and aligned with enterprise architecture
Strategic Initiative Support - Support evaluation, prioritization, and structuring of enterprise initiatives
- Develop initiative charters outlining scope, objectives , timelines, and expected outcomes
- Conduct research and analysis to support broader strategic planning efforts
- Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure alignment and execution
Partnership & Solution Evaluation - Lead analytical evaluation of vendors, platforms, and solutions
- Conduct comparative analysis including financial impact , scalability, and operational fit
- Support structured discovery and requirements definition prior to RFP
Performance Measurement & Reporting - Define and track KPIs tied to business case assumptions
- Monitor performance against projected outcomes and identify variances
- Provide recommendations for optimization, scaling, or discontinuation
Qualifications Education and Experience - Bachelor's degree in Business , Finance, IT, Hospitality, or related field required
- 4-6+ years of experience in strategy, consulting, analytics, revenue management, IT, or hospitality related roles
- Hospitality industry experience strongly preferred
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities - Advanced financial modeling and business case development expertise
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
- Understanding of hospitality franchised and managed operations, technology, commercial drivers, and distribution channels
- Experience evaluating partnerships and integrated solutions
- Ability to think holistically about enterprise offerings and owner value
- Strong communication and presentation skills
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a cross-functional environment
Additional Information - This role is part of the Strategic Planning Office (SPO), the centralized function responsible for evaluating and prioritizing enterprise initiatives
- The role requires strong ownership of business case development, revenue opportunity identification, and strategic solutioning
- Success is measured by the quality of business cases, identification of revenue opportunities, and ability to simplify and strengthen the enterprise and franchise offering
Additional Job Information/Anticipated Pay Range Pay Range: $85k - $110k. Base pay offer may vary depending on various factors, including but not limited to job related knowledge, skills and job specific overall experience.
Benefits Sonesta recognizes that benefits play a vital role in helping ensure the health and financial security of employees and their families. We offer a variety of benefits to our employees including:
- Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
- Health Savings Account with Company Match
- 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
- Paid Vacation and Sick Days
- Sonesta Hotel Discounts
- Educational Assistance
- Paid Parental Leave
- Company Paid Life Insurance
- Company Paid Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance
- Various Employee Perks and Discounts
- Hospital Indemnity
- Critical Illness Insurance
- Accident Insurance
Sonesta is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Upon submitting your application, please ensure you complete a full application in addition to attaching a resume. Incomplete applications received will not be considered.