Why the People Still Come First
When I started in hotel sales in 1993, I was handed a phone and a market flooded with hotels in the middle of a recession. There was no training program. No system telling me where to focus. I had to figure it out by making calls, getting rejected, adjusting, and going again.
That experience shaped everything about how I think about sellers. I know what it feels like to be under-equipped in a tough market. I also know what it feels like when something finally clicks, when you find the right approach, have the right conversation, and realize you’re actually good at this.
Gillis exists, in part, because I never wanted talented people to be left to figure it out alone the way I was.
What we’re building now, the technology, the coaching, the culture, is all in service of that same belief. The next generation of hotel sales professionals needs different skills than the last. Comfort with technology. Curiosity about data. The ability to move fast and still be human in the conversation. Those skills can be developed, but only in an environment that actually invests in people.
We’re proud of what our engagement scores and retention numbers say about our culture. But what we’re most proud of is harder to measure: sellers who came in uncertain and are now running portfolios with confidence. Team members who pushed back on how we were building something and made it better. People who chose to grow their careers here when they had other options.
That doesn’t happen because of technology. It happens because of what surrounds it.
If you’re an experienced hotel sales professional looking for that kind of environment, or you know someone who is, we’d love to talk. Not because we’re hiring for a role, but because we’re building something worth being part of.
Reach out at careers@gillissales.com.
