Director of Gust Experience

About the role

Nine Orchard is a 113-room hotel in the restored 1912 bank building at the corner of Canal and Orchard on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Our guests come from every walk of life and every corner of the world, and they choose the Lower East Side for a reason. They notice everything.

The Director of Guest Experience is responsible for ensuring that every interaction with Nine Orchard reflects the hotel's distinctive character, warmth, and commitment to exceptional service. This is a guest-centric leadership role focused on creating a consistent, memorable experience from pre-arrival through departure — and ensuring that our service standards are not simply established but lived every day.

You will own the hotel's guest experience strategy, service culture, and guest satisfaction results. You will be highly visible throughout the property, working directly with department leaders and frontline teams to identify opportunities, coach in the moment, resolve service challenges, and continuously elevate the Nine Orchard experience.

We are looking for a passionate hospitality leader who understands that exceptional service is created through details, accountability, training, and genuine care for the guest. Reports to the hotel's

What you'll ownArrival and guest experience

• Own the overall guest experience strategy across the hotel, ensuring every touchpoint reflects the Nine Orchard standard
• Take ownership of guest satisfaction scores, online reviews, service metrics, and guest feedback, using reporting, data and trends to identify opportunities for improvement
• Establish clear service standards and ensure consistent execution across all guest-facing departments
• Develop and maintain a culture of genuine hospitality, anticipation, recognition, and personalized service
• Lead guest recovery efforts and ensure service issues are addressed quickly, thoughtfully, and with appropriate follow-through
• Curate and continuously evolve the Nine Orchard guest experience, identifying opportunities to create memorable and unexpected moments
• Develop strategies for VIPs, repeat guests, special occasions, and high-profile clientele with a focus on discretion, personalization, and attention to detail

• Establish and manage a vendor concierge program that rigorously vets new establishments for brand fit, while cultivating and maintaining exclusive relationships with sought-after, hard-to-access restaurants, clubs, and venues to secure priority access and amenities for guestsLeadership and accountability

• Own the hotel's ongoing service training program and ensure guest-facing teams receive consistent, meaningful, and practical training
• Create and facilitate service training focused on luxury hospitality, guest engagement, communication, recovery, and personalization
• Coach leaders and frontline associates in real time and reinforce expectations through daily interactions
• Partner with department heads to identify service gaps and develop targeted training and development plans
• Establish accountability around service standards and ensure training translates into measurable improvements in guest satisfaction
• Build a culture where every associate understands their role in creating the Nine Orchard experience

Operations

• Map and continuously evaluate the guest journey from pre-arrival through departure and post-stay engagement
• Identify friction points and implement solutions that improve the overall guest experience
• Partner with Front Office and Reservations to ensure pre-arrival communication, special requests, VIP preparation, and guest recognition are executed flawlessly
• Collaborate with Housekeeping, F&B, Engineering, and other operational leaders to ensure seamless service handoffs
• Monitor guest feedback platforms and ensure timely, personalized responses and follow-up
• Develop and implement initiatives that differentiate Nine Orchard within the luxury and lifestyle hotel market

Who we're looking forRequired

• 5+ years of luxury, lifestyle, or high-end hospitality experience, with demonstrated leadership responsibility
• Proven experience leading guest experience, service excellence, quality assurance, front office, or hotel operations
• A demonstrated track record of improving guest satisfaction scores and service performance
• Strong understanding of luxury hospitality standards and the ability to translate those standards into practical behaviors
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to connect naturally with guests and associates at every level
• A visible, floor-first leadership style — you lead by example and are comfortable being present where the guest experience happens
• Strong coaching and training skills with the ability to hold people accountable while maintaining a positive and collaborative culture
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to identify patterns and opportunities within guest feedback and operational data
• Calm, polished, and discreet when working with high-profile and discerning guests

Preferred

• New York City luxury or lifestyle hotel experience
• Background with boutique, design-led, independent, or culturally relevant hospitality brands
• Experience with Forbes Travel Guide, LQA, AAA, or comparable luxury service standards
• Experience developing and implementing hotel-wide service training programs
• Experience managing guest satisfaction platforms, reputation management, and service recovery programs
• Strong understanding of contemporary luxury hospitality and the expectations of a discerning, globally diverse clientele

What we expect in the first 12 months

• Establish a clear and measurable Nine Orchard service standard across all guest-facing departments
• Create and implement a consistent hotel-wide guest experience and service training program
• Take ownership of guest satisfaction scores and establish clear accountability for improvement
• Deliver measurable improvement in guest satisfaction, online reputation, and service recovery
• Establish a consistent process for identifying, communicating, and resolving recurring guest experience issues
• Develop a strong culture of guest recognition and personalized service
• Build meaningful partnerships with department leaders and create shared accountability for the guest experience
• Develop and continuously refine signature Nine Orchard guest experiences that make the hotel memorable and distinct

Compensation and benefits

• Base salary: $110,000–$130,000, commensurate with experience
• Annual bonus
• Unlimited PTO
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• Supplemental coverage options (life, disability, accident, critical illness)

About MML Hospitality

MML Hospitality operates a portfolio of culturally relevant hotels and restaurants including Hotel Saint Vincent (New Orleans) and Nine Orchard (New York), along with the food and beverage operations at The Driskill and The Proper in Austin — with two new properties and membership clubs opening in 2027. We are an equal opportunity employer and consider all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

More detail about 9 Orchard part of MML Hospitality, please visit https://culinaryagents.com/entities/627438-9-Orchard-