Commercial Manager - Openings & Transitions

Axiom Hospitality Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hotel discounts

33 days' holiday

Benefits portal

Employee Assistance Line

Wagestream pay access

Xcape stayover annually

Training and progression opportunities

Referral rewards

Service awards

Job summary

Axiom Hospitality, based in London, seeks a Commercial Manager for Openings & Transitions. You will lead the commercial workstream for new openings and transitions across the portfolio, working with owners, brand partners and hotel teams.

This role is based at the London head office with extensive travel and on-site requirements. You’ll mobilise from mobilisation through handover, manage budgets, forecast performance and partner with IT and finance to ensure systems align with reporting needs.

Qualifications

• Broad commercial background spanning sales, marketing and revenue.
• Proven project management experience with multiple workstreams.
• Strong budgets, costs and invoices; ability to report spend to senior stakeholders.
• Experience negotiating and managing supplier, agency and commercial contracts.
• Confidence presenting to owners, investors and senior stakeholders.
• Hands-on on-site approach, solving problems and doing the work.
• Strong analytical and Excel skills for forecasting and data interpretation.
• Willingness to travel extensively to hotels across the portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the commercial project plan for openings and transitions.
• Coordinate with project management, construction and technical teams.
• Secure guest databases, forward bookings, contracts and data for seamless transitions.
• For independents, manage creative agencies and launch marketing plans.
• For branded hotels, lead commercial onboarding with the brand.
• Set up room types, rates, inventory, and load OTAs and distribution partners.
• Ensure commercial systems integrate with accounting and reporting tools.
• Shape sales and revenue strategy, forecast openings and budgets.
• Lead daily/weekly forecast calls with hotel teams during ramp-up.
• Manage budgets, approve invoices, report progress to owners.
• Present plans and results to owners and senior stakeholders.
• Be on site during openings and transitions to support go-live.
• Train hotel teams and deliver a clean handover to the BAU team.
• Leverage digital tools and AI; capture lessons to improve playbooks.

Skills

Broad commercial background

Project management experience

Budgets and invoicing

Supplier and contract management

Stakeholder presentation

On-site problem solving

Analytical and Excel skills

Extensive travel

Job description

Commercial Manager - Openings & Transitions

Axiom Hospitality

Salary: Competitive
Job Type: Permanent
Hours: Full-time
Town: London

Personal enough to know your name. Connected enough to open every door.

Axiom Hospitality is one of the UK's fastest-growing hotel management companies, and we're not slowing down. In a few short years we've grown to over 40 hotels, partnering with some of the world's most recognised brands including Hilton, Marriott, IHG and Radisson, alongside a growing collection of independent hotels. Through our partnership with Pyramid Global Hospitality, we're not only connected across the UK, but connected across the globe.

That growth means something real for you. The people who join us now help shape where we go next, and we have a strong track record of promoting from within. For the right commercial professional, this is a chance to grow with a business that's going places.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Every new hotel that joins Axiom, whether it's a brand-new opening or a hotel transitioning into our portfolio, needs to be commercially ready to trade from day one. To make that happen, we're now recruiting a Commercial Manager – Openings & Transitions, reporting directly to our Chief Commercial & Information Officer.

Based at our London head office, with extensive travel and extended periods on site, you'll lead the commercial workstream for every opening and transition across the portfolio, spanning both branded and independent hotels. With every new hotel passing through your hands, it's a varied, fast-moving role with real visibility to senior stakeholders.

YOUR ROLE

From mobilisation through to handover, you'll be the main commercial point of contact for owners, brand partners and hotel teams. You'll

• Build and own the commercial project plan for each opening and transition, running several projects in parallel and keeping every milestone on track
• Work with project management, construction and technical teams to align commercial milestones with building handover and opening dates
• Secure guest databases, forward bookings, contracts and historical data from owners and outgoing management companies, so guests experience no disruption during transitions
• For independent hotels, help create the commercial identity, appoint and manage creative, web, PR and digital agencies, and launch the website, booking engine and pre-opening marketing plan
• For branded hotels, lead commercial onboarding with the brand, making sure every standard, system and programme is delivered on time
• Set up room types, rates, packages and inventory, and contract and load OTAs, GDS and distribution partners ahead of go-live
• Work with IT and finance to make sure commercial systems integrate correctly with accounting and reporting tools
• Shape the sales and revenue strategy, produce the opening forecast and support the first commercial budget
• Lead daily revenue and weekly forecast calls with hotel teams during ramp-up
• Manage commercial pre-opening and transition budgets, approve invoices and report progress clearly to owners
• Present commercial plans, performance and recommendations confidently to owners and senior stakeholders
• Be on site during opening and transition periods, solving problems quickly and supporting hotel teams through go-live
• Train and coach hotel teams, then deliver a clean, structured handover to our BAU Commercial Team
• Make practical use of digital tools and AI, and capture lessons from every project to keep improving our openings and transitions playbook

WHO WE'RE LOOKING TO MEET

We'd love to hear from commercial professionals who bring:

• A broad commercial background spanning sales, marketing and revenue
• Proven project management experience, running several complex workstreams to fixed deadlines
• Strong understanding of budgets, costs and invoices, and confidence reporting spend to senior stakeholders
• Experience negotiating and managing supplier, agency and commercial contracts
• Confidence building relationships with, and presenting to, owners, investors and senior stakeholders
• A hands‑on approach: comfortable being on site, solving problems and doing the work, not just directing it
• Strong analytical and Excel skills, with the ability to build forecasts and interpret commercial data
• Willingness to travel extensively and spend extended periods at hotels across the portfolio
• Experience of hotel openings, rebrands or transitions, working knowledge of PMS, CRS, channel managers and revenue systems, and experience with branded hotel groups would all be a real advantage

WHO THRIVES HERE

We're growing, and the people who thrive here are those who bring energy, accountability and genuine passion for the industry. These are the behaviours that matter most at Axiom.

Adaptability & resilience: You stay calm through intense opening periods and adjust quickly when dates, priorities or site conditions change.
Collaboration, communication & inclusion: You build trust quickly with owners, brands, construction teams and hotel colleagues. You keep everyone informed with clear, timely updates and create inclusive environments wherever you work.
Accountability & results: You own your opening dates, your budgets and your post‑launch results. You know what commercially ready looks like, and you don't wait to be told when something needs fixing.
Ethics, integrity & values: You manage owner funds, contracts and supplier relationships transparently and responsibly. Honest, consistent and trustworthy, with a genuine commitment to doing things the right way.
Innovation & continuous improvement: You look for better, not just different. Whether it's new digital tools, smarter use of AI or a sharper openings playbook, you make every project run more smoothly than the last.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU

• Hotel discounts across all Axiom Hospitality hotels, with colleague rates and up to 50% off F&B
• 33 days' holiday, including bank holidays
• Discounts across retail, restaurants, events and more through our benefits and rewards portal
• Access to our Employee Assistance Line to support your mental health and wellbeing
• Use of the Wagestream financial wellbeing platform, giving you instant access to your pay
• A complimentary Axiom Xcape stayover every year after one year of service
• A growing team with great training, progression and promotion opportunities
• Referral rewards
• Length of service awards at 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 years, and more!

WE'RE GROWING FAST. WILL YOU?

As our portfolio grows, the right Commercial Manager won't just open hotels. They'll shape how Axiom launches and onboards every hotel that joins us, setting each one up to succeed from its very first booking. If you're ready for your next big challenge, we'd love to hear from you.

BUILT FOR EVERYONE

We're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and has the opportunity to grow. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, identities and experiences. At Axiom Hospitality, we're working to reduce our carbon, energy, water and waste footprint across the portfolio. We strive to be ethical in all we do, building a thriving, sustainable and responsible business for our people, our communities and our planet.

RIGHT TO WORK

You must have the right to work in the United Kingdom to be eligible for this role. Documented evidence of eligibility will be required from all candidates prior to commencing employment.