Corporate Controller

AARO Hospitality Management LLC; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Health insurance

401(k) (coming soon)

Co-ownership of finance department

Job summary

AARO Hospitality Management LLC, a Houston-based hotel management company, seeks a Corporate Controller to own the accounting function across the managed portfolio. You will shape the finance function, lead a lean team, and ensure accurate financials, owner reporting, and franchise compliance.

You will manage monthly closes, franchise reporting, tax oversight, and cash management, building scalable processes and SOPs as the portfolio grows.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hotel accounting experience overseeing multiple properties.
• Working knowledge of USALI (Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry).
• Experience preparing owner reporting packages for third-party managed hotels.
• Familiarity with franchise reporting for IHG, Hilton, Marriott, and Choice.

Responsibilities

• Monthly Close and Financial Reporting across all hotels, each as a separate legal entity.
• Prepare USALI-compliant financial statements and deliver owner reporting within 20 days of month-end.
• Oversee franchise and brand reporting for IHG, Hilton, Marriott, and Choice; ensure portal submissions.

Skills

Hotel accounting

USALI knowledge

Staff management

Franchise reporting

Multi-state tax experience

Tools

QuickBooks Online

Job description

AARO Hospitality Management is a Houston-based third-party hotel management company operating branded select-service and upscale-select hotels under IHG, Hilton, Marriott, and Choice flags. We currently manage 8 hotels across multiple states totaling approximately $32.5M in managed revenue. We are building a best-in-class platform with an operational turnaround thesis, and we are looking for someone who wants to build with us.

The Role

We are hiring a Corporate Controller to own the accounting function across our managed portfolio and co-own the finance department alongside ownership. This is not a bookkeeping role. Our accounting team handles daily production (AP/AR entry, bank reconciliation, invoice processing). You own the output: accurate financials, clean owner reporting, franchise compliance, and tax oversight across every property.

You will work directly with ownership to build this function the right way, and you will have real influence over how it is structured, staffed, and scaled. This is a ground-floor opportunity to shape how a growing management company runs its books.

What You Own

Monthly Close and Financial Reporting

• Review and QC monthly closes across all hotels, each on its own QuickBooks Online file as a separate legal entity
• Prepare USALI-compliant financial statements for each property
• Deliver monthly owner reporting packages within 20 days of month-end
• Review expenses for proper categorization and lead monthly variance analysis against budget and prior year
• Budget and forecast oversight for all managed properties

Franchise and Brand Reporting

• Manage financial reporting requirements across IHG, Hilton, Marriott, and Choice
• Ensure timely and accurate submission to each brand's reporting portal

Tax and Compliance

• Oversee multi-state occupancy tax, sales tax, and other applicable state and local tax filings
• Coordinate with outside CPAs for annual tax returns and any audit activity
• Maintain internal controls, documentation, and a clean audit trail for every close

Cash Management

• Coordinate owner distributions and management fee calculations
• Onboard newly acquired properties onto AARO's accounting standard, including setup, opening balance cleanup, and cutover from prior management
• Support ownership on underwriting and financial due diligence for new acquisitions

Team Oversight

• Direct and manage our accounting team who handles bookkeeping production
• QC all work product: journal entries, reconciliations, AP/AR accuracy
• Build processes and SOPs as the portfolio grows

What We Are Looking For

Required

• 3+ years of hotel accounting experience, ideally at a management company overseeing multiple properties
• Working knowledge of USALI (Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry)
• Experience preparing owner reporting packages for third-party managed hotels
• Familiarity with franchise reporting for at least two of: IHG, Hilton, Marriott, Choice
• Multi-state occupancy and sales tax experience
• Experience managing or directing bookkeeping or accounting staff

Strongly Preferred

• Experience with select-service and/or upscale-select branded hotels
• Exposure to management fee calculations and owner distribution processes
• Comfort working in a lean, high-growth environment where you are building the function, not inheriting one

Not Required

• Full-service luxury hotel experience

Long-Term Growth

We are hiring for where AARO is going, not just where it is today. As the portfolio grows, this role is designed to grow with it: from owning the close, to building and leading an accounting team, to taking on broader responsibility for treasury, lender and investor reporting, and acquisition underwriting. For the right person, the long-term path leads to CFO. We want someone who wants that trajectory and is ready to earn it by building the foundation first.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary: $85,000 to $105,000 depending on experience
• Paid time off
• Health insurance
• 401(k) (coming soon)
• Co-ownership of the finance department with a clear path into senior finance leadership

About You

You are not looking for a job where you sit inside someone else's system and push buttons. You want to build something. You are detail-oriented but you also see the big picture. You have managed hotel books before, and you know what a clean owner package looks like. You know when a number needs a question rather than a posting. You are comfortable in a small, fast-moving team where your work matters immediately, and you want to grow into a bigger role as the company does.