Project Manager – Hospitality

Pastimes, Inc.; Elk Grove Village (IL); On-site; USD 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses based on event performance

401K with match

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Pastimes, Inc. is seeking a high-energy events professional to coordinate large-scale gaming conventions from venue selection to VIP experiences.

You will scout convention centers, negotiate contracts, and ensure venues meet our needs for events like MagicCon, Gen Con, PAX, and standalone tournaments. You’ll manage hotels, travel, catering, and VIP services for staff and attendees, keep budgets on track, and work with AV and vendors to deliver flawless logistics across the country.

Qualifications

• 2-5 years in event project management or venue management.
• Negotiated venue and hotel contracts previously.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Willing to travel about 25% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Find and book venues across the country that can handle our events.
• Negotiate contracts that work for both sides and visit potential venues.
• Coordinate floors plans, power, internet setup and logistics with teams.
• Manage hotels, travel, and ground transportation for staff and VIPs.
• Coordinate catering and VIP experiences within budget and schedule.
• Build vendor relationships and compare quotes from AV, catering, and transport.
• Create and track budgets, deposits, payments, and final invoices.
• Keep contracts and logistics organized and be the go-to for venue/vendor questions.
• Work with operations, marketing, and event teams to avoid gaps during multi-event timelines.

Skills

Event coordination

Negotiation

Budget tracking

Communication

Project management tools

Travel coordination

Attention to detail

Schedule management

Discord/Slack/Teams

Travel willingness 25%

Tools

Discord

Slack

Teams

Job description

We’re looking for someone who gets excited about making large-scale gaming events happen smoothly. In this role, you’ll manage travel logistics, hotel accommodations, catering, and VIP experiences for staff and attendees at international trading card game (TCG) and tabletop events. You’ll be the person finding awesome venues, negotiating hotel deals, and making sure everyone gets where they need to be for events such as MagicCon, Disney Lorcana Challenges, Riftbound Regionals, Gen Con, PAX, and our own standalone tournaments.

If you love the satisfaction of juggling multiple moving pieces, negotiating great contracts, and seeing thousands of happy gamers enjoying events you helped create, this could be a great fit.

Your Day-to-Day

Finding and Booking Venues

• Scout out convention centers and event spaces across the country that can handle our events
• Negotiate contracts that work for both sides (you’ll get good at this!)
• Visit potential venues to make sure they’ll actually work for what we need
• Work with venue and internal teams on floor plans, power needs, internet setup, and all those critical details

Managing Hotels and Travel

• Negotiate room blocks for our staff, special guests, and VIPs
• Handle hotel contracts and make sure we’re not getting stuck with bad terms
• Coordinate flights, hotels, and ground transportation for everyone who needs it
• Keep track of who’s staying where and make sure check-ins go smoothly

Coordinating Catering and VIP Experiences

• Arrange catering for staff, special guests, and VIP attendees at events
• Create and manage VIP hospitality experiences that make guests feel valued
• Work with vendors to ensure quality food service that fits our budget and schedule

Working with Vendors

• Build relationships with AV companies, caterers, transportation providers, and other vendors
• Get quotes, compare options, and negotiate pricing that makes sense
• Make sure everyone delivers what they promised, when they promised it

Keeping Track of the Budget

• Create and manage budgets for each event’s venue, hotel, and travel costs
• Track deposits, payments, and final invoices (someone’s gotta do it!)
• Keep management in the loop on how we’re doing against budget

Staying Organized

• Juggle timelines for multiple events happening at the same time
• Work with our operations, marketing, and event teams to make sure nothing falls through the cracks
• Keep all your contracts, agreements, floor plans, and logistics organized (future you will thank present you)
• Be the go-to person when venues, hotels, or vendors need answers

What You'll Need

Must-Haves

• 2-5 years doing event project management, conference planning, or venue management
• You’ve negotiated venue and hotel contracts before
• Strong organizational skills because you’ll be managing several events at once
• Great communication skills, both written and in person
• Comfortable with project management tools and spreadsheets
• Proficiency with online communication tools (Discord, Slack, Teams)
• Willing to travel about 25% of the time for site visits and events
• Detail-oriented and reliable with deadlines (no “I’ll get to it eventually” types, please)

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with gaming conventions, comic cons, or similar fan events
• Existing relationships with convention centers or hotels in major cities
• Experience managing budgets over $100K

What We Offer

• Salary: $40,000 – $55,000 depending on your experience
• Bonuses based on event performance
• The chance to work on events that thousands of people genuinely love
• Travel to cool convention cities (we cover all your expenses)
• A team that actually works together and cares about what we’re building
• Room to grow your skills in event management and negotiation
• 401K with match, company discounts and more
• Relocation assistance available

Where You'll Work

Location: We’d love to have you in our Elk Grove Village, IL office, but we’re open to flexibility for someone who’s the right fit.

Travel: Expect to travel about 25% of the time for site visits and events. Convention travel is part of the deal (but again, we cover everything).

Schedule: Normal business hours most of the time, with flexibility needed during events..

Pastimes provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States.

Copyright 2026 Pastimes, Inc. All Rights Reserved.