256 keys at the corner of I-494 and France Avenue. Bloomington ChopHouse, the Surfrider-certified American steakhouse with award-winning wine, $7K dinner buy-out minimums and 95-seat private dining. Olive Lounge and 24-hour Starbucks. Twelve minutes to Mall of America, five to MSP, twenty to downtown Minneapolis. Marcus is hiring a results-oriented leader passionate about hospitality, team development, and community engagement — one whose hotel becomes a pillar in the Bloomington community. Here's what that looks like.
See Role Alignment →The Operator
U.S. News #1 Hotel in Iowa. Business of the Year in nine months. 25% RevPAR growth. 40+ associates mentored into management. $1M+ in activation-driven incremental revenue.
I've built the operating identity at full-service properties twice. At The Warrior Hotel (Autograph Collection), I relaunched three F&B outlets, co-created a 2,000-person community relaunch, and earned #1 Hotel in Iowa within a year. At Hotel Julien Dubuque, Business of the Year in nine months. Both times the job was the same: set the tone, build the team, make the building mean something to the city around it.
Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington is a 256-key full-service hotel anchored by the Bloomington ChopHouse, the Olive Lounge, and a 24-hour Starbucks — situated three minutes from MSP, twelve from Mall of America, and inside one of the most diversified demand markets in the Midwest. Marcus's People Pleasing People philosophy — sixty years of operational excellence built on associates who feel genuinely invested in — is the operating philosophy I've been building for over a decade. Below is a taste of how I'd approach it.
Role Alignment
Marcus is hiring a dynamic, strategic GM who delivers operational excellence and memorable guest experiences while fostering a positive, high-performance culture — measured by financial goals, guest satisfaction, associate engagement, and the hotel's reputation as a pillar in the Bloomington community. Here's how the record lines up.
F&B Leadership
Bloomington ChopHouse is the marquee asset of this property — a Surfrider-certified American steakhouse with $7K dinner buy-outs, 95-seat private dining, and an award-winning wine list. The Olive Lounge and 24-hour Starbucks round out a three-outlet F&B portfolio. I've operated this exact configuration before.
Repositioned three underperforming F&B outlets — a steakhouse, rooftop bar, and bowling lounge. Rebuilt teams, refreshed menus, established new operational systems for each. The steakhouse became the city's destination dinner. F&B became the hotel's strongest community asset. $200K in auxiliary F&B spend from the community relaunch alone.
Rebuilt the three-meal restaurant and cocktail lounge. Launched a sold-out murder mystery dinner at 40% profit margins — 100 guests in costume, period cocktails, fully produced theatrical experience. Orchestrated the hotel's first Culinary Olympics, with teams competing across stations and chef judges. Grew banquet revenue $300K.
The Opportunity
Hilton Bloomington sits at one of the most diversified demand intersections in the Midwest — MSP gateway, Mall of America's 40 million annual visitors, the Edina/Southdale corporate corridor, and downtown Minneapolis twenty minutes north. These are four engines mapped to the property — each proven at comparable full-service hotels I've operated.
Mall of America generates roughly 40 million visits a year — the largest single demand magnet in the Upper Midwest. The opportunity is to convert that traffic from rate-shopping OTA bookers into Hilton Honors direct bookers via differentiated package experiences: ChopHouse dinner add-ons, Anniversary Suite turndowns tied to the Sea Life and Nickelodeon Universe partnerships, complimentary shuttle as a story rather than a feature. At properties I've operated, demand-aggregation packaging like this has consistently outperformed flat OTA discounting on flow-through.
Bloomington/Edina is one of the largest suburban office submarkets in Minnesota; MSP is North America's gateway hub for Delta. The opportunity is to make Hilton Bloomington the default for the Edina-Southdale-Galleria corporate set and the Delta layover-club traveler — through the Executive Lounge as a remote-work anchor, ChopHouse private dining as the city's most reliable client-dinner venue ($600 lunch / $7K buy-out minimums), and a Marcus-led negotiated rate strategy targeting the Top 50 employers within five miles.
Bloomington ChopHouse already has the Surfrider Ocean Friendly designation, the wine program, and the private dining capacity. The opportunity is to position it the way I positioned The Warrior's steakhouse — as a destination where Bloomington and Edina locals come to, not just somewhere hotel guests come through. Recurring "Steak & Sip" wine pairing series. ChopHouse Sunday Brunch as a Mother's Day-caliber weekly ritual. Private dining marketed to the Top 100 corporate accounts I'd be targeting in pillar #2.
There are seven Hilton-family hotels in Bloomington alone. Brand can't be the differentiator. Marcus Magic can be — lived out as a year-round programming calendar (see below) tied to the Vikings season, the Twins season, Twin Cities Pride, the State Fair, Holidazzle, and the steakhouse rhythms. Each activation turns the hotel into the place locals choose first — and turns associates into the people who own the city's best stories. At properties I've operated, this system generated $1M+ in activation-driven revenue and the kind of word-of-mouth no Hilton ad spend can buy.
The Programming
This is how I'd program Hilton Bloomington. Twelve months, each built around the Bloomington ChopHouse, Olive Lounge, the meeting and banquet program, and the Twin Cities calendar — Vikings, Twins, Wild, MOA, Pride, State Fair, Holidazzle, Aquatennial. Every theme ties a tentpole event, an outlet activation, a rooms package, a local partner, and a team recognition moment. Nothing exists in isolation. Each month feeds the next.
Vibe: Wellness anchors the year. "Dry January" zero-proof cocktail menu at Olive Lounge. ChopHouse "Steak Cuts & Wellness" prix-fixe mid-week. "Power Breakfast" series for downtown corporate accounts in the Executive Lounge. Top-100 Edina/Bloomington employer outreach for negotiated rate renewals begins.
Vibe: Steakhouse romance. "Date Night at the ChopHouse" Friday-Saturday packages with suite turndown and ChopHouse private dining. Valentine's Day buy-out reservations open in November and routinely sell out. Wedding lead capture for the spring/summer pipeline kicks into gear with Olive Lounge tasting events.
Vibe: March Madness. State high school basketball tournaments at Target Center bring families to MOA — we package the room/dinner/MOA combo. Big Ten tournament weekend lodging. "Brackets at the Bar" Olive Lounge programming. Spring break packages for the Mall of America surge, with a slight twist: ChopHouse Family Sunday Supper.
Vibe: Twins home opener. "Game Day Gateway" packages — room, ChopHouse pre-game, Target Field shuttle. "First Patio" Olive Lounge seasonal patio reopens. Surfrider Earth Month programming at the ChopHouse leans into the Ocean Friendly designation. Spring wedding tastings every Saturday morning.
Vibe: Peak gifting and group occasion month. ChopHouse Mother's Day Brunch as the city's most reliable booking. "Memorial Day at MOA" family suite packages tied to Nickelodeon Universe. Graduation weekend — U of M, St. Thomas, Bethel, Northwestern. Corporate retreat RFPs close for Q3 booking.
Vibe: Twin Cities Pride is one of the largest in the country (June 27–28, 2026). Hilton Bloomington as a Pride lodging partner with shuttle to Loring Park. ChopHouse "Pride Sunday Supper". Weddings peak — ChopHouse private dining for rehearsal dinners. Father's Day steak-and-cigar packages.
Vibe: Minneapolis Aquatennial — the city's biggest summer festival. ChopHouse "Independence Surf & Turf". "Family at MOA" packages crest. Olive Lounge patio peaks. Convention Center group business windows open for Q4 contract negotiations.
Vibe: Minnesota State Fair (Aug 27–Sept 7). Twelve days of compression. "Fair Weekend" packages — room, ChopHouse fair-inspired tasting menu, fairgrounds shuttle. Vikings preseason home opener. Convention Center hosts major medical and tech conferences. Back-to-school weekend for U of M move-in.
Vibe: Vikings regular season opens. "Game Day at the ChopHouse" private buy-outs for tailgate dinners pre-US Bank Stadium. Fall menu launch leans into Minnesota harvest — local mushroom, wild rice, walleye specials. ChopHouse "Hunter's Table" private dining buy-outs for opening-weekend tradition.
Vibe: "Murder Mystery at the Hilton" — full theatrical dinner buy-out at the ChopHouse, period costume, scripted experience (proven 40% margin format from Hotel Julien). Wild season opens at Xcel Energy. Halloween rooftop programming. Boo-at-the-Mall family packages tied to MOA.
Vibe: Holiday programming opens. ChopHouse "Friendsgiving" private buy-out packages. "Drinksgiving" at Olive Lounge — the biggest social Wednesday of the year. Holidazzle packages launch (Holidazzle 2026 at Loring Park, Nov 27–Dec 22). Corporate holiday party RFPs close.
Vibe: Holiday peak. "12 Nights at the ChopHouse" curated chef tasting series. Mall of America Holidazzle alternative: lobby holiday installations + ChopHouse holiday tasting. New Year's Eve at the ChopHouse — the most reliable steak dinner in the metro. NYE family packages tied to MOA fireworks.
The System
Signature monthly event
ChopHouse, Olive Lounge, Starbucks
Themed package or add-on
Local collaboration
Content moment
Team recognition
In Production Now
This isn't theoretical. Right now I'm executing a year-long programming calendar at Hotel Julien Dubuque built on the same system outlined above.
When the nation's semiquincentennial presented a once-in-250-years opportunity, I didn't wait for a directive. I built a full-year programming calendar — twelve themed months, each anchored by a community partnership and supported by dozens of activations across F&B, events, and guest experience.
The result: a dozen new community partnerships forged in a single year, dozens of new activations that didn't exist before, and a property that went from hosting events to being the cultural anchor of its city.
The Execution
Four consecutive months from the America 250 campaign at Hotel Julien Dubuque. Room promos, daily F&B specials, tentpole events, recurring series — every month a complete system, not a single event.
February: Love & Freedom
March: Prohibition & Progress
April: Art & Music
May: Heroes of Service
Proof of Work
In 2024, I took the helm at Hotel Julien Dubuque — Iowa's oldest hotel — while simultaneously retained as a strategic consultant for a $250M portfolio across four properties: The Warrior, Hotel St. Louis, Hotel Blackhawk, and The Current Iowa.
The Team: Transitioned from day-to-day operations to coaching General Managers across the portfolio, serving as a liaison between ownership and staff, building the culture infrastructure that would sustain without me in the building.
The Guest: 22 precinct-wide activations designed to manufacture demand rather than capture it — experiences that gave guests a reason to come back before they'd left.
The Friction: Bridged the gap between ownership and operations across 521 keys of combined real estate — finalizing budgets, protecting partnerships, clearing the path for four leadership teams to execute.
The Asset: 6% TRevPAR increase across the consulting portfolio. Simultaneously drove Hotel Julien to "Business of the Year" status.
The Warrior Hotel was a restored icon — Marriott's Autograph Collection, stunning architecture. The opportunity was to turn it into a benchmark.
The Team: Every department aligned around one shared goal. Culture and performance moved together — not as competing priorities, but as the same thing.
The Guest: Guest satisfaction rose 20 points. Recovery programs transformed feedback into loyalty. Guests didn't just return — they advocated.
The Friction: Labor forecasting tied to occupancy. Menu engineering balancing quality with cost. Systems that let people do their best work without fighting the operation.
The Asset: RevPAR lifted 25%. RGI increased 19.6%. Named Top Hotel in Iowa by U.S. News & World Report — 2024 and 2025.
The Warrior Hotel reopened in 2020 — mid-pandemic — and spent two years without a community identity. No local following. No neighborhood connection. When I arrived as AGM in 2022, the building was beautiful. The relationship with its city was nonexistent.
The Team: Gave the team ownership of the relaunch. Every department hosted their own ribbon cutting — spa, restaurant, rooftop bar. The team became the face of the property.
The Guest: We didn't ask how do we get guests? We asked how do we become part of this place? Six weeks of community events turned opening weekend into opening season.
The Friction: Removed every barrier to community access. No gatekeeping, no VIP-only events. Open doors. Free tours. The hotel belonged to the city before it belonged to travelers.
The Asset: 2,000+ people walked through the property in six weeks. Five local press stories. City council began hosting delegations. Community buy-in became the foundation for every dollar that came after.
Activations compound when they're systematic. Not a wine dinner here, a holiday party there — a tiered calendar where each event feeds the next.
The Team: Gave the team creative ownership over their signature events. When housekeeping designs the holiday party and the bar team creates the cocktail series, they're invested in the outcome — not executing someone else's idea.
The Guest: Three tiers: signature series (weekly recurring), tentpole moments (monthly), and anchor events (seasonal). Guests returned not because we asked them to — but because they knew what was coming next.
The Friction: Built repeatable systems — templates, vendor relationships, marketing cadences — so every activation didn't have to be reinvented. The system ran itself.
The Asset: $1M+ in activation-driven revenue from 2022–present. Shifted perception from we're here if you need us to you need to be here for this.
Hospitality's retention crisis isn't about pay. It's about meaning. People leave because they don't feel seen, don't see a future, and don't believe their work matters.
The Team: Built the crucible. Multi-layered recognition — monthly, weekly, daily. Career pathing infrastructure. High-potential identification. Mentorship tracks. An environment where people fall in love with the challenge of becoming who they're capable of being.
The Guest: Stable teams mean consistent service. Consistency is what guests notice first — and it's the thing that can't be faked.
The Friction: Removed the obstacles that make people leave — unclear expectations, invisible growth paths, leaders who don't listen. Poured into the cup so the cup could pour into the guest.
The Asset: 40+ associates mentored to management. 24% leadership retention increase. Engagement scores jumped 27 points.
How I Lead
I operationalize a culture of belonging through a process I call the 3Ts — Trajectory, Tools, Tangibles. They're how every associate, guest, and community partner experiences Hilton Bloomington as something distinct from the six other Hiltons in this submarket.
Every associate knows where Hilton Bloomington is headed as a whole, what their specific role is in that direction, and our commitment to their personal elevation. The ChopHouse server, the front desk lead, the Olive Lounge bartender, the housekeeping supervisor — each one understands how their work connects to the hotel becoming the pillar of the Bloomington community Marcus is asking for. 40+ associates mentored into management. 24% leadership retention increase.
Hilton-brand training. Marcus operating standards. Real systems. Real authority. Every associate gets what they need to deliver consistently — and the trust to make the call when a guest needs it. That's the difference between hospitality that performs and hospitality that holds. NPS up 9 points at Hotel Julien in six months. Hilton Tapestry properties opened 10 points above brand average.
To associates: People Pleasing People in practice — real benefits, real recognition, real growth (engagement up 27 points at Hotel Julien). To guests: ChopHouse-grade consistency across every outlet and every floor. To community: Hilton Bloomington as a Bloomington pillar, not just a brand on a building. 2025 Chamber Business of the Year. AAA Four Diamond. #1 Hotel in Iowa, U.S. News.
Trajectory sets the destination. Tools make excellence achievable. Tangibles are what people actually receive — to each other, to our guests, to the communities we serve. That's how a 256-key Hilton becomes a 60-year community pillar.
Lead with Heart
Award-winning teams don't happen by accident. They happen when leaders invest in the employee experience with the same bespoke intention they bring to the guest experience. People who feel genuinely developed, challenged, and valued don't just deliver hospitality — they embody it. That's what sixty years of Marcus Magic is built on.
Every team member keeps a structured gratitude journal — a daily practice that shifts mindset from task completion to ownership and purpose. It sounds simple. It's transformative. Teams that practice gratitude operate with more patience, more empathy, and more resilience under pressure. The guest feels the difference even if they can't name it.
A structured mentorship program built on curriculum that mirrors high-end MBA programs — leadership development, financial literacy, strategic thinking, and communication. Every associate has a development pathway that extends beyond their current role. The message: we're not just investing in your performance here. We're investing in who you're becoming.
No two team members get the same development plan because no two people have the same ambitions. Individualized growth tracks designed around each person's goals, strengths, and areas of opportunity.
