Senior Web Developer & SEO Specialist (Hospitality Group)

Salary Details

Salary Description: Competitive Salary & Benefits Offered

Job Description For Senior Web Developer & SEO Specialist (Hospitality Group)

Reporting directly to the Vice President, this hands-on role is responsible for end-to-end development and optimization of the group’s hotel websites and digital direct booking channels. The Senior Web Developer & SEO Specialist will personally execute all technical tasks to ensure the websites are high-performing, secure, and primed to drive revenue. Key responsibilities include:.

• Website Development & Maintenance: Develop, update, and maintain all hotel websites on WordPress, including building new site features or microsites as needed. Customize WordPress themes and plugins to meet business requirements and ensure smooth functionality. Manage hosting environments, perform regular updates, and implement robust security measures to protect sites and user data.
• Performance Optimization: Continuously optimize website speed, performance, and mobile responsiveness for an excellent user experience. Conduct technical audits to identify and fix issues (e.g. slow page loads, broken links, crawl errors) that could affect site performance or SEO. Ensure the website architecture and code follow best practices for fast load times and stability.
• SEO & Analytics: Lead advanced on-page and technical SEO efforts to increase organic traffic and conversions. Optimize page content, meta tags, headers, and media for target keywords. Implement structured data (schema markup) for hotel-specific content (e.g. hotel, room, and event information) to improve search visibility. Monitor SEO performance using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console, tracking rankings, traffic, and conversion metrics to inform ongoing improvements. Stay up-to-date with SEO best practices and algorithm changes to continually enhance the sites’ visibility.
• CRM & Opera PMS Integration: Implement and integrate a customer relationship management (CRM) system that interfaces with Oracle’s Opera Cloud Property Management System (PMS) to maximize direct bookings and guest retention. Ensure the website’s booking engine and lead capture forms seamlessly transmit data to the CRM/PMS for reservation management and guest profile updates. Develop any needed custom integrations or use APIs so that online bookings and guest data flow smoothly into Opera Cloud. (Opera is a widely used hotel PMS, so familiarity with its integration processes is crucial.) Troubleshoot and resolve any issues related to data integration between WordPress, the CRM, and Opera Cloud to maintain reliability.
• Direct Booking Strategy: Work closely with the VP on strategies to grow direct online bookings and reduce reliance on third-party channels. Leverage SEO and UX improvements to transform the websites into primary revenue drivers, capturing more direct reservations. Implement conversion rate optimization (CRO) techniques (A/B testing, improved booking funnel design, etc.) to increase the percentage of website visitors who complete direct bookings. Track and report on key KPIs like look-to-book ratio and booking engine conversion, using insights to guide further enhancements.
• Hosting & Security Management: Oversee all aspects of web hosting and domain management for the hotel sites. Ensure high uptime and quick disaster recovery by managing backups and server resources. Implement web security best practices (SSL certificates, firewall/WAF rules, anti-malware scans) to protect the sites and customer information. Promptly apply patches and updates to eliminate vulnerabilities.
• Continuous Improvement & Leadership: Research and apply industry best practices in web development, hospitality e-commerce, and SEO to keep the websites competitive. Innovate with new tools or technologies (for example, exploring faster frameworks or headless CMS approaches if beneficial) to enhance site functionality and user experience. This role is the in-house technical expert, so the specialist must be self-driven and capable of executing projects independently (not merely overseeing agencies). While large-scale projects or highly specialized tasks might involve coordinating external freelancers or agencies, the day-to-day development and optimization work will be done in-house by this person to ensure agility and quality control.

Qualifications and Skills

• Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, or a related field is preferred. 5+ years of experience in web development (with a focus on WordPress) and technical SEO implementation is required. Proven track record of managing high-traffic websites and improving their performance and rankings is essential. 
• Technical Skills: Expert proficiency in WordPress development (PHP, MySQL, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript) and familiarity with WordPress architecture and coding standards. Ability to create and modify custom themes and plugins. Strong knowledge of SEO best practices, including hands-on experience with on-page optimization, site structure, and page speed techniques. Comfortable with web analytics tools (Google Analytics, Google Search Console) and SEO tools (e.g. SEMrush, Ahrefs) for monitoring performance. Experience implementing schema markup and other advanced SEO techniques.
• CRM/PMS Integration: Experience integrating websites with third-party systems or APIs. Familiarity with hotel industry systems is a big plus – for example, prior work connecting a website or booking engine to a Property Management System like Opera Cloud or a hotel CRM. Understanding of how online booking data is captured and sent to internal systems (and vice versa) will help in streamlining Opera Cloud connectivity.
• Soft Skills: Highly self-motivated and detail-oriented with excellent problem-solving abilities. Able to manage projects end-to-end independently – from requirement gathering to development, testing, deployment, and ongoing optimization. Good communication skills to liaise with non-technical stakeholders (e.g. explaining technical improvements to the VP or marketing team). A passion for staying on top of emerging digital trends and a results-driven mindset to continually improve direct online revenue.