Zolostays - Area Operations Manager

About Zolo: Zolo is Indias largest and most trusted co-living and managed accommodation platform, operating across multiple verticals including Co-Living, Z Hotels, Loop Hostels, Student Housing, Real Estate, and Vacations. With operations across major cities, Zolo provides secure, comfortable, and community-centric living solutions trusted by thousands of students and working professionals.About Student Housing at Zolo: Zolos Student Housing division provides safe, high-quality, and fully-managed accommodations designed specifically for students and parents who seek reliability, comfort, and a structured living environment.We operate large-format student residences with a focus on:- Safety, hygiene, and compliance- Organized meal plans and housekeeping- 24x7 student support- Study-friendly spaces and structured routines- Community-building activities- Transparent communication with parentsThe Area Manager plays a critical role in shaping the end-to-end student experience, ensuring properties operate smoothly while maintaining academic-friendly environments, strong parent confidence, and high occupancy.Role Overview: The Area Manager is a leadership position responsible for driving Sales (Occupancy), Supply (New Property Acquisition), and Operations across multiple student housing and co-living properties in Pune.You will be responsible for cluster-level performance, P&L understanding, team leadership, new site launches, and maintaining Zolos service benchmarks.This role is ideal for someone who has managed multi-site operations, driven occupancy growth, and worked with student-centric or hospitality environments.Key & Sales Achieve occupancy targets across student housing and co-living properties.- Identify local student demand hubs (colleges, coaching centres, PG clusters).- Build partnerships with colleges, training institutes, and student communities.- Analyse weekly sales numbers and take action on early occupancy dips.Supply & New Property Identify and acquire new student housing properties and buildings.- Lead end-to-end launch processes: setup, branding, first occupancy, stabilization.- Conduct market research to find high-potential student zones.- Handle owner/broker negotiations professionally.Operations & P&L Ensure daily operations, housekeeping, meals, safety, and student comfort are maintained.- Conduct audits and enforce SOPs strictly.- Track expenses, vendor costs, and property-level profitability.- Resolve student/parent escalations promptly.Team Lead 5-7 Executives/Managers across properties.- Train teams on student experience standards, discipline, and communication.- Run weekly reviews to track occupancy, operations, and complaints.- Build a culture of accountability and proactive problem-solving.Parent & Student Relationship Maintain strong rapport with parents-transparency, trust, and timely updates.- Ensure complaint resolution within defined SLAs.- Drive initiatives around safety, discipline, and community activities.Skills Multi-property or cluster-level management experience.- Strong exposure to occupancy, sales funnels, revenue metrics, and P&L basics.- Experience launching and stabilizing new housing/hostel properties.- Strong customer orientation-especially with students and parents.- Vendor negotiation and budgeting capability.- Ability to use data and weekly numbers for decision-making.Team Experience leading teams of 5-7 people.- Strong training, motivation, and performance management skills.- Ability to enforce discipline and daily process adherence.Persona Ownership mindset - Fixes issues before they escalate.- Hustler attitude- Fast, hands-on, and action-oriented.- Calm under pressure - Handles peak occupancy seasons with composure.- Student-first approach- Empathetic, disciplined, and parent-trust focused.- Process-driven- Believes in SOPs, checklists, and predictable execution.- Growth mindset- Willing to learn, experiment, and expand Bachelors degree in Hospitality / Business / Management- MBA or Postgraduate preferredWhy Join Lead the Student Housing growth in Pune- Own both Sales + Supply for your cluster- Exposure to multi-property operations and new site launches- Clear growth path: Area Manager Regional Manager- Freedom to innovate and build high-impact initiatives- Be part of Indias fastest-growing accommodation ecosystemBased on experience and capability. (ref:iimjobs.com)