Alumni Voices

 

Alumni Interview: Jessica Hansen,

Sr. Director, Brand Operations - Days Inn, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

 

Brian Tyrrell (BT): Hello and welcome to our latest Lights On alumni interview for summer 2026 publication. I'm Dr. Brian Tyrrell, the Faculty Director for the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism.

I'm joined today by Jessica Hansen.

Jessica, one of our alumni, is the Senior Director of Brand Operations for Days Inn, a position she holds with the parent company Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

Jessica, welcome.

We're thrilled to have you here today, and if it's okay with you, I'll just jump right into the questions.

Jessica, I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience in the industry.

Jessica Hansen (JH): Sure. So I am New Jersey raised, I grew up in Bridgewater, went to Bridgewater Raritan High School, and of course studied at Stockton University all four years.

I got my start in the industry during school. Stockton’s co-op opportunity within the curriculum, directed me into the position of front desk agent at the Courtyard Marriott in Atlantic City, and I've been in hotels ever since.

I've held multiple positions in various brands and independent hotels and found myself at corporate about 11 years ago.

BT: That's great. Wyndham's a very large company to be working for. I wonder if you could describe a current challenge that you're facing in the industry.

JH: Yes, so in my current role, I'm running brand operations alongside the brand president. It's kind of just me and him making decisions for these franchisees of which we have just under 1,200 of them in the United States alone.

So, the biggest challenge that I have now is not only making everybody happy or trying to but making sure they're also profitable. The decisions that I make every day affect their margins at their hotel, and that is what keeps me up at night.

BT: You had mentioned a little bit earlier the cooperative education experience that we have at Stockton University and our hospitality tourism and event management program.

We still have that today. It's very strong, as strong as ever. And I wonder if you can tell us how that experience and the degree process in general prepared you for some of these challenges that you're facing at the Days Inn.

JH: I came to Stockton wanting to be a nurse, I thought I was going to take that path, but after taking Hospitality 101, I took a bunch of 101 classes, but that Hospitality 101 kind of piqued my interest and I ended up changing my major completely.

The co-op specifically really got me interested in all the various positions that a hotel has to offer. Just sitting in my operations class, I didn't think that I would need to know occupancy and ADR and RevPAR, and now I talk it every single day. It's second language.

BT: That's great. Really good to hear that. I wonder if you have any advice for people seeking a career in the industry.

JH: Yes, absolutely.

Try anything and everything.

Take every open door, window, jump through every hole that you possibly can because you just never know where you're going to end up.

I think a vast majority of the people in the hospitality industry, hotels specifically, they start working in a hotel thinking this is just for a short time while I'm getting my degree in something else. And 25, 30 years later, they've been in the industry that whole time and have worked their way through various roles.

Truly just be open to anything.

BT: That's really good advice. Thank you, Jessica. I wonder if there's anything else that's on your mind that you'd like to add today.

JH: I think just take every opportunity that you possibly can. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is a great company to work for, and we're based right here in New Jersey. So, always keep that in mind. We are so open to anything and everything.

 BT: That's great. Thank you so much, Jessica.

I appreciate your time today.

JH: Of course, of course.

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