Hotel Reservation Executive

JOB SUMMARY

Drives revenue to achieve Hotel’s topline goals for each of their represented hotels by proactively soliciting all business segments; to include new business from small business accounts, sourcing new accounts, identifying new targets, and re-soliciting past business leads. Focuses on properties BT Pricing strategy. Provides property support by coordinating and executing property internal mining efforts at assigned hotels. Partners with Leadership to ensure competitive sales strategies are in place for the hotel and stay competitive within the market by aligning on sales activities to generate business and communicate real-time competitor intel. Reports directly to Property Sales Leader (ASL or DOS/DOSM) and works closely with the hotel General Managers, focuses on sales driven tasks. May work with Local Sales and U.S. Account Sales/GSO teams to drive production from targeted high priority accounts including maximizing special corporate business within the represented market place.

CANDIDATE PROFILE 

Education and Experience

Required:

• High school diploma or GED; 2 years experience in the sales and marketing, guest services, front desk, or related professional area.

OR

• 2-year degree from an accredited university in Business Administration, Marketing, Hotel and Restaurant Management, or related major; no work experience required.

Preferred:

• 4-year college degree; previous experience in proactive lead generation in hospitality and sales discipline; knowledge of property-specific business segments (e.g. group, catering, transient); knowledge the hospitality industry.

CORE WORK ACTIVITIES

Managing Sales Activities

• Works with Property Sales Leader (ASL or DOS/DOSM) in identifying the top accounts of each stakeholder hotel, determine account deployment structure, identify key buyers within each account, and coordinate efforts to drive demand and pull-through business from the accounts for the stakeholder hotels.

• Assist Property Sales Leader in identifying share shift targets.

• Ensures effective and efficient funnel management through available systems and collaborating with Multi-Hotel Sales.

• Manages daily Status Change reports to help close on hotel business.

• May work with Local Sales, U.S. Account Sales/GSO teams to drive production from targeted high priority accounts including maximizing special corporate business within the represented market place.

• Provides property support by coordination and executing property internal mining efforts to assigned hotels

• Solicits new business from non-deployed small business accounts, reader boards, and leads sent through internal referral mechanisms.

• Solicits potential new accounts or business opportunities by leveraging business intelligence provided by Sales & Marketing Planning and Support or other third-party data sources to generate leads.

• Utilizes internal lead referral tools (e.g., eProspecting Portal) to solicit new business opportunities and contacts.

• Ensure Hotel has property lead generation program to identify new business.

• Re-solicits non-deployed realized opportunities, including turndowns, lost opportunities, and actualized business when appropriate.

• Drives customer satisfaction through daily interactions (e.g., solicitations, re-solicitations, account calls, site inspections, new business calls, face to face activities, etc.).

• Conducts customer facing sales activities on behalf of the hotels in partnership with Property Coordinator/Resource as appropriate. (e.g., lunch and learns, social hours, company of the month activities, local industry events, Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Activities, etc.).

• Conducts site inspections for customer accounts as appropriate.

• Maintains complete and up-to-date lead information on each account in CI/TY SFA Web and EMPOWER to verify accurate reporting and customer base information.

• Qualifies and maintains customer’s long-term business potential and refers customers to market, field, hotel or national sales office, as required.

• Verifies accurate and timely lead turnover to other Sales Channels and partners closely with the Multi-Hotel Sales to ensure qualified leads are entered into CI/TY SFAWeb.

• Leverages MI Leads for Out of Org, Non-Deployed Accounts.

• Presents stakeholder hotel benefits and features based on customer needs.

• Understands and utilizes all business processes written in support of the sales organization.

• Utilizes negotiation skills and creative selling abilities to uncover new business.

• Uses all information systems (e.g., CI/TY SFA Web, MRDW, MarRFP-SAPP, Hoteligence, Account Relationship Management (ARM) to research the deployment and value of the accounts deemed important for stakeholder hotels.

• Understands the overall market (e.g., competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, supply and demand etc.) to sell effectively against the competition.

• Communicates trends, opportunities, and market changes to appropriate parties, as needed.

• Leverages all available sales channels, (e.g., marriott.com, group and transient intermediaries, field sales, worldwide reservation offices, etc.), to optimize sales revenues.

• Understands and actively utilizes company marketing initiatives/incentives to convert cold leads to warm leads.

• Tracks weekly activities and relationship to revenue and room night production.

• Sets day-today priorities to complete assigned responsibilities

• Actively participates and contributes to Sales Strategy Meetings as appropriate.

• Adjusts to significant variation in daily workload through independent prioritization.

• Drives revenue from local non-deployed accounts for the hotels the Sales Executive represents by proactively soliciting new business from small business accounts, sourcing new accounts, identifying new targets, and re-soliciting past business leads.

• Activate local tactics for deployed accounts to pull-through local buyer needs. Communicate best practices for generating creative revenue opportunities.

• Performs other duties as appropriate.

• Building Successful Relationships

• Leverage deployed account resources to drive business for properties for identified hotels to pull-through business to grow account share.

• Participates in community and hotel networking events (e.g., Rotary Clubs, RI Social Hours, Chamber of Commerce, etc).

• Visits neighborhood target and local small business accounts and coordinate follow up efforts.

• Coordinates with Property Sales Leader to understand needs and priorities of stakeholder hotels to identify focus areas.

• Works collaboratively with all sales channels (e.g. the Multi-Hotel Sales, Account Sales and Global Sales) to establish coordinated sales efforts that are complementary, and not duplicative.

• Handles customer care issues and as necessary, refers them to the appropriate owner.

• Supports the company’s service and relationship strategy, driving customer loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout each customer experience.

• Services customers to obtain and grow share of the account.

• Executes and supports the company’s customer service standards.

• Engages in property related events that support the development of new accounts (e.g., General Manager (GM) Reception, Concierge Level hospitality, etc.).

• Performs other duties, as assigned, to meet business needs.