Job Summary
Responsible for proactively soliciting and managing large group/catering related opportunities with significant revenue potential. Actively up-sells each business opportunity to maximize revenue opportunity. Achieves personal and team related revenue goals. Verifies business is turned over properly and in a timely fashion for proper service delivery. Responsible for driving customer/guest loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout each customer/guest experience. Provides service to customers in order to grow the account on behalf of the company.
CANDIDATE PROFILE
Education And Experience
- 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.
CORE WORK ACTIVITIES
Understanding Market Opportunities & Driving Revenue
- Targets group/catering accounts, markets, or segments with heavy emphasis on proactive solicitation and account saturation.
- Partners with group/catering counterpart to effectively manage the business opportunity.
- Responds to incoming group/catering opportunities for the property that are outside parameters of the .
- Handles all opportunities if property does not participate in an EBC.
- Identifies, qualifies and solicits new group/catering business to achieve personal and each property's revenue goals.
- Focuses efforts on group/catering accounts with significant potential sales revenue.
- Develops effective group/catering sales plans and actions.
- Designs, develops and sells creative catered events.
- Maximizes revenue by upselling packages and creative food and beverage.
- Understands the overall market - competitors strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, supply and demand etc. and knows how to sell against them.
- Closes the best opportunities for each property based on market conditions and individual property needs.
- Uses negotiating skills and creative selling abilities to close on business and negotiate contracts.
Providing Exceptional Customer Service
- Handles complex business with significant revenue potential as well as significant customer expectations.
- Builds and strengthens relationships with existing and new customers to enable future bookings. Activities include sales calls, entertainment, FAM trips, trade shows, etc.
- Develops relationships within community to strengthen and expand customer base for group/catering sales opportunities.
- Supports brand's Service and Relationship Strategy, driving customer loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout each customer experience.
- Provides excellent customer service in order to grow share of the account.
- Executes brand's Customer Service Standards and property's Brand Standards.
- Executes and supports the business Customer Service Standards and property's Brand Standards.
- Participates in and practices daily service basics of the brand.
- Executes exemplary customer service to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty by assisting the customer and ensuring their satisfaction before and during their program/event.
- Serves the customer by understanding their needs and recommending the appropriate features and services that best meet their needs and exceed their expectations, while building a relationship and loyalty to the property and brand.
- Gains understanding of the property's primary target customer and service expectations; serves the customer by understanding their business, business issues and concerns, to offer better business solution both prior to, and during the program/event.
Building Successful Relationships
- Works collaboratively with off-property sales channels (e.g., , Market Sales, Strategic Accounts) to ensure sales efforts are coordinated, complementary and not duplicative.
- Manages and develops relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.
- Uses sales resources and administrative/support staff.
Additional Responsibilities
- Utilizes intranet for resources and information.
- Conducts site inspections.
- Creates contracts as required.
- Executes and supports the operational aspects of business booked (e.g., generating proposal, writing contract, customer correspondence).
