Task Force Director of Sales - Graduate Hotels

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Job description

Description

Graduate Hotels®, is seeking a Task Force Director of Sales join Graduate Hotels and its wonderful team of hospitality enthusiasts.

Graduate Hotels creates authentic, playful spaces that connect a community's travelers, students, and locals. Through thoughtfully curated design, creative F B and community-focused events, we create hotels worthy of their hometown.

We are a diverse team of experience makers and storytellers. As a Graduate Hotels team member, you are the local insider shaping guest experiences. Our goal is to make every guest feel like a local even if it's their first time in town. In order to help you deliver on that goal, we encourage our team members to embody the same mindset as our guests through Graduate experiences and encouraged community exploration.

POSITION PURPOSE:

Drive sales efforts across the platform in absence of full-time sales leadership on property. The Task Force Director of Sales plays a pivotal role in ensuring continuity of sales related efforts during transitionary periods and leads the team and property sales efforts interim while an open position exists or other special assignment is available.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Willingness and ability to support sales teams in any vacancy of roles, or in the case of an underperforming sales team member (i.e.: administrative support, catering, etc.)


• Maintain and promote a teamwork environment with effective and clear communication amongst co-workers through positive leadership


• Provide pricing and guidance recommendations to sales staff, review and approve any special corporate negotiated rates


• Responsible for learning the hotel brand and strategy and effectively implement to the sales team.


• Develop a working knowledge of the operations of the hotel, including food and beverage, guest services, reservations


• Develop a complete knowledge and ensure adherence to company sales policies and SOPs


• Drive customer loyalty to grow share of the account by delivering service excellence throughout each customer experience


• Manage group, banquets catering, business travel accounts based on assigned market segments to maximize business potential and exceeds hotel revenue goals


• Ensure proper documentation for the execution of group, banquet and catering events is created and delivered to the operational team per hotel standards


• Manage and execute RFP Season Annually by facilitating the process in conjunction with the GM and/or Sales Manager


• Ensure all pertinent aspects of solicitation, closing, and customer communications are complete and documented for the team


• Identify and pursue new and repeat business through prospecting calls, visits, site tours, lunches, and networking events


• Develop and maintain market awareness to ensure ability to predict revenue opportunities and set proactive strategies


• Analyze sales and revenue management reports to identify trends and future demand opportunities Monitor pricing, MAR and other minimums to ensure pricing is within an acceptable range based on available inventory, current sales/revenue strategies and market demand


• Attend and contribute to all revenue and sales strategy meetings and calls


• Participates in forecasting for revenue and expenses


• Understand, leverage, and implement corporate and brand tools to exceed budgets


• Conduct ongoing competitor price and product analysis to ensure proper rate positioning and product offering relative to competition


• Conducts weekly and monthly share analysis for measurement of hotels market performance versus competition and implements strategies accordingly in conjunction with the Regional Director of Sales, Regional Director of Revenue Management, GM


• Recommend and implement new sales programs at the hotel and accurately track ROI


• Initiates collateral and online marketing efforts to include all printed sales collateral, direct mail, discount promotions, e-mail marketing, website presence and tracks ROI on all advertising and marketing spend


• Prepares annual marketing/business and budget plans


• Set and monitor team member goals including weekly sales activities, room night and revenue goals monthly, quarterly, yearly


• Provides ongoing feedback, training and development of team members and addresses areas of opportunity


• Monitors all day-to-day activities of direct reports


• Operate the sales department within established sales expense budget


• Abides by Prime Time Selling hours


• Perform other duties as assigned


• Ability to travel for extended periods of time

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's DegreeinHotel Administration, Business, Marketing,or related field preferred


• 5 + years in progressive hotel sales with leadershipresponsibilitiesexperience preferred


• 100% Remote


• 50-60% travel

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Strong analytical skills relative to impact on hotelrevenues


• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and inwriting


• Strong interpersonalskills


• understanding of revenue managementprinciples


• Abilitytousereservationandrevenuemanagementsystemstodeveloppricing salesrecommendations


• Proficient in Microsoft Office Products, focus on Excel, Word, and Outlook


• Must have flexible work hours that may include evenings, weekends, andholidayswhen needed

About Graduate Hotels®

Graduate Hotels is a hand-crafted collection of hotels that reside in dynamic university-anchored towns across the country. Each hotel pays homage to the heritage of its unique town through cultural nods to the local community. Launched in 2014, there are 35 hotels across the U.S. and U.K. Graduate Hotels is owned by Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners, a vertically integrated real estate developer, owner and operator. For more information on Graduate Hotels, please visit .