Event Sales Manager

Hotel Event Sales Manager

The Market Pavilion Hotel is seeking a high-energy and dedicated Event Sales Manager to proactively generate new business and provide account management for new and existing accounts.

The staff of The Market Pavilion Hotel, Grill 225, and The Pavilion Bar set the standard of luxury service in Charleston. We provide hospitality professionals with the guidance and opportunities needed to shape their careers and pursue their goals. Most importantly, we offer a supportive and highly organized team structure in which the determined professional can thrive and continuously succeed as a member of one of the finest luxury hotels in the world. Our large-scale operational environment provides an unmatched opportunity for an exciting professional culture with an opportunity for growth.

The Ideal candidates must possess the following:

• Exceptional sales and closing techniques with excellent organizational, inter-personal and sales-related skills.
• Must be an articulate, polished sales person with the ability to convincingly sell top-tier food and beverage products / services with an understanding that our pricing structure may not always meet every client’s budget.
• Must be able to work in a collaborative environment where potential sales leads are closely managed with senior hotel management to determine which prospects best suit our hotel and food and beverage organization.
• Must be able to work closely with the Luxury Room Sales Manager to coordinate room sales and Food and Beverage Requirements for arriving groups.
• Must possess a high level of self-motivation, self-confidence with excellent verbal and written communications skills.
• Must have the demonstrated ability to energetically and creatively build / craft memorable events and meetings for social and business clients within the operational parameters of the Company.
• Must have a demonstrated body of work from previous upscale events or a portfolio of work displaying examples of previous accomplishments.
• Must be able to execute and follow-through on small details for each client with the cognitive understanding that no detail is too small when serving guests in a luxury environment.
• Must be an effective, assertive and diplomatic communicator and director with coworkers, hotel staff and senior management regarding the details necessary to successfully execute the client’s expectations.
• Must have an extensive knowledge of food and beverage products, proper food preparation and display presentations. Previous experience in the Food Service industry is preferred.
• Must be very familiar with luxury market trends with an understanding of comparative pricing structures in similar domestic and regional markets for luxury branded lodging, food and beverage and services.

POSITION DETAILS:

• Prospect and respond to new qualifying business on a daily / weekly basis via voice and email. Maintain, prospect, independently solicit and book Food and Beverage business and luxury guest rooms.
• Develop, Create and Maintain customer relationships to achieve optimum market share.
• Identify and pursue prospective group & meeting business from free market information, as well as information from purchased lead sources, analyzing historical and other statistical information (market segment, account mix goals), participate in conducting customer interviews and preparing customer call analysis report.
• Solicit group business directly and jointly with others through the preparation, execution and completion of Action Plans.
• Manage the hotel's Request for Proposal process / rate negotiations according to rate structure and guidelines defined by senior hotel management.
• Maintain product knowledge at all times including all relevant rate and pricing structures.
• Work with Senior Management and the Executive Chef to determine menus, planning and pricing when prospecting and quoting Food and Beverage events.
• Must have a strong backbone to direct the client within the logistical parameters that are best for the implementation success for the group or event.
• Quote and negotiate guest room and food and beverage pricing with clients, draw up contracts within established parameters set by senior management, collect deposits and close transactions.
• Upon closing group guest rooms and or Food and Beverage business, ensure that all detailed messaging and notes have been entered into the company’s internal online communication system regarding the arriving group so that all departments are aware of the details.
• Ensure that BEO’s are immediately entered, detailed and loaded into the Company’s BEO scheduler for departmental future planning by the culinary staff and Food and Beverage Management. Coordinate in-person and follow-up with other hotel departments to ensure that there is knowledge of future group and event bookings on the horizon.
• Prepare weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual prospecting reports as well as booked business reports required by procedural guidelines.
• As directed, compile and input market intelligence information to the Sales Information Management System.
• As directed, participate in trade shows, conventions and promotional events within the hotel, the industry and customer organizations.
• Achieve established room nights and revenue as outlined by the agreed upon goals.
• Ensures that events progress seamlessly by following established procedures, collaborating with other employees, and ensuring accuracy.
• Must be willing to personally manage events as they occur both in mornings, afternoons and evenings.
• Greets customer during the event phase and hands-off to the Event Operations team for the execution of details if applicable for smaller standard events, as deemed by management. Larger events will require the Sales Manager to be on-site throughout the duration of the event.
• Identifies operational challenges associated with his/her group and plans far in advance how to best work with the property staff and customer to solve these challenges\ and/or develop alternative solutions.

GUEST SATISFACTION AND HUMAN RESOURCES ACTIVITIES
· Reviews comment cards and guest satisfaction results with employees.

• Solicits Daily guests for positive guest reviews for both hotel stays and dining through Trip Advisor and other relevant travel associated web sites.
• Proactively and Reactively responds to guest dissatisfaction for both the hotel and food and beverage operations, and provides conflict resolution for optimal guest satisfaction.
• Observes service behaviors of employees and provides feedback to individuals and/or managers.
• Assists in the development and implementation of corrective action plans.
• Take initiative to use his/her experience to improve service performance according to his/her evaluation of the issue and resolution.
• Works with the property staff and customers to address operational challenges associated with his/her group.
• Assists senior management and human resources with New Hire training and existing employee training through online tools or in-person teaching.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, to provide clear direction to staff members.
• Communicate with employees using a positive and clear speaking voice, listen to and understand requests, respond with appropriate actions and provide accurate information.
• Remain calm and alert, especially during emergency situations and/or busy restaurant / kitchen environments. Serve as a role model for the team and other staff members. Interact with other department personnel and venue staff as needed.
• Make sound decisions and take appropriate actions based on previous experience and good judgment, Sometimes revising procedures to accommodate unusual situations.
• Demonstrate positive leadership characteristics, which inspire staff members to meet and exceed standards and expectations.

ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH POLICIES:

• Health and Safety
• Food Hygiene
• Maintenance
• Hotel Standard Policies and Procedures
• Emergency Procedures
• Liquor Licensing – Current TIPS training class would be required to be completed for this position, which would be facilitated by the Market Pavilion Hotel.

SPECIFIC JOB KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

The individual must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities and be able to explain and demonstrate that he or she can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Experience managing luxury brands.
• Minimum of two (2) years of experience managing or leading hotel sales, or equivalent industry experience, preferably in an upscale restaurant, hotel or resort environment.
• Strong organizational skills including follow up, time management, ability to multi-task and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Sales Skills at minimum above the industry average. Candidate should be well versed in prospecting, rate and contract negotiating, business planning and telephone sales.
• Considerable skill in math, monetary tax rates, calculations and percentages.
• Exceptionally strong ability to communicate in English, both orally and in writing, with guests and employees, some of whom will require high levels of patience, tact, and diplomacy to defuse anger and to collect accurate information and to resolve problems.
• Ability to work under pressure and deal with stressful situations during busy periods.
• Ability to access and accurately input information using a moderately complex computer system.
• Proficient in Windows Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, etc.
• Dynamic, proven leader demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit, innovative thinking, change leadership and focus on coaching and team motivation.
• Must be innovative, organized, efficient and able to prioritize multiple projects while working with a team.
• Strong work ethic and self-starter who is a team player and comes with a can-do attitude

To receive consideration for the Event Sales Manager position the candidate must be able to perform the following essential physical job functions daily:

• Must have the physical ability to bend, stoop, and kneel to perform essential job functions.
• Must have the physical ability to frequently crouch, push, pull, squat and work above the shoulders during the performance of the daily job routine.
• Must have the physical ability to use both hands for continuous firm grasping with both hands.
• Must have the physical ability to continuously carry up to 20-30 pounds of weight both on flat surfaces as well as up and down stairs for distances of up to 100 feet.
• Must have the physical ability to occasionally lift up to 20-30 pounds of weight between the floor and waist, occasionally from the waist to above the shoulder.

SCHEDULE FLEXIBILITY:

• The ideal candidate will have good schedule flexibility with minimal schedule restrictions.
• Hours vary from mornings, afternoons and evenings.
• Manager on Duty Shifts are required to include evenings and weekends.
• The individual must have the ability to work holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas day, New Years Eve.
• This position will require an average workweek of 52-55 hours.

COMPENSATION:

• This management position is a contract commitment position that will require a minimum length of service from the individual, to be determined.
• Pay ranges between $60,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year based on the candidate’s level of previous experience. Pay may be based by the hourly rate or by a weekly salary, to be determined.
• Commission Incentives are also provided with this management position.
• Meals are provided at no charge to the recipient with this position.
• Recipients of this position are provided with free parking.

PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG SCREENING PROCESS

• Pre-employment drug testing is a definite reality in our company, and is a mandatory requirement for all eligible candidates. Contingent upon the candidate’s ability to advance beyond the interviewing and background screening process, eligible employees will then be instructed to report to our company’s designated drug testing facility in person. An eligible candidate who successfully passes the drug screening test at our approved testing facility will then be provided a Passing Certificate of Documentation. This Passing Certificate of Documentation on record will be required before the candidate is potentially offered a final position within our company. Applicants are encouraged to be aware of their ability to successfully pass our pre-employment drug screening test before investing any aspect of their valuable personal time with respect to our company’s comprehensive application process.

COVID 19 PRECAUTIONS

• All staff members may be required to wear masks while working at the hotel property, and COVID-19 viral mitigation protocols are observed. COVID-19 Vaccinated candidates are encouraged to apply.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $65,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 10 hour shift
• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Evening shift
• Monday to Friday
• Night shift
• Weekend availability

Supplemental Pay:

• Bonus pay
• Commission pay

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Charleston, SC 29401: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Experience:

• Events management: 1 year (Required)
• Customer service: 1 year (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $60,000 - $95,000