Director Strategic Clients | UK | Global Sales - Luxury & Lifestyle

As a pioneer in the art of responsible hospitality, the Accor Group gathers more than 45 brands, 5,600 hotels, 10,000 restaurants, and lifestyle destinations in 110 countries. While each brand has its own personality, where you will be able to truly find yourself, they all share a common ambition: to keep innovating and challenging the status-quo.

Accor is a world leader in the Luxury and Lifestyle hospitality, with more than 500 hotels in this segment and a large pipeline of exciting openings to come.

Accor has created two standalone divisions with clearly identified expertise, ambitions, and objectives, which leverage on our strengths in order to improve our portfolio of unique and diverse brands, our leadership across most markets and our unrivalled development momentum in new territories.

These two divisions are:

• The “Premium, Midscale & Economy” division, internally named the “Power Brands” division. This entity includes the brands from the Group’s Premium, Midscale and Economy segments. It is structured around four regions, based in Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, and Shanghai.
• The “Luxury & Lifestyle” division, bringing together the Group’s luxury brands, as well as the lifestyle platform, Ennismore. This division, managed by brand, is structured around four “Maison”: Orient Express (based in New York); Raffles & Fairmont (based in Dubai); Sofitel, MGallery & Emblems (based in Paris) and Ennismore (based in London).

The Global Sales Luxury & Lifestyle team, has a critical cross-functional role in the Luxury & Lifestyle division, to support the brands, strengthen Accor’s positioning on this market and boost high margin revenue to the L&L hotels.

The Director Strategic Clients Luxury and Lifestyle - UK is part of the Global Sales Luxury and Lifestyle organization. He/She reports into the SVP Strategic Sales and B2B Communication - Luxury and Lifestyle.

His/her mission is to deliver business, value, strategy and visibility to the luxury and lifestyle hotel network through the best partnerships with major Strategic clients and partners (MICE Agencies) and through key luxury events worldwide. His/her strategy and actions will be aligned with the global LL Sales strategy and the hotels and market expectations. 

The Director Strategic Clients – Luxury and Lifestyle UK oversees a portfolio of UK-based luxury MICE agencies, in addition to select corporate clients with headquarters in the United Kingdom who book meetings and events.  These clients are important for the LL hotels as they generate high margin revenue.

He/she is responsible to create the best opportunities of revenue for LL hotels.

Within the frame and objectives provided by the management, the Director Strategic Clients Luxury & Lifestyle UK holds the following missions:  

• Manage a portfolio of Strategic Luxury MICE agencies in UK  
• Build a high level of relationship with the key stakeholders of the Strategic clients’ portfolio 
• Identify and develop new business opportunities 
• Proactively promote all luxury and lifestyle hotels towards clients’ portfolio  
• Communicate efficiently and regularly with LL hotels sales team and align sales actions based on Global Sales LL strategy and expectations 

• Follow sales budget guidelines and plan activities accordingly 
• Create & execute related sales actions to respond to LL hotels’ need periods,
• increase production and increase awareness of Accor luxury and lifestyle brands in the market.  
• Maintain full and accurate knowledge of the competitive hotel chains, monitor competitor activity, and adjust strategy according to market needs and trends. 
• Ensure accurate production reporting, Anais (CRM) and database at all times.  
• Manage a close relationship with the key stakeholders of the Accor shared services (Digital Factory, Loyalty, legal, Global Sales PME…) 

• Build strong relationships with industry partners e.g. airlines/DMC’s etc
• Work closely with the LL sales coordinators 
• Contribute to the LL Sales team spirit and life 

• Master’s degree preferably in hospitality, events management or related field  
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the Luxury MICE travel industry  
• Minimum 5-year experience in a similar position e.g. MICE Sales
• Negotiate with global, multi-interlocutor and multi-cultural clients 
• Proven experience in portfolio management of Strategic and key accounts at C-Level 
• Sales and results orientated 
• Proven track record of revenue growth, key account management, agency relationships and delivering on budgets/targets
• Capability to manage large/complex accounts
• Service provider mindset 
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical skills to monitor market new trends and hotel distribution developments 
• Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills
• Fluent in English 
• Strong team spirit and luxe mindset 
• Capability to build strong and close relationships with customers 
• Contribute positively to Accor's brand image, embody the group's values and embrace the new LL division objectives & mindset 

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We are an inclusive company and our ambition is to attract, recruit and promote diverse talent.