Director of Diplomatic & Middle East Sales

The Raffles London

Raffles London at The OWO and The OWO Residences by Raffles operates a 120 room and suites flagship hotel at the iconic Old War Office building along with a collection of 85 exceptional branded residences at this landmark destination on Whitehall, including 12 distinct restaurants and bars Including our signature chef Mauro Colagreco. The Guerlain spa and Pillar Wellness, and a 600 seated-capacity grand ballroom.

An exceptional opportunity presents itself for a Director of Diplomatic & Middle East Sales to be part of an iconic London Hotel.

Reporting into the Director of Sales, you will work to establish relationships with embassies, family offices, government offices, bookers, agents, agencies, DMCs and private clients in the UK and overseas. You will firmly position Raffles London at The OWO as one of the leading hotels in London for high-end Middle Eastern clientele and Diplomatic business.   

What are we looking for in a Director Diplomatic and Middle East Sales?

• Someone who is organised and efficient
• Someone who possesses excellent interpersonal and communication skills

• Someone who has a minimum of 3 years’ experience in a similar role in a luxury environment 
• Someone who has an extensive network of contacts and relationships within the Middle East market and Diplomatic networks.

Key Responsibilities

• To fully penetrate the Middle East and Diplomatic markets for Raffles London and build its reputation as one of the top luxury hotels in London for official delegations, business, leisure, family and extended stays  
• To work with the Director of Sales & Marketing and the Director of Sales to create and implement a sales strategy in accordance with budget
• To attend sales missions, networking events, trade shows and exhibitions as required
• Prospecting opportunities through telephone calls, virtual presentations and in-person visits in order to research, penetrate and develop new accounts
• To identify and lead the account management of key clients to ensure revenue is maximized
• To create a portfolio of top accounts and keep consistently updated
• To identify potential changes in the market in a timely manner and pivot to ensure that revised strategies are quickly in place to stimulate alternative demand channels
• To monitor competitor activity in the market and to be consistently up to date with school holiday schedules, state visits, cultural occasions and political and economic change
• To coordinate logistics & funding and accompany fam trips to Raffles London to increase awareness, knowledge and loyalty among key opinion leaders and top bookers from the Middle East & Diplomatic markets
• To work closely with the on-property Reservations Team to ensure all requests are dealt with in a timely manner and are presented with creativity and imagination
• To have a good understanding of revenue management and work collaboratively with the Director of Revenue Strategy to achieve hotel goals
• To manage the sales system to ensure all information is correct and updated and that all bookings, enquiries and activities are logged to maintain a comprehensive account management system and clean database
• To work within the boundaries of the budgeted and forecasted sales expenses
• To ensure payment schedules are made clear to clients and are always adhered to 
• To submit reports to the Director of Sales when required  
• To ensure clear, positive and regular communication with the Accor National Account Managers, the Regional Sales Offices and the Luxury Sales Team and to work collaboratively to achieve all goals
• To work with the Director of Sales and the Director of Communications on trade marketing pieces and other ad hoc marketing and promotional activities that will support the sales strategy
• To be entrepreneurial, highly creative and think beyond the boundaries
• To have a very strong knowledge of hotel operations and be ‘hands on’ for VIP arrivals, delegations and throughout high-profile stays
• To take time to get to know customers, to build lasting relationships and be always committed to service excellence

What are we offering?

• You will be offered a competitive salary
• Enhanced Pension Scheme
• Sales Incentive Scheme  
• Life Assurance
• Health Cash Plan
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee benefit card offering discounted rates at Accor worldwide
• Worldwide development opportunities across Accor’s extensive brand portfolio