Sales Executive

SO/ is a coveted collection of hotels, rooted in the world of fashion. Making its stylish debut on the global hotel scene in 2011, SO/ continues to command attention with its avant-garde design and creative approach to the world of luxury.

POSITION SUMMARY

Drives revenue from local accounts by proactively soliciting new business from surrounding business hubs, supports sourcing new accounts, identifying new targets opportunities in the competition, and re-soliciting past business leads. Partners with account leaders to pull through business from customer accounts deployed outside the local market, partners with the Sales Office to book group events within the group booking parameters.

Provides property support with site inspections, hosting customers and attending familiarisation trips. The individual will verify that the business is turned over properly and in a timely fashion for quality service delivery. They will be proactive to achieve revenue goals by actively up-selling each business opportunity to maximize revenue. Implements the brand’s service strategy and applicable brand initiatives in all aspects of the sales process and drives customer loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout each customer experience, Group, BT and Project Team.

CORE WORK ACTIVITIES

Managing Sales Activities

• Partners with the Sales Office to book group events within the group booking parameters.

• Pulls through business and achieves revenue goals for all opportunities booked through the Sales Office.

• Partners with Account Sales to identify new corporate, group/catering business and achieve personal and property revenue goals.

• Works with Area Sales Leader in identifying the top accounts of each stakeholder hotel, determine deployment structure, identify account manager, and coordinate efforts to pull-through business from the accounts for the stakeholder hotels (BT, Project Teams, Group).

• Drives revenue from local accounts by proactively soliciting new business from small business accounts, sourcing new accounts, identifying new targets, and re-soliciting past business leads.

• Up-sells products and services, with the ability to bring the sale to closure.

• Engages in proactive selling of all of facilities (e.g., Spa, Restaurants...) to all of BT, Project, leisure guests as well as group planners.

• Assists with selling, implementation and follow-through of BT, Project Team and group sales promotions.

• Coordinates and plans all Familiarization Tours (FAM) and in-market customer events.

• Provides accurate, complete and effective turnover to Event Management and other Sales Channels.

• Attends pre- and post-convention meetings to understand group needs, obtain feedback on quality of product (e.g., rooms, meeting facilities and equipment, food and beverage), service levels and overall satisfaction.

• Coordinates and executes all site inspections/visits at the property for out-of-market and non-deployed accounts (includes site visits for out-of-market Sales Associates).

• Coordinates site visits and partners when appropriate for in-market sales managers (e.g., Account Executives and Senior Account Executives).

• Partners with account/selling manager to develop creative aspects of site visit.

• Tracks bookings and leads generated from site visits.

• Grows business of existing accounts by soliciting them for future open years while onsite, identifies additional project teams and transient share shift within accounts.

• Gathers all important customer data from account/selling manager in order to plan appropriately (e.g. customers goals, specific needs, key account info, etc.).

• Understands competitor’s strengths and weaknesses to differentiate the Brand from the competition during the site visit.

• Provides expert knowledge on local destination (e.g., local attractions, events, etc.).

• Monitors the effective resolution of guest issues that arise as a result of the sales process by creating mechanisms to channel issues to property leadership and/or other appropriate stakeholders.

• Implements the brand’s service strategy and applicable brand initiatives in all aspects of the sales process and drives customer loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout each customer experience.

• Solicits new business from assigned small business accounts, reader boards, and leads sent through internal referral mechanisms.

• Solicits potential new accounts or business opportunities by leveraging business intelligence provided by Sales & Marketing Planning and Support or other third-party data sources to generate leads.

• Utilizes internal lead referral tools (e.g., eProspecting Portal) to solicit new business opportunities and contacts.

• Re-solicits non-deployed realized opportunities, including turndowns, lost opportunities, and actualized business when appropriate.

• Drives customer satisfaction through daily interactions (e.g., solicitations, re-solicitations, account calls, new business calls, face to face activities, etc.).

• Conducts customer facing sales activities on behalf of the hotels in partnership with Property Coordinator/Resource as appropriate. (e.g., lunch and learns, social hours, company of the month activities, local industry events, Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Activities, etc.).

• Maintains complete and up-to-date lead information on each account to verify accurate reporting and customer base information.

• Qualifies and maintains customer’s long-term business potential and refers customers to market, field, hotel or national sales office, as required.

• Presents stakeholder hotel benefits and features based on customer needs.

• Uses all information systems to research the deployment and value of the accounts deemed important for stakeholder hotels.

• Understands the overall market (e.g., competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, supply and demand etc.) in order to sell effectively against the competition.

 Building Successful Relationships

• Gets involved in community-based organizations to position property for group/catering sales opportunities and participates in community and hotel networking events

• Engages in property related events that support the development of existing and new accounts (e.g., General Manager (GM) Reception, Concierge Level hospitality, etc.).

• Builds and strengthens relationships with existing and new customers to enable future bookings.

• Attends and facilitates pre-planning visits to establish consistent customer communication.

• Entertains customers by showing them the property and key locations surrounding the property; provides after-hours entertaining for customers.

• Partners with Event Management and/or Operations in providing a customer experience that exceeds the customer’s expectations.

• Executes exemplary customer service to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty and as necessary, refers them to the appropriate owner.

• Gains understanding of the property‘s primary target customer and service expectations; recommends appropriate features and services to best meet their needs and exceed their expectations.

• Visits neighbourhood target and local small business accounts and coordinates follow up efforts.

• Increases local penetration of high potential accounts to optimize demand across all brands and satisfy important property needs.

• Partners with account leaders to pull through business from customer accounts deployed outside the local market.

• Performs other duties, as assigned, to meet business needs.

At SO/ Uptown Dubai we do more than just deliver a service. We endeavour to think big, go beyond expectation to make a positive impact that creates an unforgettable experience for our guests and our teams. We’re all expected to show initiative, empowerment and willingness to provide a wide range of services that guide guests throughout their stay at SO/. Whether it is to address guests’ enquiries, preparing reports, operations or just sharing with a guest what is hot in Uptown, from a guest’s perspective every exchange should feel seamless and effortless.

At all levels and positions within our organization, our success is incumbent on a set of behaviours each of us are committed to. These include adhering to company policies and procedures, maintaining confidentiality, protecting company assets, and upholding quality standards. Because we’re an avant-garde and stylish brand, we’re also passionate about maintaining a professional uniform, personal appearance, and bespoke communications. There is no room for ego: come as you are, humble and kind. At SO/ we work hard, but make it fun.

You will constantly be on the move, walking about and being hands-on. You might even need to lift, carry, push, pull, and place objects weighing less than 10 pounds without assistance. Most of all, our aim is to do things right, not just the first time but every single time to the benefit of our guests, our hotel and each other because we’re all in it together!