Vice President Of Corporate Hotel Sales

Position Summary
Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, the VP of Corporate Hotel Sales is responsible for ensuring the organization’s sales resources and investments are managed, developed and levered to their fullest potential. The Vice President is responsible for the design, staffing, and oversight of all sales management functions within the organization. This person’s primary focus is to develop the people, processes, and systems which maximize sales and revenue opportunities for the company’s expanding global portfolio of hotels and resorts. The VP will coordinate daily with the corporate vice presidents of Marketing & Communications and Revenue & Distribution to ensure all sales and marketing activities, efforts and strategies are aligned and coordinated for their optimal performance.
The ideal candidate adopts a roll-up-your-sleeves approach to management that is driven by a passion for building effective, innovative, and successful sales teams, who execute strategies which drive market share and overall profitability. The candidate must have proven experience in the identification of opportunities which maximize revenue and profit potential with an ability to skillfully execute plans to secure their attainment with overwhelming proficiency and vigor. The candidate should be a self-motivated, energized, and creative individual who can demonstrate his/her knowledge, skills and abilities in the mentorship, coaching and development of personnel within the sales organization.

• In collaboration with the VP of Revenue Management & Distribution monitor and govern an effective negotiated rate agreement solicitation and RFP processes.
• Manage hotel, regional and global sales teams to ensure top line success at each of the properties.
• Provide strategic vision and functional support to the hotel sales and marketing management teams on how best to maximize sales and revenue potential.
• Assist in the communication and relationship management of our various hotels and management company ownership groups.
• In partnership with the operations team act as a liaison between the hotel sales teams and the corporate management offices and assist in fostering of a culture of accountability.
• Drive hotel, regional and global sales teams in identifying and securing new revenue opportunities.
• Work collaboratively with key stakeholders toward effective and efficient management and execution of all sales, marketing, and revenue management initiatives and strategies.
• Oversight and direction of the organization’s entire sales effort including both property and above-property sales teams.
• Ensure hotel's sales strategy meetings, business reviews, and other revenue generating activities are coordinated and documented for optimum effectiveness.
• Direct and aid in the establishment of relationships with current key customers and accounts, owning key relationships on behalf of the company.
• Monitor the overall, segment, hotel and individual personnel sales trends and drive improvement and capture opportunities.

• Design, develop and deploy the organization’s sales strategy and detailed action plans which drive the attainment of the organization’s business objectives.
• Assist the sales and marketing teams in the development of strategies which maximize revenue contribution through effective marketing activities.
• Work in partnership with Revenue Management to develop, deploy, and implement revenue & forecasting systems, tools and resources which integrate with key hotel sales systems and strategies.
• Aid in the preparation of periodic market trend analysis reports and forecast for the portfolios of Sonesta hotels and resorts.
• Analyze market trends in multiple segments and develop sales action plans accordingly for both the company and individual hotels.
• Develop creative approaches to gain competitive advantage in how to identify potential customers and how best to gain their business.
• Develop and create of systems, processes and procedures which monitors and assures sales effectiveness and provide clear insight to issues and opportunities for improvement down to the induvial unit and seller.
• Ensure that the necessary reports and information resources are identified and systematically analyzed, including market intelligence reports such as TravelClick, Hotelligence, STR, PKF, etc.
• Work in conjunction with OTAs and other distribution partners to explore new revenue streams and identify opportunities to optimize the performance of existing ones.

• Active management and oversight of sales and marketing expenses at the corporate, regional and hotel level to maximum return on investment and drive overall hotel and management company profitability.
• Define, monitor and manage the sales goals and objectives by region, hotel, segment and individual seller.
• Active participation in various hotel budgeting, planning and forecasting processes.
• Monitor the performance of the hotels and resorts relative to their respective competition, budget, and the company’s overall business goals and objectives.
• Identify trends and utilize best practices and leverage available reporting tools, analysis and systems to make effective decisions.
• Effective negotiation, management and oversight of the organization’s portfolio of sales and marketing vendors, contractors and consultants.
• Consult and assist corporate and hotel management teams in the development of annual plans, billings/fees assessments, goals and objectives, performance standards, and key performance metrics.
• Evaluate the performance of market segments (group business, wholesale accounts, corporate accounts, OTAs, etc.) and make recommendations as how to increase yield to the corporate and hotel leadership.
• Lead the identification, selection, and negotiation process for all corporate managed, directed and approved sales resources.

• Work with Human Resources and hotel management to develop strategies to identify, hire and retain the best sales talent in the industry.
• Identify, attract, retain, develop and motivate the ideal sales talent for our organization and its portfolio of hotels.
• Directly lead and manage the company’s Corporate Sales, Global Sales Organization and Regional Sales Teams.
• Architect, deploy and manage successful sale training and development programs and strategies.
• Provide ongoing training and development of sales professionals while educating property GMs and other key stakeholders on the merits of proper sales planning, staffing, and management.
• Responsible for monitoring, measuring, and driving accountability of the collective sales organization.
• Support, comply and promote company initiative, policies and guidelines.
• Performance tracking and analysis of sales professionals to assure revenue goals are set appropriately and are being adequately attained.
• Oversee attendance by global, regional and hotel sales personnel to national and international trade shows and industry events.
• Ensure all sales team members receive proper training applicable to their position and career aspirations and in accordance with company policy and/or local laws.
• Proactively manage personnel issues in a professional and timely manner.

• Inspire your team to embrace and demonstrate our values.
• Focus on the mission and well-being of the department, hotel, and company as a whole.
• Capable of coaching, mentoring and developing employees to perform to their highest levels and establishing a trusting environment to enrich the culture.
• Responsible for ensuring success through the eyes of employees, guests, and owners.
• Lead by example and operate with integrity and respect.
• Utilize and collaborate with resources across different departments and corporate office.

• A high degree of business acumen.
• Strong analytical, planning, forecasting and budgeting/financial skills.
• Excellent organization skills.
• Ability to think and act both strategically and tactically. A proven track record of creating new or re-engineering process
• A successful track record of delivering exceptional revenue performance.
• Multi-brand hotel experience a plus.
• 5 plus years as a leader of a of a Sales function (VP of Sales, Regional Director of Sales or Corporate Director of Sales) within the hospitality industry (corporate and hotel level), preferred
• A successful track record of sales success and team development.
• Must possess the ability and willingness to travel 30% of the time.
• A bachelor's degree in Business and/or Hotel Management (or equivalent experience) - MBA preferred
• Demonstrates knowledge of key systems and tools (i.e. Delphi, MeetingBroker, Lanyon, Agency360, reader board services, etc) and distribution channels (CVENT, StarCite, etc).
• Relevant experience in leveraging modern systems and processes to drive innovative business plans.
• Prior sales management responsibilities for at least 10 [concurrent] hotel properties including both full and select/limited service brands and extensive knowledge and prior success in developing all market segments (group, transients and contract).
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to deliver presentations in a concise, well-organized manner
• Appropriate professional appearance and demeanor.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Experience leading a growing company, a startup company or company transitioning through significant organizational change preferred.

• Educational Assistance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Company Paid Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Various Employee Perks and Discounts
• Health Savings Account with Company Match
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Paid Vacation and Sick Days
• Sonesta Hotel Discounts
• Paid Parental Leave