Account Director, Global Sales, Luxury

Marriott•Bethesda, MD

15h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Global Luxury Account Director is a luxury specialist responsible for providing account management and business development for the Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand’s most profitable luxury travel agencies in the US and Canada. This role will also be responsible for managing all market activations with the intent to increase brand preference, loyalty, and profitable share from these accounts. In this market, this role will also be responsible for generating new and cultivating existing relationships with a given number of pre-assigned, goaled accounts across segments. The role will employ a proactive sales “hunter” mentality with a focus on uncovering new UHNW leisure and small group business. The Account Director will prioritize driving awareness for the brand and offerings with the UHNW client base and deepening customer relationships and loyalty through new, innovative strategies, as well as proven account management strategies. The Account Director will develop strong relationships with the property and brand teams for maximum effectiveness. By applying the principles of strategic account management, this position ensures pull-through of overall business strategies to build long-term relationships between the Reserve brand and the identified partners. The position will focus on new business development of strategic accounts with potential to sell all Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties in the portfolio. Specific areas of responsibility include providing key input on the overall strategy for deployed accounts, implementing strategies to position Ritz-Carlton Reserve as the preferred luxury partner and defend and grow market share in the luxury segment, owning the return on investment (ROI) for their accounts and liaising with Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties and corporate teams around the world to ensure effective pull-through of luxury segment strategies to achieve results. The individual will have a direct reporting relationship to the Director of Global Sales for the Bulgari Hotels and Resorts brand and will work closely with the Luxury Group GSO team members in the continent.

Requirements

4-year degree from an accredited university in Business Administration, Marketing, or related major and 3+ years of relevant professional experience, demonstrating progressive career growth and a pattern of exceptional performance; OR 5+ years of relevant professional experience in marketing or related function, demonstrating progressive career growth and pattern of exceptional performance.
Fluent in English language

Nice To Haves

Previous luxury leisure experience
4 or more years’ experience in sales and marketing, account management
5 or more years of hotel industry work experience, demonstrating progressive career growth and a pattern of exceptional performance
Prior experience in managing entertainment accounts
Geographically located in Florida/Texas/California

Responsibilities

Providing account management and business development for the Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand’s most profitable luxury travel agencies in the US and Canada.
Managing all market activations to increase brand preference, loyalty, and profitable share from these accounts.
Generating new and cultivating existing relationships with pre-assigned, goaled accounts across segments.
Uncovering new UHNW leisure and small group business.
Driving awareness for the brand and offerings with the UHNW client base.
Deepening customer relationships and loyalty through new, innovative strategies, as well as proven account management strategies.
Developing strong relationships with the property and brand teams for maximum effectiveness.
Ensuring pull-through of overall business strategies to build long-term relationships between the Reserve brand and identified partners.
Focusing on new business development of strategic accounts with potential to sell all Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties in the portfolio.
Providing key input on the overall strategy for deployed accounts.
Implementing strategies to position Ritz-Carlton Reserve as the preferred luxury partner and defend and grow market share in the luxury segment.
Owning the return on investment (ROI) for their accounts.
Liaising with Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties and corporate teams around the world to ensure effective pull-through of luxury segment strategies to achieve results.
Supports and understands the organization-wide strategic plan for the luxury segment.
Establishes a regular communication with the sales managers in charge of this market based on property.
Interacts and liaises with the Luxury Group GSO team in the region to streamline and capitalize on efforts and activations.
Establishes individual account work plans in accordance with the fundamentals of strategic account management, to include account mapping, understanding of all revenue streams and a complete customer relationship plan.
Identifies opportunities, anticipates challenges, and creates competitive breakthrough strategies.
Protects and strengthens Bulgari’s competitive advantage by advocating and supporting sound business and sales and marketing decision-making.
Liaises with relevant cross-discipline groups including the Marriott GSO to resolve partner issues and ensure profitability of the account.
Champions excellence in business ethics, integrity and build an environment with a high level of morale, motivation, and engagement.
Understands and recognizes the luxury consumer, their demographics, buying habits, and the ability to provide an effective sales approach that remains relevant and nurtures this consumer, but is also nimble and can quickly adapt to change.
Maintains complete knowledge of Bulgari’s brand portfolio, both domestically and internationally; develop complete and thorough knowledge of basic hotel facilities related to numbers of rooms and function space, specifically all logistics and amenities that may interest assigned accounts.
Fully adopts Marriott’s sales system, while maintaining all account relationship information, account business trends, pipeline reporting, and account focused tasks and events.
Achieves and exceeds goals including performance goals, revenue/room night goals, team goals, etc.
Submits required reports/data in a timely manner, ensuring delivery deadlines are met.
Aims to streamline and strategize efforts and investments towards the objective of capturing business for high ADR units and suites within every hotel.
Builds a profiling portfolio of direct end customers with high spending potential – both for transient and high touch groups with remarkably high ADR.
Identifies and develops new impact accounts which have never produced for the brand to grow and develop new business opportunities.
Conducts competitive assessments of luxury segment customers in support of the annual strategic planning process.
Provides updates to Marriott’s senior management, as appropriate.
Demonstrates knowledge of job and luxury industry-relevant issues, products, systems, and processes.
Monitors current and future trends, needs and attitudes including competitor activity to guide targeted solution development and remove barriers to business solution development.
Leverages methodologies, technical, and business knowledge across the enterprise, continent, and global sales teams.
Coordinates potential educational trips with the Director of Global Sales.
Informs and/or updates executives, peers, subordinates, and/or customers on relevant information in a timely manner.
Manages time efficiently and demonstrate effective organizational skills.
Presents ideas, expectations, and information in a concise, well-organized way.
Provides sales program/event leadership (i.e., sales missions and roadshows in the region including the practical coordination and realization of these).