Area Sales Manager, Leisure Sales

Highgate Hotels•Honolulu, HI

About The Position

The Sales Manager – Leisure Sales is responsible for supporting the development and growth of leisure business across the Highgate Hawaii portfolio of hotels, with a focus on assigned wholesale, consortia, and retail travel advisor accounts. The Sales Manager will develop and maintain relationships with assigned accounts and travel advisor partners while working closely with Area Sales leadership to execute sales strategies designed to increase awareness, room nights, revenue, and market share for Highgate Hawaii hotels. A key responsibility of this position is understanding the individual positioning, business needs, and sales objectives of each hotel represented. The Sales Manager will assist in developing and executing account-specific and hotel-specific sales strategies, recognizing that each property has unique priorities, target customers, competitive considerations, and revenue objectives. This position is ideal for a motivated sales professional who is interested in developing a career in hotel leisure sales. The successful candidate will be relationship-driven, organized, proactive, eager to learn, and comfortable managing multiple accounts, hotels, projects, and deadlines. The Sales Manager will work collaboratively with Area Sales leadership, to identify opportunities and help grow profitable leisure business for the Highgate Hawaii portfolio.

Requirements

1–2 years of hospitality, hotel sales, travel industry, customer service, account management, or related experience preferred.
Previous hotel, travel agency, tour operator, wholesale, reservations, front office, or hospitality sales experience is preferred but not required for candidates demonstrating strong sales potential.
A four-year or two-year college degree in Hospitality, Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field is preferred; equivalent professional experience will also be considered.
Previous experience working with customers, clients, or business partners in a professional environment preferred.
Familiarity with the Hawaii visitor industry and/or Hawaii hotel market is beneficial.
Must possess a valid driver's license as required for the position.
Ability and willingness to travel for business as required.
Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
Genuine interest in sales, hospitality, travel, and developing business relationships.
Professional written and verbal communication skills.
Strong organizational and time-management abilities.
Ability to manage multiple accounts, hotels, projects, and deadlines.
Self-motivated with a willingness to learn and take direction.
Demonstrates initiative and the ability to follow projects through to completion.
Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
Ability to prioritize assignments based on business needs and direction from leadership.
Comfortable presenting to clients, travel advisors, and business partners.
Ability to understand basic sales and production data and develop stronger analytical skills over time.
Collaborative approach and ability to work effectively with Sales, Revenue Management, Marketing, and hotel teams.
Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Ability to learn company-approved sales, CRM, reporting, and hotel systems.

Nice To Haves

Previous hotel, travel agency, tour operator, wholesale, reservations, front office, or hospitality sales experience is preferred but not required for candidates demonstrating strong sales potential.
A four-year or two-year college degree in Hospitality, Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field is preferred; equivalent professional experience will also be considered.
Previous experience working with customers, clients, or business partners in a professional environment preferred.
Familiarity with the Hawaii visitor industry and/or Hawaii hotel market is beneficial.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain productive relationships with assigned wholesale, consortia, retail travel advisor, and other leisure sales partners.
Serve as a day-to-day sales contact for assigned accounts under the direction of Area Sales leadership.
Establish consistent communication with assigned partners to keep Highgate Hawaii hotels visible and top of mind.
Learn and understand each assigned partner's business model, customer base, distribution channels, booking patterns, and Hawaii sales opportunities.
Build relationships with account contacts, travel advisors, product teams, marketing teams, and other individuals who influence Hawaii business.
Provide timely and professional follow-up to partner requests and sales opportunities.
Represent Highgate Hawaii and its hotels at sales calls, account meetings, trade shows, travel advisor events, familiarization trips, site inspections, and other industry events as assigned.
Work with Area Sales leadership to develop and execute a sales strategy for each assigned account and applicable hotel.
Understand the objectives of the overall account strategy and take ownership of assigned actions and deliverables.
Recognize that each Highgate Hawaii hotel has its own positioning, customer, competitive set, business needs, and revenue objectives, and execute sales activities accordingly.
Identify opportunities within assigned accounts to increase room nights, revenue, awareness, and market share.
Proactively communicate opportunities, challenges, partner feedback, and competitive information to Area Sales leadership.
Assist in prospecting and developing new leisure accounts and travel advisor relationships.
Follow up on leads and opportunities in a timely and consistent manner.
Meet or exceed assigned room night, revenue, production, and sales activity goals.
Develop the skills and knowledge necessary to assume greater strategic account responsibility over time.
Support and manage assigned wholesale and tour operator relationships.
Maintain regular communication with wholesale partners to ensure Highgate Hawaii hotels remain visible and accurately represented.
Work with Area Sales leadership and Revenue Management to support promotions, tactical offers, value-adds, and other sales opportunities.
Ensure assigned partners receive current information regarding hotel products, promotions, amenities, policies, renovations, and selling features.
Assist with opportunities for enhanced placement, packaging, preferred positioning, and partner marketing.
Monitor assigned account activity and communicate relevant competitive information or opportunities to leadership.
Follow through on partner requests, promotional opportunities, and deliverables within established deadlines.
Develop relationships with travel advisors, agency owners, consortia partners, and leisure travel networks.
Conduct travel advisor sales calls, presentations, webinars, and hotel training under the direction of Area Sales leadership.
Educate travel advisors on the Highgate Hawaii portfolio and the unique selling features of each hotel.
Help advisors identify the appropriate Highgate Hawaii hotel based on their clients' individual needs and travel preferences.
Support familiarization trips, site inspections, advisor events, trade shows, sales missions, and other sales activities.
Follow up with advisors after events and training opportunities to strengthen relationships and generate future business.
Promote applicable Highgate Hawaii travel advisor programs, incentives, promotions, and resources.
Support partner marketing opportunities designed to increase awareness and generate incremental business.
Work with Area Sales leadership to coordinate approved campaigns with wholesale, consortia, and travel advisor partners.
Assist with gathering hotel offers, marketing content, imagery, rates, and other required campaign materials.
Track deadlines and ensure assigned campaign deliverables are completed accurately and on time.
Monitor campaign activity and assist with collecting results and production information.
Identify potential marketing opportunities within assigned accounts and bring recommendations to Area Sales leadership for consideration.
Monitor assigned account production, including room nights, revenue, booking pace, and year-over-year performance.
Review account performance regularly to identify trends, opportunities, and areas of concern.
Maintain accurate account records, contacts, sales activities, and production information within required company systems.
Prepare required weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports accurately and within established deadlines.
Assist Area Sales leadership with account performance analysis and recommendations.
Monitor competitor activity, hotel promotions, destination trends, airlift, partner activity, and other factors affecting Hawaii leisure business.
Share relevant market intelligence and partner feedback with Area Sales leadership and participating hotels.
Maintain organized documentation of account activity, promotions, marketing programs, and sales initiatives.
Develop and maintain strong knowledge of the Highgate Hawaii portfolio, including accommodations, amenities, dining, resort experiences, locations, renovations, selling features, and target customers.
Understand what differentiates each hotel and how to position the property effectively with partners and travel advisors.
Maintain awareness of current promotions, policies, value-adds, and other relevant hotel information.
Develop an understanding of each hotel's competitive set and market positioning.
Participate in hotel tours, property updates, and training opportunities to continuously strengthen product knowledge.
Conduct professional hotel presentations and site inspections as assigned.
Work closely with Area Sales leadership and follow established direction regarding account priorities, hotel strategies, projects, and deadlines.
Collaborate with Revenue Management, Marketing, hotel Sales teams, and property leadership as appropriate.
Maintain clear and timely communication regarding account requests, opportunities, promotions, deadlines, and outstanding projects.
Ensure commitments made to partners and internal stakeholders are documented and completed as agreed.
Escalate questions, concerns, or challenges to Area Sales leadership when additional direction is needed.
Participate actively in team meetings, account reviews, training, and planning sessions.
Support other members of the Area Sales team when business needs require additional coverage.
Represent Highgate and the Highgate Hawaii portfolio in a professional, polished, and hospitality-focused manner.
Demonstrate a positive, service-oriented approach when interacting with partners, travel advisors, hotel teams, and fellow employees.
Follow direction and established departmental policies, procedures, and SOPs.
Effectively prioritize assigned responsibilities and meet established deadlines.
Ask questions and seek clarification when priorities or instructions are unclear.
Demonstrate accountability for assigned accounts, projects, and deliverables.
Maintain regular and effective communication with Area Sales leadership.
Maintain confidentiality of company, hotel, partner, and financial information.
Maintain regular attendance and flexibility based on business and travel requirements.
Comply with Highgate standards, policies, procedures, and applicable regulations.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by management.