Catering Sales Manager

Marriott•Spartanburg, SC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is responsible for identifying, qualifying, and soliciting new catering business to achieve personal and hotel revenue goals. The role involves coordinating definite group business, generating banquet event orders, and processing billing, rooming lists, and group resumes. The Catering Sales Manager will proactively solicit affiliate business associated with citywide events, understand the overall market including competitors' strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, and supply and demand, and know how to sell against them. This role maximizes revenue by up-selling packages and creative food and beverage offerings, identifies and implements process improvements and best practices, and gains an understanding of the hotel's primary target customer and service expectations. The goal is to ensure successful performance by increasing revenues, controlling expenses, and providing a return on investment for the owner and the business. The position manages the sales efforts for the hotel related to local social catering business, responds to incoming catering opportunities, and closes the best opportunities for the hotel based on market conditions and hotel needs. It requires using negotiating skills and creative selling abilities to close on business and negotiate contracts, as well as designing, developing, and selling creative catered events. The role also involves developing and managing catering sales revenue and operation budgets, and providing forecasting reports, identifying and assisting with selling, implementing, and following-through on catering promotions. The position promotes accountability to drive superior business results, executes sales strategies and business processes, and supports Customer Service Standards and hotel's Brand Standards. It also involves executing and supporting the operational aspects of business booked (e.g., generating proposals, writing contracts, customer correspondence), participating in and practicing daily service basics of the brand, and working collaboratively with property Sales and Marketing colleagues as well as other hotel departments to ensure sales efforts are coordinated, complementary, and not duplicative. A close working relationship with operations is needed to ensure execution of strategies at the hotel level. The role involves working with the management team to create and implement a catering sales plan addressing revenue, customers, and market, and working with the property's Food and Beverage team to develop menus that drive sales. Interaction with vendors, competitors, local community, catering associations, and other hotel departments (including Sales, Kitchen, and Events) is crucial to ensure guest satisfaction. The position ensures that the property implements a seamless turnover from sales to operations and back to sales while consistently delivering a high level of service. The Catering Sales Manager serves the customer by understanding their business, business issues, and concerns to offer better business solutions both prior to, and during the program/event. Exemplary customer service is executed to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty by assisting the customer and ensuring their satisfaction before and during their program/event. The role serves the customer by understanding their needs and recommending appropriate features and services that best meet their needs and exceed their expectations, while building a relationship. Monitoring 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 is also part of the role. Other duties, as assigned, to meet business needs will be performed.

Requirements

Excellent customer service skills
Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
Ability to effectively present information to individuals or groups
Proficient with Microsoft Office programs, Marriott systems, SFAweb and CI/TY

Nice To Haves

4-year Bachelor’s degree preferred
Catering sales and or convention services experience preferred
Familiarization of the local markets preferred

Responsibilities

Identifies, qualifies and solicits new catering business to achieve personal and hotel revenue goals
Coordinates definite group business
Generates banquet event orders
Processes billing, rooming lists, and group resumes
Proactively solicits affiliate business associated with citywide events
Understands the overall market - competitors' strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, supply and demand etc. and knows how to sell against them.
Maximizes revenue by up-selling packages and creative food and beverage offerings.
Identifies and implements process improvements and best practices.
Gains understanding of the hotel's primary target customer and service expectations.
Ensures successful performance by increasing revenues, controlling expenses and providing a return on investment for the owner and the business.
Manages the sales efforts for the hotel related to local social catering business.
Responds to incoming catering opportunities for the hotel.
Closes the best opportunities for the hotel based on market conditions and hotel needs.
Uses negotiating skills and creative selling abilities to close on business and negotiate contracts.
Designs, develops, and sells creative catered events.
Develops and manages catering sales revenue and operation budgets, and provides forecasting reports.
Identifies and assists with selling, implementing and following-through on catering promotions.
Promotes accountability to drive superior business results.
Executes Sales strategies and business processes.
Executes and supports Customer Service Standards and hotel's Brand Standards.
Executes and supports the operational aspects of business booked (e.g., generating proposal, writing contract, customer correspondence).
Participates in and practice daily service basics of the brand
Works collaboratively with property Sales and Marketing colleagues as well as other hotel departments to ensure sales efforts are coordinated, complementary and not duplicative.
Develops a close working relationship with operations to ensure execution of strategies at the hotel level.
Works with the management team to create and implement a catering sales plan addressing revenue, customers and market.
Works with the property's Food and Beverage team to develop menus that drive sales.
Interacts effectively with vendors, competitors, local community, catering associations and other hotel departments (including Sales, Kitchen and Events) in order to ensure guest satisfaction.
Ensures that the property implements a seamless turnover from sales to operations and back to sales while consistently delivering high level of service.
Serves the customer by understanding their business, business issues and concerns, to offer better business solution both prior to, and during the program/event.
Executes exemplary customer service to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty by assisting the customer and ensuring their satisfaction before and during their program/event.
Serves the customer by understanding their needs and recommending the appropriate features and services that best meet their needs and exceed their expectations, while building a relationship.
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.
Performs other duties, as assigned, to meet business needs