Manager of Small Group Travel, Experience Collection

Exclusive Resorts LLC•Denver, CO

42d•Onsite

About The Position

As a key leader in the Experiential Collection Team, the Experience Collection Small Group Travel Manager is responsible for planning, developing, and delivering itineraries & experiences for Exclusive Resorts’ Group Travel Collection: Once in a Lifetime (OIAL): Luxury, small group Journeys for Club Members. On average, group size 16-20 pax with departures that run 4-6x a year. When chartering a ship, we use the entire ship which can be up to 225 cabins. Team runs 8-10 different itineraries annually. European Villas: Supplemental Club inventory in Europe from May-Oct that include Local Hosting and daily breakfast in residence. Member Events: Long weekend events, often around sporting events. Group size average is 16-20 pax Requires travel domestically and/or internationally ~40% of year to scout and host Member Group Trips.

Requirements

5-10 years of group travel planning experience.
Bachelor’s degree; or equivalent combination of education and experience
A background in event management, high-end customer service, hospitality and/or travel related industry
Has network of DMC and suppliers in the luxury travel industry
Ability to travel domestically and/or internationally ~20% of year
Excellent and polished verbal and written communication skills and professional demeanor while facilitating conflict resolution
Experience interacting with sophisticated travelers and affluent clientele
Strong computer proficiency and telephone skills
Attention to detail, organization and efficiency
The ability to multi-task and work within an ever-changing environment
Ability to take a proactive approach to managing trips
The ability to handle other duties as assigned, or as the business needs change
Must be able to learn quickly and adapt to changing circumstances
Proficient in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Power Point and Excel (particularly good excel skills to work on budgets and Word skill include Mail Merge)

Nice To Haves

Proficiency in Salesforce and SharePoint, is a plus

Responsibilities

Researches and maintains a growing knowledge of industry products, innovations, destinations, and suppliers/DMC
Assist in the development of new OIAL trips, European Villa experiences and Events by brainstorming new ideas, researching the ideas, creating PowerPoint to present
Conduct site inspections (mostly international travel) with partners for Once in a Lifetime (OIAL) Journeys, European Villa experiences and Events to finalize Member itineraries.
Work with Finance to establish a budget.
Prices Journeys & Experiences in collaboration with Finance team, ensuring that margin targets are achieved, while also maximizing value for Members
Responsible for negotiating contracts, and working with the Legal department to ensure partner/vendor agreements are kept up to date
Work with legal and partners to develop contracts for new Once in a Lifetime (OIAL) Journeys, European Villa experiences and Events
Work with Marketing to develop and review collateral for Member Communications
Prepare and review information for the Member facing website, public website, Journey Guides and Trip Planners that are accurate and stay up to date
Ensure team/company goals are met including Trip Satisfaction scores and trip margins for budget
Attends & represents Exclusive Resorts at travel industry conferences
Assist Sales Team and Ambassador Team, as requested, with program and trip questions
Researches and resolves customer service issues appropriately – addresses, troubleshoots and resolves Members concerns, when required
Collaborate with Trip Leads weekly on manifest and timeline requirements (each OIAL/Villa/Event has a Trip Lead on each trip to assist Manager)
Become an expert on and manage Once in a Lifetime (OIAL) Journeys, European Villa experiences and Events
Actively manage the budgets for these experiences
Weekly management of the tour operator/partner relations for these experiences
Work with the OIAL Operations Coordinator and accounting to ensure billing is done promptly and accurately
Draft Member-facing communication to deliver important trip information
Host 1st Member trip of the given set of departures (mostly international travel) – this could include 1-3 trips annually
Respond to all Post Trip surveys
Attend weekly Team and Company meeting(s)
Oversee the creation of all travel binders (site trip, executive and Member trip)
Oversee vendor payments
Oversee development of experience webinars
Be in the Denver Office two full days a week
Travel ~40% of the year, able to travel on international trips 10-14 days at a time
Experience billing: Manage billing for the experiences, including maintaining an accurate spreadsheet, notifying accounting of upcoming billings, working with Ambassador Trip Lead to handle cancellations and refunds
Vendor payments: Manage payment requests and vendor payments for all OIAL trips and European Villa Experiences. Set billing reminders in the OIAL calendar and process payment requests, as needed
Attend monthly budgeting meetings and understand the payments that have been made and the ones that are approaching